The thousands of spectators at the Beira – Rio de Porto Alegre stadium in Brazil and the spectators watched in amazement as FBC goalkeeper Melgar played Carlos Caceda He saved three international penalties to give the Peruvian side a chance to advance to the Copa Sudamericana semi-finals.
Shortly after celebrating the placement, Cáceda offered an interview to Brazil’s Al Angle sports program and revealed how he stopped the penalties. “After lunch we saw almost an hour of penalties from the rivals. I kind of knew where they were going to step,” he said.
The Melgar goalkeeper pointed out that it’s always good to study and be prepared for anything. “We knew they were going to attack us, we were prepared for a great game. The team had a lot of trust. Penalties are a combination of luck and preparation,” he continued.
He also said that in order not to commit fouls on penalties, he focused on keeping his foot on the goal line so his saves wouldn’t be annulled.
Another time, he stated that he felt a condition in one of his knees during the game. “My knee hurt a lot but I wanted to continue because I had a lot of confidence in qualifying.”
Despite the game’s adrenaline rush, Cáceda stressed that the meeting with Internacional was among the best games he had played.
With striking sobriety, however, he hinted that the group was advancing game by game, “always aiming far, toward the sun,” a phrase echoed by Melgar’s former technical director at the time Nestor Laurentius.
Although he claimed that there are no numbers in Melgar because everyone contributes their grain of sand when asked Kenji Cabrera, who scored the first penalty for the Mistians, emphasised: “He has a lot of personality. He asked for the ball and is very confident. He has a great future ahead of him.”
Carlos Cáceda knows that this win is historic and important, but he doesn’t lose sight of and is preparing for the games that are coming to Melgar not only in South American but also in League 1. “I’m very happy but it will pass and we have to think about our game in League 1,” he said of the clash that awaits them against Cantolao.