FRANCIA 0 - PERÚ 1 (Amistoso) 1982 - Parque de los Príncipes - PARÍS

The Peruvian national team was preparing for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, and Tim's team faced the French team at the Parc des Princes on April 28, 1982. For this match, the "Les Bleus" arrived after playing two friendly matches that ended in victories: 2-0 against Italy on February 23 and 4-0 against Northern Ireland on March 24. They also competed for the World Cup in Spain that year. Peru lined up with Ramón Quiroga in goal. The defense consisted of Jaime Duarte, Toribio Díaz, Jorge Olaechea, and Miguel Gutiérrez. The midfielders were José Velásquez, César Cueto, and Julio César Uribe. The forwards were Juan Carlos Oblitas, Germán Leguía, and Guillermo La Rosa. A truly great team. Just minutes into the match, La Rosa combined with Oblitas, who scored a stunning goal with a left-footed shot at the near post, but the referee later ruled it out for an alleged offside position. The French looked to respond and pushed their lines forward to demonstrate their proficiency. However, they faced a solid team, and when they had chances to score, some clever tricks from "Loco" Quiroga appeared to calm the waters. (For example: when he grabbed the ball with his hands outside the box to prevent a Frenchman from finishing alone in the 9th minute.) Then, through Germán Leguía, Julio César Uribe, and Oblitas himself, each attempted shots, but without the luck to convert them into goals. Nevertheless, Cueto managed to showcase and display a repertoire of luxurious skills with the ball, which in itself captivated even the French commentators. Although refined technique was part of the Peruvian team's gene pool. “All the players were technically exquisite, all of them,” said “El Patrón” Velásquez in an interview years later. The second half was almost the same. However, desperation took hold of the home team, who, as the minutes ticked by, found it almost impossible to overcome the “red and white” goal. Platini tried again and again, without that little bit of luck to score the goal. Tim, the “bicolor” coach, brought on Eduardo Malásquez in place of Leguía around the 60th minute, in a way, to give him greater possession and creativity with the ball. And that's how the long-awaited goal came with 10 minutes left in the match. MOMENT OF PERU'S GOAL Uribe recovered a ball in his own half and played it to Malásquez. He did the same to Cueto, who passed it to “El Diamante” with a backheel. The skillful midfielder hooked his marker, touched Eduardo, who immediately connected with the "Poet." César changed direction and delivered a surgical pass to "Ciego," who ran at speed to beat Manuel Amoros and blast a left-footed shot into the French net, which, in collusion with goalkeeper Baratelli, found its way into the French goal. A true work of art. From then on, the Peruvians felt in control of the match and delivered various opportunities to the delight of the crowd who turned out to see an emerging Platini, but ultimately fell in love with the football of that "Inca" team. The national press was surprised, but more than satisfied with the performance in Paris. "Oblitas' goal brought France to its knees" was the headline in the newspaper "Ojo." While "La Crónica" wrote, "The French seemed powerless against the Peruvians' liveliness."