I turn on the TV and watch the opening of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, and to be honest, I see it with a lot of nostalgia or mixed feelings since I had gotten my hopes up, personally, about being able to be in a World Cup for the first time in my life. It must be the feeling of many Peruvians who at this point saw Peru in a second consecutive World Cup, after being absent from the biggest soccer event for 36 years.
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My generation of football players, and many others, couldn't make it to a World Cup, but coach Ricardo Gareca took us to a World Cup, which made the whole country enjoy and celebrate Russia 2018 just like the Peruvian national team did in the years of Argentina 78 and Spain 82. That achievement was rightly applauded by everyone. Qatar 2022 was going to be our second consecutive happiness for many of my generation, and I, like many others, saw myself in these moments in Doha supporting my team in what was going to be my first World Cup in my new role with my show "La Fe de Cuto".
Until now, I still don't have an explanation for what happened that day of the playoff match against Australia. I can't believe it, and I still don't understand how we could have wasted such a real chance to qualify for a second consecutive World Cup. There's a lot of talk, a lot of speculation, but the real and concrete thing is that we didn't qualify, and maybe EVERYONE was already thinking about qualifying without having played the match. In football, nothing is certain until you win the game on the field.
CUTO REMEMBERS HIS TIME IN QATAR
Being in Doha for the playoff in June brings back memories like being in the desert and riding camels, getting to know some of their culture, experiencing firsthand that intense heat as well as suffering from that intense wind with sand that is capable of penetrating your eyes, nose, or mouth.
Just like in the movies, that's the environment you experience with that particular climate. Seeing the flag parade again where all the flags of the countries qualified for the World Cup are displayed, and the countdown clock marking the exact time for the start of the World Cup brings back nice memories.
How could I forget the Turkish ice cream vendor who made my afternoon with his tricks while serving dessert. My eyes well up, and I can only keep watching the World Cup on TV. See you next Monday.
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