SANTIAGO, Chile -- Over half the Peruvian population likely watched their team fall 2-1 to Chile in the Copa America semifinal. Some might have ended the game shaking their heads and muttering about the same old Peru. Others may, even in defeat, have been enthused by the sight of an even older Peru.
Over recent years, they have failed to get close to a World Cup because of a dismal away record -- a problem which would seem to be as much as anything a mental one. And here, in a packed National Stadium, there was another Peruvian attempt to press the self-destruct button.