Is arrascaita the dude that came in for Pedriel? If so, I like that he came in later rather then sooner. Allowed Bolivar to switch gears.
Yeah, that's him, the kid that replaced Pedriel. It is a nice change of pace as he offers a lot going forward but I think the Pedriel experiment has been a dud so far. Cholis need to score and win these next few games. I think Arrascaita gives a better chance of that happening. Hell, bench Rudy, he's terrible.
Pedriel is a poacher. He's not going to create or defend much. It's pretty clear to me he owns that penalty box. Good poacher, but Bolivian teams aren't very friendly to poacher type players. Arrascaita did exactly what you'd want a sub to do. He totally took Leon off guard.
For Pedriel to get in the box Ferreira would have to get out of it, not sure how they expect to use two players that are so similar. Arascaita needs to start, he takes players on and makes things happen, with more playing time he'll get better. Cardozo should sit, he doesn't create any chances, and when he's one pass away from a good play he's not able to make the pass or he shanks it. Quinones just needs to keep his concentration, he got caught off guard on that goal, and really that was his only error, he saved Bolivar time and time again.
Nilo, I think you go too hard on Pedriel. He is a classic CF. He's big, strong, can finish, and is a poacher. He's shown recently though (at least in the league) he can control, assist like he did for Ferreira 2 weeks ago. I think you have a limited scope on what you see because you don't keep up with teh team.
WIth that said though--I am disappointed with the tie. It feels like a loss because we needed that win to hold on to a chance. WIth this gone, It's fair to say Flamengo and Leon will probably be the ones to leave the group. I just hope we're above Emelec. Leon showed their class. Very good on the ball, often times closing down our attacks with men running back and blocking out passes/chances. We were out classed at home...even though we could have won this easily if some chances were converted. Arrascaita looked great. He needs to start a few. Ferriera missed goals again...which is frustrating...but we have to keep him out there. If he does it again, he leaves the game at the 60mark. We are good, but it's oobvious that Leon was just a tad bit better. Flamengo should be interesting..and I hope we pound Emelec into the ground.
Leon might top the group. I was hoping Bolivar wouldn't let Leon take a result on the road. I think it'll be difficult for Fla to get a draw in Bolivia. We need to play better than we have been for that to happen.
If Bolivar keeps playing the way they did last night the other teams in the group are sure to take three at home and one in La Paz, Points that is.
Strongest is not playing well, they have given up some chances that should have been goals. All that being said they got robbed, that was clearly a goal by Alfaro, who by the way hasn't had his best game. I feel a bit more secure with the way Strongest is playing tonight than how Bolivar played last night. The keeper Fernandez has done a hell of a job so far. All Strongest needs to do is tighten a bit in the back and keep the same in the middle, maybe See more of Chuma, and more movement from Alfaro. I'm impressed by this guy Castro, he's calm on the ball and makes good decisions. How did Wayar get the start over Torrico? He's doing okay, and Rios doing well too. Hoping for Strongest to capitalize early on the second half, and keep on scoring.
Strongest knows how to play games at home better than Bolivar. They are playing well. I expect Bolivar to manage games like this at the Hernando Siles. The funny thing about Bolivar (and Strongest) is that they play more up tempo game away from home. what makes me chuckle is that fact that the media claims altitude is the reason why Bolivar and Leon we're on par or why they couldn't finish the game; and their fans believe that.Leon played well. there is TWO teams playing at the same altitude, not ONE. It takes away merits from our clubs who always play hard when playing away from home. If we get a tie in Mexico, which Bolivar is capable of, what will be the reasons then? LOL When Bolivar played a good game in Ecuador, the response was that Emelec played bad which i don't believe. correct me if im wrong but both teams we're missing some key players. Mrnilobraun, youre right. Cardozo needs to be benched at this point. he is played out of his position and is scared to take on players. he hasnt been the same since his injury
Damn it! I'm home watching "hunting channel" w wife when I decided to check this forum out. I could have watched this entire game.
they have a capable middle that hustles and can attack and defend. Castro, Chuma, and the guy that scored, Huachi(sic) .
Holy shish kabob!! What a goal by Wayar, he hit that with class, not even Casillas could have stopped that. I'm happy for Strongest, they completely dominated the second half. That mid is solid, even though I thought the one who was not up to par was Chuma, he just didn't have it tonight. Guys like Castro, Rios and Wayar made a good name for themselves. Strongest is still in the hunt baby!!
