August 31, 1969 is recalled by Peruvian football fans as the day Peru's soccer team made history worldwide by disqualifying Argentina from 1970 FIFA World Cup Mexico.
While it has been 48 years since such historic event, the context in which both teams faced each other was similar to the
current scenario.
Back then, the red-white squad had been experiencing a long drought of titles. The last national team's triumph was at the 1939 Copa America, or South American Championship.
Even though there was no Internet and television had just come up, supporters followed the match on the radio and through newspapers.
During the game, Rubiños, Roberto Chale, Hector Chumpitaz, Julio Baylon and Teofilo Cubillas stood out for their great performance in the field.
However, the match star was Oswaldo "Chachito" Ramirez, who managed to even the score (2-2) by sliding the ball into the opposing team's net twice.
It must be noted, the Argentine squad was bound to win such game as they had lost to Bolivia (3-1) and Peru itself (1-0).
Following the final whistle, all newspapers headlines read "Peru qualified for the World Cup." The euphoria focused on "Cachito," Brazilian coach Didi and the rest of the squad, who were deemed as 'heroes' by the Peruvians.
(END) JSO/JAA/RMB
Published: 10/5/2017