BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT

In 1985, Ricardo Gareca scored the goal for Argentina that denied Peru a place at the 1986 World Cup. Thirty years later he was appointed coach of the Blanquirroja, tasked with ending the country's World Cup drought that dated back to 1982. He quickly went about turning South America's perennial underachievers into a formidable unit. Gareca steered Peru to third place at the 2017 Copa America and the quarterfinals of the same tournament in 2016.

However those achievements paled into insignificance compared to the events of the past 12 months. Having won just one of their first six World Cup qualifiers in South America's CONMEBOL group, Peru went on a roll - going unbeaten in their last six matches - to secure an intercontinental playoff berth against New Zealand. A goalless draw against the All-Whites in Wellington was followed by a 2-0 victory in Lima five days later as Peru's World Cup drought ended and Gareca completed his transformation from villain to national treasure.

BEST TEAM

Brazil's Gremio earned the mantle of continental champions when they defeated Argentine side Lanus 3-1 on aggregate in the Copa Libertadores final. It was the Porto Alegre club's third triumph in South America's premier club competition following their titles in 1983 and 1995. The result earned the team a place in the FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, where they lost the final to Real Madrid 1-0 earlier this month.

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