Nano, I take it you are a Strongest fan? yeah they played very fluid and calm the 2nd half. good for them
To be honest I get hyped with any Bolivian team in Libertadores. Specially when they dominate the way Strongest did in the second half. I'm a bit harsh on Bolivar sometimes because I believe they can do much better, and they have in the past. Last night I couldn't sleep with the way Bolivar played, tonight I'll sleep like a baby.lol
I'm glad The Stronguest won, they played a good game, but lets not forget it's not the same playing against the Peruvian champ, than playing against the Mexican champ. Huge quality and financial difference.
Champions are champions. It's not a significant difference to me in talent. Maybe in athletism, but that's it when we are comparing a South American side to a Mexican team with strong quality south Americans. I wouldn't think this if we were comparing non champion teams. Trust me, South America has the best talent pool in the world.
thats why Leon best players and the ones that did the most damaged against Bolivar are South Americans, those two colombians on the wings and the argentine and uruguayan strikers. But most south american teams other than the top leagues cannot afford these players. Which is why the Mexican league is right behind Brazil in Argentina. It's all about finances. Im not saying mexican players are better, they just have more money, they're able to retain their best domestic players, and they can pretty much buy good quality south americans. which we cannot do in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, etc... Santos beat Peñarol in the Centenario. Leon tied Bolivar in La Paz. You can't tell me these teams aren't better than Garcilaso losing away 4-1 yesterday, and Universitario going down as well. PS: I'm not trying to take anything away from The Strongest victory, which is quite impresive considering four of their starters were suspended and they played their third keeper. All I'm saying we can compete against Peruvian, Ecudorian, Paraguayan, Venezuelan, etc.. But its a big challenge playing ith top teams from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
Peru has always had good teams. Different from their national team, they do get farther in competition. Also, I know I'm being partial because I am a tigre fan, but they have been playing as a group for a longer time than bolivar had, and have a much better chemistry and are more humble (bolivar players were asking for prices and bonuses before the game, I've heard quiñones is the biggest asshole outside of the field) I was rooting for Bolivar and got really sad and frustrated with the game, I was also really pissed off with the very predictive play (a lot of pelotasos, searching for a forward until Ascarraita came in) Now for my tigre game review. I was really happy with the outcome. The first half was crap, defense was weak, it was Chumacero's worst half in history, no ideas, and we were lucky they didn't score at least 2 goals (of course we had that goal theat they took from us) But the second half... a different story. Escobar was put as a forward and Chumacero played more in the offense. Chumacero and Nelvin can play really well together, a lot of nice touches, Rios did pretty well. Castro is also exelent and Wayar that wasn't even going to start. I don't know what's going on with Alfaro, he was killing it in la liga, but is invisible in both international games. I really like Lopez, not very fast but wins every defensive header, and is really strong as well. Someone asked about Jair Torrico, his performance has been really low in the past year or so. He scored an own goal last game and people are really unhappy with him. Kind of the same with Nelvin, except for yesterday's game, that i think Chumacero is the one that brings those together, and that's why Jair hasn't been doing very much lately. I also think Villegas is doing an awesome job. He is too defensive that's true, but right now is the coach with more titles in the history of Bolivia. Yesterday he put cristaldo in, I don't like Cristaldo very much but he sure can kick, and that's what he did, open more options to score. Sorry, I know that was long....
@dsauna I'm not saying Peruvian teams are bad, I'm just saying Bolivian teams can generally compete against them, becuase they're not to far from our reality. But you can't honestly compare this Universitario that lost four games in a row now (hasn't won a game this year yet) with Leon, who beat Flamengo at home, then went on to win a game on la Liga MX with mostly subs and then came to La Paz that judging the way they play you couldn't tell they weren't at home for most of the game. If you saw both games, as I did you could see that the quality difference between the two visiting teams is huge. I'm not saying Bolivar is any better than The Stronguest, in fact these past few year they both dominated the league and are pretty much at the same level. All I'm saying is that this Universitario that is not doing good in either competition is not a good measuring stick for The Stronguest. Their next game is against Velez in La Paz, thats the real test, let's see how they deal with a quality team like Velez.
Not so fast. Look at Peruvian teams records in the last 10 years alone(you can go even farther than that) and you'll find for the most part they have a hard time even making it past even 1st phase. Their youth systems underachieve and struggle. If anything, their NT during the previous WCQ had a chance for some time to get that repechaje spot (no different than your NT) vs clubs constantly underperforming. Bolivian clubs and NT at this point are pretty much in the same tier IMO - huge underachievers given the raw talent. Both federations need a huge overhaul taht go deeper than futbol. Peru does have more current potential as they have a more open economy that is bringing in a lot more upside which will help in national growth (GDP) - investment, research, education, etc. They also possess a larger pool of talent and population. But net - net, at the moment there is no difference in result club or NT between Peru or Bolivia.