Cienciano has significantly reinforced with the sole objective of returning to the First Division. Executive Edy Cuéllar Margholl explains to As Peru how 'The Papa of America' wants to regain the honor of being the first and only Peruvian team to have won official international tournaments of FIFA and CONMEBOL.
Cienciano is one of the top favorites for promotion to the First Division. A pressure for the club?
Of course! And we take it as such. We have prepared ourselves to achieve promotion, our team is built like a First Division team.
In that sense, the club has made a great financial effort to strengthen itself. Which players are creating more excitement in this preseason?
Coach Checho promotes free competition among all players in the squad, they are all exciting the fans, there is no standout player. Our purpose is to play as a team.
And now the classic against Garcilaso is coming up. A celebration for Cusco, although Cienciano is by far the most popular club in the region...
Out of every 10 people from Cusco, eight are Cienciano fans. We have this love for the club since birth. Cienciano is the team of my parents, my grandparents, my great-grandparents, it is part of our cultural heritage, it is like our Machu Picchu.
The "Cusco Football Classic" is coming up, as it has been since 1956 when the first classic was played, and it is the one that always fills the Garcilaso. It is a highly anticipated match for the fans, although most of the classics have been won by 'The Papa'!
And speaking of the heritage that Cienciano represents not only for Cusco but for the "football universe", tell us what happened with the alleged interference of Sport Boys to control the club.
There was an attempt to take over the club by a group favored by the Players' Union, what caught my attention is why they appeared just when this administration brought Cienciano out of the economic bankruptcy it was in, they managed to overcome the worst crisis in its history, but they were missing during its worst moment, and moreover, the group that tried to take Cienciano, according to reports from risk rating agencies, was in deficit, their intention was different, in the end reason prevailed. This administration is transparent and open, a proof of that is that it allows me to be part of the board.
ADFP-SD
What is the current state of the club's debts? Is the club already amortizing?
Most of the current debt has already been paid and what remains of it, we hope to pay it this year. It corresponds to the insolvency process, the patrimonial restructuring plan has already been approved, and creditors will be paid over 15 years.
Tell us about the improvements that are being made at the Inca Garcilaso Stadium.
The regional president of Cusco, engineer Edwin Licona Licona, took remodeling the Garcilaso Stadium seriously, made many improvements, and it is already being completed. Among them, the stadium lighting allows us to play at night, new top-level dressing rooms have been built, hygienic services, press booths, press and conference rooms, a perimeter fence, among many improvements. Cusco is a tourist city and with the stadium finished, similar to the national stadium in Lima, it is in the pool of being one of the venues for the next FIFA U-17 World Cup to be held in Peru. The pitch grass is in perfect condition, it looks like a billiards table.
Cienciano rests on the first matchday of the Second Division. Good or bad? And what do you think of the new format of the Second Division, with more options for promotion? Also to combat match fixing...
It is convenient for Cienciano to rest on the first matchday, we will be able to observe our first opponent and start on the right foot, we also start playing at home. This system is more competitive, it also helps in the economy, and in the final stage, it is impossible to fix matches since both teams have options and the matches are played home and away.
Now the tournament will allow up to three teams from the Second Division. But we are aiming for direct promotion, we are not thinking about the quadrangular.