COLOMBIA

everything. We didn’t even
imagine such things…
Speaking a little about
the present, Percy, what do
you like best of present day
football?
Football has changed, in its
preparation, the way of playing
and futsal has had a great
influence upon it. Reduced
spaces, touches, cuts, etc. The
rules favour that game since in
futsal you cannot have much
contact nor sweep your rival. I
like that creativity needed now,
though it manifests itself in
another way, through deep
passes, and with centres
searching the second post,
though shorter. What I don’t like
is the lack of creativity. Everything
is at a greater speed, though
very much mechanized. Perhaps,
today’s football has lost some of
its previous attraction.
Percy had different features
from those of Pablo Guerrero,
though they have something in
common. Both are “a new
player”, that is to say an area
attacker and a top striker though
with very good technical skills.
Can you find any current
9 with your features?
Roque Santa Cruz may
perhaps have something of my
way of playing. I was very quick,
especially when building the
famous “wall” and getting into
the area.
What was it like to play
with Ricardo Bochini and
Daniel Bertoni, that famous
pair of Independiente in the
seventies?
It was an honour and an
advantage, since Independiente
was always a club in which the
ball was always well handled
and they hired players in
accordance with those skills.
Thus, it was easy for me to
adapt myself to playing with
them and at the same time it
was a challenge to play in a club
Cuatro décadas después Paolo Guerrero también lleva por el mundo el orgullo peruano. La tecnología los une en el tiempo.
Four decades after, Paolo Guerrero also took the Peruvian pride all over the world. Technology joins them in time.
that had won three consecutive
Copa Libertadores and one
Intercontinental Cup. Many
people doubted of me and they
said that Argentine football was
very harsh, and that I would not
be able to play there, since I
have always been very thin. That
was another thing I had to put
up with and I did it. Argentine
football was certainly harsh,
the backs tried to overpower
you from the very beginning,
though if you did not lose
courage, nothing happened
later and you could play easily
and they respected you. ”Easy,
Peruvian, we are going to play
football”, they used to say.
Being recognized by
the South American
Confederation must be
something very special,
don’t you think so?
Sincerely, yes. When I
received the invitation at home,
I was very pleased and happy,
without any doubt. Getting such
a recognition for my sport career
means that there are many
people who remember me.
What do you think of
Paolo Guerrero, especially
after his fantastic
performance in the Clubs
World Cup, in Japan?
He is an excellent player
from the technical point, but
what has surprised me more
about him is his human qualities,
since he has bet to win. He
decided to leave a more
organized football like the
European, a permanent showcase,
for a football like the
Brazilian one, that we know is
also very competitive, though it
undoubtedly consecrates its stars
in the old continent. He had the
opportunity of being a regular
player in Corinthians and win the
World Cup. He achieved it and
ended winning the heart of all
the Peruvians when he made the
Peru flag flutter after the final.
He made the whole country
recover its pride. It was a real
commotion when the match of
Corinthians against Chelsea
ended.
Do you think he is at the
same level of all the other
Peruvian idols?
Individually, yes. I see him at
the same level of all the great
figures ike Eladio Reyes, Teófilo
Cubillas, Perico León, that was a
real phenomenon, Cholo Sotil
who I consider the greatest
Peruvian footballer of all times.
Perhaps he still has to win what
other Peruvian historical players
have achieved. The best
definition I can make of Paolo is
that in our time he would have
also been very special, with no
problem whatsoever.
To close our interview,
what present footballers
do you like?
At the European level, with
exception of Messi, that is above
them all, I like Wayne Rooney
very much. Perhaps, he is not so
showy, but does everything well.
He is a winner, is not afraid of
collisions, scores goals and
prepares the game. It is perhaps
because he plays with my
number that I fix my eyes on a
player like him.
Fans considered him as a
crack and he proved to be one.
He tells us an anecdote that sill
thrills him.
Three years ago, I went back
to Argentina. We were in a taxi
and the driver listened to us
chatting about football. I think
that he realized who I was and
he asked me: “Are you
Peruvian?” Yes, I replied. “Aren’t
you Percy Rojas…?” Yes, Sir.
Uuuuyyyy… the man was from
Independiente. He stopped the
car and made a call through his
mobile. I don’t know if it was to
his brother or any other relative
of his and said: “You may not
know who I am driving to…?
And he made me talk”.
To be remembered after so
much time, is indeed very
thrilling.
CSF ● 75