I was more let down by Davinson today than Oscar. check out FutMob for the defensive stats between the two of them. nevertheless, neither played to their full capability. At one point in today's game, i want to say there was a stat that Lerma was covering the most distance for Colombia. don't know what the final stat was. i really wonder how much Pekerman will change the team around next game. especially with Roca out of the picture and James more necessary. 4-2-2-2 please? with a side of Muriel and Borja off the bench, no Bacca please....
Choosing the CB pair is a tough one. I think I will be somewhat satisfied with any combination. I think Pekerman will stick with his Barrios-Lerma duo.
I really have too much to add. Really disappointed. All the reasons have been said here, yet after the equaliser I was positive that we will at least fight. Instead we received one of the worst games of Colombia, who was pressed by a medicore Japanese team. With all due respect, we were too panic because of them in the second half and I really don't know why. Many players disappointed me today, above all of course La Roca and Davinson. I even not sure that it was a goal if Sanchez wouldn't block it and even if it was so fu*k it. we can turn things around with 11 players. Davinson was very shakey I couldn't believe. And to think that I was afraid that Pekerman will go with Cristian Zapata. Davinson was the only player that I had 100% confidece in him. All the left side didn't contribute. Mojica tried but really wasn't good ebough to the WC and so is Izquierdo. I wanted to see Muriel, where the hell Bacca came from. Lerma also was very poor, didn't contribute defensively or offensively, Uribe would be much more suitable for this match. With Cuadrado actually I agreed with Pekerman because once again his decisions were wrong. He tried but was lack in the last play always. That's it. Vs. Poland it's gonna be WWIII and I'll be in the stadium. This game kinda makes me fly with sadness, I thought vs. Poland I will come to celebrate the qualification. But we have to stick behind them even when we lose and I hope that after Poland we will still have a chance vs. Senegal, which will be super tough as we saw today.
I don't get why. Uribe is available, no? Not that Lerma and Barrios were bad today. Considering the situation, they were fine. The thing is, we NEED a guy in the middle who can look up, pause the ball, and make a nice pass. As for the CBs, the two we saw today give me no confidence, and never really have. Mina is a game changer. I don't give a damn what form he's in, we need him in the next 2 matches. If Zapata is hurt, he's hurt. But I'll say this: I can't remember a single bad game Zapata has ever played, not in lowly friendlies, not in knock out rounds of major tournaments. He's a leader that our defense really could have used today. Davinson might be fine against Poland. Against Senegal's pacey wingers...no thanks
Agree. Zapata-Mina vs. Poland. It;s not that Davinson sucks all of a sudden but I'm sure he lost tons of confidence and this is our last chance. We cannot screw it.
I don't know if Mina is any better (or worse). He made mistakes in the friendlies, his form isn't the same. I agree about Zapata, he is always good. But his form is a massive question mark. There is no safe bet between the defenders. Murillo was ok today, maybe he should start again? I really can't think of any good arguments why choose one defender over the other. Maybe Davinson will improve? As for Uribe, I'd like to see him him next to Barrios. But Pekerman wants to play defensive. Or maybe Uribe-Barrios would mean that James wouldn't be liberated of defensive duties as Uribe is really an attacking player. Abel is the only one who can set the tempo and also defend. The rest are just compromises and Pekerman never compromises his defence.
Pekerman ********ed up with his squad selection bringing Zapata and Abel if they aren't fit? Playing Murillo was just dumb, he has blackballed Jeison for whatever reason but playing Murillo is not the answer, also 100% Falcao had to be subbed off from 55 on, we didn't have a lot of the ball and when we were going to get it we needed to try and play a two man game and because we are short we would have needed a player who can dribble and make for that difference by beating players, we needed fresh legs and since we didn't have the ball we needed someone who could help a tired midfield. Muriel was 150% the right choice for Falcao, Falcao gave everything but he was useless when he was tired and the way the game was going and Pekerman for emotional reasons left him in. On top of that he brought in Bacca, who isn't good defending from the front and who can't dribble and who can't play well with Falcao. We do need a new coach, because at this point Pekerman has to much fondness for certain players and he doesn't have the ruthlessness to see what needs to be done or to drop them, he does with Cuadrado in terms of subbing him but he has had a ton of evidence to go one step further and not start him, he constantly is screwing up the flow of the game and we have been inconsistent and unable to get the ball moving and find space for our attackers for 4 years.
De nada vale mirar hacia atrás y buscar culpables. Un partído atípico y ya está.. Hay que ganar los dos partidos. En el primer tiempo Colombia demosotros ser mejor que japon teniendo un juagdor menos.
There are no better options than Zapata and Abel. Maybe the word ”fit” should be defined. They have not had minutes lately and have been injured, but now they should be ok I guess. I agree with the rest of your post. Pekerman wants to please some players and there is a price the team pays for that.
