As usual after the end of each season and before the beginning of the next one, Cusco FC have tried to improve the roster during the transfer window. Given the position of the team at the end of the 2021 season, when they escaped relegation by a very small margin, they succeeded good transfers, and there is justified hope that the team will no longer be involved in the fight to avoid relegation. A come-back to the upper half of the table is expected, under the guidance of the Argentinian manager Marcelo Grioni, who saved the team from relegation in 2021. We will try to take a look at the situation of Cusco FC players and transfers so far.
Renewals
Éder Hermoza - goalkeeper
Carlos Orbe - right back (local player)
José Junhior Velásquez - right back (local player)
Diego Minaya - centre back
Manuel Corrales - left back
Edson Aubert - defensive midfielder
Erick Gonzáles - defensive midfielder
Miguel Aucca - defensive midfielder (local player)
Matías Abisab - Uruguayan playmaker
Alfredo Ramúa - Argentinian-born (naturalized Peruvian) playmaker
Víctor Cedrón - attacking midfielder
Royer Villano - attacking midfielder (local player)
Jairo Uscamayta - right winger (local player)
Diego Espinoza - right winger (on loan from Alianza Lima, not certain)
Miguel Carranza - right winger
Mauricio Montes - forward
James Morales - forward (local player)
Players in
Daniel Ferreyra - Argentinian-born (naturalized Peruvian) goalkeeper, coming back after a 2-year spell with local rivals Cienciano
Carlos Solís - goalkeeper, from Carlos Stein
Roberto Villamarín - right back, from Ayacucho FC
Gerson Iraola - right back, from Unión Huaral
Luis Nicolás Olivera - Uruguayan centre back, from Plaza Colonia (Uruguay)
Hansell Riojas - centre back, from local rivals Cienciano
Horacio Benincasa - Argentinian-born (naturalized Peruvian) defender, coming back after a 2-year spell with Carlos A. Mannucci
Anthony Gordillo - left back, from Universidad de San Martín de Porres
Abdiel Ayarza - Panamanian central midfielder, from local rivals Cienciano
Felipe ”Felucho” Rodríguez - Uruguayan left winger, top goalscorer of the 2021 Peruvian First Division, from Carlos A. Mannucci
José Fajardo - Panamanian forward, from Independiente (Panama), but he last played on loan (in 2021) at Nueve de Octubre (Ecuador)
Janio Pósito - forward, coming back after a one-year spell with Ayacucho FC
Players out
Federico Nicosia - Argentinian goalkeeper, left for Academia Cantolao
Diego Enríquez - goalkeeper, left for UTC Cajamarca
Yorkman Tello - defensive midfielder, left for AD Tarma
José Daniel Rivera - forward, left for Carlos A. Mannucci
Pablo Nicolás Royón - Uruguayan forward, left for Ayacucho FC
Unknown situation
Juan Pretel - goalkeeper
Anier Figueroa - Colombian centre back
Erick Rossi - centre back
Gonzalo Rizzo - Uruguayan centre back
Jair Céspedes - left back
Sandro Rengifo - left winger
Alfredo Carrillo - forward
To sum up, there are about 29 players who have been confirmed so far for the 2022 season of the Peruvian First Division, set to start on the 3rd of February 2022. The first match for Cusco FC will be however on Saturday, 5 February 2022, away at Sporting Cristal. With the 2022 season, teams will be able to play their home matches on their home grounds, and not in Lima, as it happened in 2021 and most of 2020. Cusco FC will play their first home match in the second round, at Túpac Amaru Stadium in Sicuani, against newly-promoted Carlos Stein.
Taking a look at the team and the transfers made so far, one may conclude that quite a lot of players (17) have stayed and renewed their contracts. However, many of them are local players (6), which usually have had few opportunities to play in the first team. The other ones are those who have confirmed during the last season or for longer periods of time, such as iconic Alfredo ”Chapu” Ramúa, who has also obtained the Peruvian citizenship and will no longer be counted among the foreigners. The only foreigner who remained is the Uruguayan playmaker Matías Abisab, who had an impressive 2021 season.
The transfers went well, and the club succeeded to bring in a number of excellent players. The defense was one of the weakest compartments in 2021, so special attention was given to cover most of the defensive positions with better players. Foreign players have been brought to cover most of the essential positions in the team: Luis Nicolás Olivera as centre back, Abdiel Ayarza as central midfielder, Felucho Rodríguez as a winger (and goalscorer), and José Fajardo as central forward. A possible problem with the two Panamanian players (Ayarza and Fajardo) is that they will likely be called up for the Panama national team from time to time, so good replacements need to be available. Overall, the team looks quite good, although some of the players who are in an uncertain situation might still be convinced to stay. One of them is Sandro Rengifo, whose talent was obvious during the 2021 season (and also in the past).
It is however sure that Cusco FC cannot bring any other foreigners, because there are already five of them (not counting the naturalized ones), which is the maximum number admitted in the Peruvian First Division. Hopefully, they will not miss Gonzalo Rizzo, who was one of the good defenders in 2021, and is now certain to leave. One problem that Cusco FC did not solve in the past, and seems to be equally important in 2022, is related to the young players they need to use for a certain amount of time. The club must look carefully for a talented young player to be used constantly in the first team, to cover those minutes as required by the regulations. So far, I cannot see who this player might be, although it would be a nice surprise to discover that the local young players will be given a chance.
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