Nevertheless, Peru performed creditably at the South American Championships, placing third in Brazil 1949 and Chile 1955, and missed qualification for the Sweden 1958 World Cup finals, over two legs to eventual champions Brazil. Successes during the late 1960s, including qualification for the Mexico 1970 World Cup finals, ushered in a second golden period for Peruvian football. The formidable forward partnership between Teófilo Cubillas and Hugo Sotil was a key factor in Peru's triumphs during the 1970s. Peru reached the quarter-finals in 1970, losing to the tournament winners Brazil, and earned the first FIFA Fair Play Trophy; historian Richard Henshaw describes Peru as "the surprise of the 1970 competition, showing flair and a high level of skill". Five years later, Peru became South American champions for the second time when it won the 1975 Copa América (the then-rechristened South American Championship). The team next qualified for two consecutive World Cup finals, reaching the second round in Argentina 1978 and the first group stage in Spain 1982. Peru's early elimination in 1982 marked the end of the side's globally-admired "flowing football". Peru, nonetheless, barely missed the Mexico 1986 World Cup finals after placing second in a qualification group to eventual champions Argentina. By the late 1980s, renewed expectations for Peru were centred on a young generation of Alianza Lima players known colloquially as Los Potrillos ("The Colts"). Sociologists Aldo Panfichi and Victor Vich write that Los Potrillos "became the hope of the entire country"—fans expected them to qualify for the Italy 1990 World Cup finals. These hopes were dashed when the national team entered a hiatus after its manager and several of its players died in a plane crash carrying most of Alianza's team and staff in 1987. Peru subsequently only came close to reaching the France 1998 World Cup finals, missing qualification on goal difference, but would go on to win the 1999 Kirin Cup tournament in Japan (sharing the title with Belgium) and reached the semi-finals at the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup (contested as an invitee). Qualification for the FIFA World Cup finals continued being an elusive objective for Peru during the early 21st century. According to historian Charles F. Walker, player indiscipline problems marred Peru's national team and football league. Troubles in the FPF, particularly with its then-president Manuel Burga, deepened the crisis in Peruvian football—FIFA temporarily suspended the country from international competition, in late 2008, because the