TWTD reader Adnamsfarter was wondering what happened to one of the stars of Town’s otherwise dismal 2001/02 relegation campaign, then someone handed him his phone number, so he called him up to find out.
An Argentinian number 10 with one more toe and ten times more of everything else, looks like Jesus and playing in an extra dimension coming on loan from Inter. I was so excited when I got webpage wind of Sixto Peralta’s summer of 2001 arrival that rather than go home after work I went off down to Charlton to watch his debut in a reserve match, and it was football love at first sight. This guy could play.
I followed his progress that last Premiership season and dreamt of the partnership that might blossom between him and Pablo. But panic set in as the season spiralled downwards towards relegation and the atmosphere to develop a younger player just wasn’t there. Pity, whenever he played he lit the place up.
In the dog years that followed administration I have often wondered about what could have been if we had stayed up, and I guess Sixto became an embodiment of my lost dreams for Ipswich. If only we could get him back, perhaps he would ignite a spark in the team and the beautiful football would return.
And then a Romanian doctor gave me Sixto’s phone number. It turns out he speaks decent English and is a charming guy. Here is my very amateur interview.
Are there other footballers in your family or were you the first?
I am the only professional footballer in my family.
How old were you when you made the move to Europe? Did any family or friends come with you or were you left to start on your own in Italy?
I was 21 when I came over. I was alone in Italy but luckily my father, mother and Paula, who was then my girlfriend, were able to come over to visit. Although I was on my own at Inter, it helped me a lot that there were quite a few South Americans in the squad then (Javier Zanetti, Iván Zamorano, Iván Cordoba, Ãlvaro Recoba etc).
Sixto in Cluj colours
Were you ever given a chance to prove how good you were at Inter?
I already knew that I would spend my first year out on loan at Inter, and I did a year at Torino, and a second year playing at Ipswich. I believe my season in England went pretty well and hoped at that moment that I would get a chance at Inter but it was not to be and I never really had an opportunity to show whether I had the quality to play there.
How did you feel when you were offered the chance to come and play at Ipswich? Who persuaded you to come?
The sporting director at Inter, Gabriele Oriali, called me and told me about the possibility of playing in Ipswich. Truthfully, I did not know the club at the time but the chance to play in the Premier League was very exciting and I did not have to think before making my choice. So that was how I came to play for Ipswich. It was one of the happiest seasons of my career apart from the sadness of relegation in the end.
Against Manchester United
Who were the players you enjoyed playing with most here at Ipswich? Are you still in touch with any of them?
I very much enjoyed playing with all the team, and have very happy memories of that year. There were great players like Matt Holland, Finidi George and Jim Magilton. For the first few years I stayed in touch with Pablo Couñago, with Finidi and with Simon Thadani, who was the fitness coach. But later I lost contact with them. It’s a pity because there were some great people in that team.
The fans loved you here, and were sad to see you leave. When we were relegated from the Premier League, did anyone make an offer to keep you at Ipswich? The story I heard was that you left your car in the club car park!
I remember that I had already arranged with the club that, if they stayed in the Premier League, they would sign me from Inter. I was very pleased with this because I was happy in Ipswich.
In European action in Helsingborg
But later the club got relegated and at the end of the season I did not know what my future would be. It’s true that I left my car at the club. I wanted very much to stay in Ipswich but Inter did not want to give me another season on loan and arranged for me to go back to a club in Argentina. Later, my father had to travel to England to look for the car!
It was a great sadness not to come back to Ipswich again. I can remember that I waited until the last minute to see whether anything could be arranged between Inter and Ipswich but it was not to be. I went to play for Racing Club in Argentina where Ossie Ardiles was manager at the time.
What happened next? How did you end up in Mexico and then Romania?
After playing for a year in Racing Club, a club in Mexico, Santos Laguna, signed me from Inter and I had three very good years there. After those three years, I returned to Argentina to play for Racing and then River Plate.
That was when I was signed by Cluj in Romania. My motivation to come here was above all things to play in the Champions League and I recently came back to London play against Chelsea after many years away from England.
I have been here for four years now. We have won several titles and it has been another great experience in my career.
And against his parent club Inter in the San Siro
How is it going at Cluj? What position do you play these days and what is your role in the team?
It’s going very well here at Cluj, we have won two league titles, three Cups of Romania and two Supercups. I have always been a regular in the side in the same position I came to Ipswich to play, as an attacking midfielder.
There are very few players lucky enough to have won seven trophies here and for that reason we are well respected.
Tell us about your family life, did you marry, have children, or are you so disappointed by the quality of the women since you left Ipswich that you have decided to stay single?
I am lucky enough to have a beautiful family, my wife Paula, my four-year-old son Felipe, my two-year-old daughter Lucia, and another one on the way in September 2012.
I have been with Paula for many years, in fact it was in Ipswich that we first started living together. Later we got married and the family came along. I could not wish for greater happiness.
Sixto and family
Ipswich have had some tough times since you left but we now have a good manager and are financially stable. Will we ever see you in an Ipswich shirt again?
I always follow the teams I have played for and read a lot of news about Ipswich.
For many years it has been a great desire of mine to be able to come back one day and play there. It would be one of the few places I would change my current team for.
But it has always been very difficult to come back because I have lost contact with everyone at the club. I have great memories of all that I experienced that year, above all the kindness that the people showed me there. I wish one day that I will have the possibility to come back and play in Portman Road.
The second coming — who knows? I have written to Paul Jewell with his contact details!
Gracias Sixto!
Photos: Action Images, supplied