About José Néstor Pékerman's plans
Despite not qualifying for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Venezuelan national team coach José Néstor Pékerman has started planning his project for the 2026 World Cup. The Argentine coach is looking to replicate the success he had with Colombia and has already started making decisions. In his latest call-up for the upcoming FIFA international dates, he decided to summon players with dual nationality.
Ernesto Torregrossa gets called up
One of these players, according to journalist Carlos Tarache, is Ernesto Torregrossa, current player of Pisa in the Serie B, who recently advanced to the final of the Italian promotion play-offs. The 29-year-old forward, after this news came out, was compared by many Venezuelan fans to the case of Gianluca Lapadula in the Peruvian national team.
"He is not a star, but we have been playing long balls for a long time and I don't think Chancellor can beat him in the Vinotinto. Just look at Lapadula in Peru," the tweet reads regarding the Italo-Venezuelan player.
More examples of success with dual nationality players
In addition to Lapadula, Venezuelans also remembered Brereton in Chile and Senesi in Argentina. "We have talent, there are good players. But maybe the coach sees things that we don't. Argentina recently did it with Senesi, Peru hit the mark with Lapadula, Chile with Brereton," says Raúl Díaz.
Possible successes with Torregrossa and Marqués
Torregrossa wasn't the only player called up by Pékerman. Alejandro Marqués, who has Spanish nationality, was also summoned. Some fans are placing their hopes in these two players and hope that the same thing happens as with 'Lapagol'. "Hopefully we have a similar case to Lapadula's with them," says Luis Marín.
Comparisons with Salomón Rondón
Regarding the comparisons with Salomón Rondón, they highlighted "That also happened with Lapadula, he hadn't had the trajectory of his teammates (Paolo Guerrero, Luis Advíncula, etc.) and ended up being decisive for Peru."
Venezuela's friendly matches
The Vinotinto will play two friendly matches against Malta and Saudi Arabia on June 1 and 9. This was confirmed by the president of the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF), Jorge Giménez, who also...