This article is about the national football team of Peru throughout its whole history. Recent events have set the team down, but that does not mean that throughout its history Peru has not had a regularly great squad. I stated that the statement was "a tad" POV as in the lead it sounded like Peru was currently one of the best squads in South America, which is exactly the same thing that the reviewer of the article had previously stated. By analyzing the statement, you would find: The Peruvian teams are often said to play with much technique and elegance, making them one of the finest exponents of South American football. are often said to play does not equal "Currently play." Peruvian football history demonstrates (along with all of the references to it included in this article) that Peruvian teams generally play with "much technique and elegance, making them one of the finest exponents of South American football." one of the finest exponents of does not equal "is the finest" or "is the number one;" the statement merely includes Peru along the others.  
For the sake of ending the argument, you specifically state how "just the last year they have struggled," which basically identifies that you're using recent events as a way to judge a historical statement.