Felipe Chávez is in a very formative period for his career. He took a big leap of faith in signing a new contract at Bayern Munich, which saw him rewarded with making his debut for his country Peru in October and his debut for the club in January. Furthermore, he then made the jump to Bundesliga side 1. FC Köln on loan that same month. But he has not made it to the big time yet.
The prodigious Peruvian playmaker has made just 3 appearances, all off the bench, for the newly promoted Bundesliga side
since he has arrived. Instead, Der Effzeh head coach Lukas Kwasniok has decided to focus on experience as they battle against relegation, just 1 points clear of the relegation playoff spot at the time of writing.
With that in mind, Chávez has turned down another call up to Peru’s senior side to remain in Köln: “Although it is a great honor and appreciation of my athletic performance, I have consciously decided against the matches with the Peruvian national team,” Chávez explained, as captured by @iMiaSanMia_GER.
“My focus is clearly on supporting my club and the team as best as possible during a challenging phase of the season. Therefore, I will use the international break to continue offering my services & to support 1. FC Köln in the mission of staying in the league as much as I can,” Chávez continued, again captured by @iMiaSanMia_GER.
Of course, the last time he played for Peru he suffered an injury that kept him out for over an entire month. Who knows if that played a role in his thinking. But perhaps he is just that dedicated to keeping Köln up.
This does also mean that Chávez will remain on the single Peru cap and that the option of representing Germany remains open. The chances of seeing the former Augsburg youth player line up for Germany do still seem very slim, but as long as Peru do not tie him down it remains possible.
