Héctor Cúper changed the plan in the last hours of training and brought Edison Flores and Jorge Abdiel Gutiérrez into Universitario de Deportes' concentration for Universitario Vs Chankas CYC. The two players were already with the rest of the delegation when the squad settled in for the match.
The move matters because it comes just as Universitario de Deportes was preparing to face Los Chankas in the Estadio Monumental de Ate, in the sixth round of the Peruvian championship. For a team with irregular results, the return of two names back into the group changes the options available to the Argentine coach at a moment when the club still has a chance to fight for the second title of the year.
During the previous days, the identities of the surprise returns had stayed under wraps, and that uncertainty fed the attention around the squad. Gustavo Peralta later reported that the new convocations were Flores and Gutiérrez, confirming that the coach had made the switch late, after keeping the decision hidden through most of the build-up. One of them had been left out for several dates despite his important name, which only sharpened the sense that Cúper was willing to alter his selection even after mixed results.
That choice also fits the pressure around Universitario in the Torneo Clausura, where a victory over Los Chankas has become necessary to stay in the fight near the top places and in the accumulated table. What remains unclear is how far the return of Flores and Gutiérrez will go on the field: their inclusion in concentration is confirmed, but their exact role in the match still is not.
