Tokyo, October 25, 2007: Only two teams have ever won the South American women’s championship: Brazil and…?
The answer is Peru, whose 12 titles in the continental championship is only three behind Brazil’s mark of 15 in the 27 editions of the event.
But while the history books show there is little to separate the two teams in terms of South American championship victories, the recent record shows that the Brazilians have romped ahead of their regional rivals.
Brazil, in fact, have won the past seven of the biennial events dating back to 1995, making Peru’s last success a distant memory of 1993 - 14 years ago.
So the 2007 South American Championship runners-up will come to Japan for the World Cup with little, if any, hope of winning a place on the podium; they will be content to improve their game, test themselves against the best of the rest, and prepare their challenge for Olympic qualification further down the road.
The final of the latest South American women’s championship, last month in Chile, told its own story of the gap that has developed between the two regional powers, as Brazil won 25-20, 25-17, 25-15 in just 61 minutes.
Still, the Peruvians could take solace in the silver medals, World Cup qualification and a couple of individual awards for libero Vanessa Palacios (best defender) and for Yulissa Zamudio (best blocker).
Both these players were among the Peru 12 at the 2006 FIVB World Championship in Japan, where the Peruvians won only one game and went home after the first round. After beating Egypt 3-0 in their opening match, Peru lost their next four - but took Serbia-Montenegro, Turkey and Cuba to five sets.
Brazil-born Enio de Figueiredo became head coach of Peru’s women’s team in May this year and took them to the Pan American Cup in Mexico, the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro and the South American Championship in Chile.
The days of crack Japanese coach Akira Kato and star players such as Gaby Perez del Solar, Lucha Fuentes and Volleyball Hall of Famer Cecilia Tait (known as “La Zurda del Oro”, or the Golden Lefty) are long gone from the courts of Peru, and the current team will be looking to create its own legends at the World Cup and beyond.

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