We have sucked since the Uruguay game 4 years ago..... This issue is Pekerman but I get it. All of you who defend him. You are all beaten and abused wives. Who suffered for 20 years of Maturana and Bolillos.. But we have more then 3 options at coach. We should have dropped him during qualifiers. Or after Rueda won the Copa Lib and Paraguay wanted to give him the coaching job
This is what bothers me. We've only gotten 1 big result in 7 years playing defensively: Brazil in Copa America. And if that game was extended another ten minutes or so, the flood gates most definitely would've opened. Let's face the facts. We've not had a great last 4 years, and while a lot of that can be credited to poor player form, injuries. generational changes, questionable decisions from Pekerman...the biggest problem has been sloppiness. Colombia plays sloppy as heck recently and most of it occurs in the defensive. I'm thinking of Barrios' fouls that resulted in our losses against brazil and Argentina. Davinson and Balanta getting destroyed in that same match. Murillo's awful play to give up the 2nd goal against Uruguay. Plenty of errors by Jeison. Today's horrific job by Dao and Roca. In high pressure games we're always playing defensively, and it's always somebody on the defense who lets us down. We're not thorough enough to keep playing this style. PUT IN URIBE AGAINST POLAND. Edit: Can't believe I forgot how we gave up 2 goals after minute 80 against Paraguay. Yukkk
The team has played very tight and to not lose rather then going out and playing lose and with the swagger that we sat in the 2014 cycle. Not sure what it is, maybe now the expectations are higher but its the coaches job to figure out ways to make it tick. Honestly this could be good for us in this world cup, if we continued on without making changes we were not going to do anything, maybe we'd make it out of the round and we can play defensive and counter attack but we don't deserve and most likely won't go far playing every game scared and not playing good soccer even vs the weaker teams that we should be taking it to them. We need two wins, and we need to attack and score goals trying to give us every chance to go through, we need to give it a go and Barrios imo will help our midfield ball movement, play ********ing Uribe beside him (although Lerma did really well today but Uribe offers us more going forward while still being strong defensively) play Quintero and James and play Falcao with a partner not named Bacca. Drop Cuadrado, everything that hasn't been working accept it and give other guys a chance, forget the hero's of the past. Honestly I think Osorio if he can not go nuts tinkering would be good for this team, he said to Mexico go out and play to win and don't fear losing, this team needs that, and this team needs a coach who drop players who aren't performing or don't fit the system. Also he should have had his starting CB pairing playing in the last few friendlies, he started Mina and DAvison and they were good together, you need people working together in games, don't start your least talented CB and one who didn't get time in the friendly playing along side his partner.
good observations all around. my biggest fear is how many changes to the lineup Pekerman will do against Poland. I would imagine James needs to sit in a cryogenic chamber next 48 hours to make sure he's fit. 1. Ospina - will definitely start against Poland 2. Arias - will definitely start against Poland 3. Murillo/Davinson - i can't see this duo starting again. i'm scared that Lewa will pick these two apart - they were quite sloppy today. Both of these guys were extremely disappointing and had a terrible day and i would never have thought that Davinson would have been the worse of the two. Oscar had 2nd most touches at 59 with 35/43 pass success (81%). I see a scenario with Mina/Oscar next game. 4. Mojica - if we keep Oscar/Davinson, maybe we will go with Farid, but i can't see two defender changes. had the most touches today with 85 and 39/50 pass success (78%). if i had to bet, i would think he starts next game. 5. Lerma - likely to start again. wasn't terrible. had 55 touches 41/47 pass success (87%) 6. Uribe - if he doesn't start next game, then the past 5 friendlies were a waste. 7. Cuadrado - as harsh as we have been about him, i think he still starts against poland. 8. James - i think he'll start over Quintero. give him potassium (bananas) or something for his calf injury. 9. Muriel - i'm still hoping that Muriel gets his big break and starts instead of Izzy who had 35 touches with 70% pass rate (17/24). i can also live with a scenario that Borja starts too and we revert to a 4-2-2-2 10. Falcao - will start against Poland
Bueno, crzd volvió a lo de siempre así que asumo que ya estamos aterrizados con eso de ganarle a Alemania, brasil y demás...El partido se pierde desde el minuto mismo de la expulsión, la cual se me antoja tonta teniendo en cuenta que sí se hacia el gol en la jugada, Colombia 11 contra 11, tenía mas chances de remontar que los japoneses de ganar, pero bueno, el fútbol es así. Quedan aún dos partidos y muchos errores de los que aprender en muy poco tiempo, quedó demostrado que ni Polonia o Colombia son los favoritos del grupo. Aún se puede
Si entraron nerviosos al partido de hoy, el partido del domingo me imagino que estaran mas nerviosos aun..veremos el trabajo mental del equipo.
Hey Everyone, First time poster but actually a long time reader of yours. I meant to sign up a year ago or so but whatever lol. It's hard to build a rep for my view on our team so I'll try not to come off as too rantish for my first post here. Lineup reaction: Like some, I wasn't exactly thrilled seeing Murillo and Davinson. I thought having Davinson with a vet like Zapata would've been the best case for a starters match. We need vets and experience as much as possible in the backfield. Davinson is still growing so that comes with some hits of SMH. But I sensing Zapata may not have been fully fit so I understand. In game: We went down a man. Harsh red but I understand the principle behind it. FULL Disclaimer: I DO NOT like Falcao post injury. I do HATE him as a lone striker. We don't win, we have zero impact in the striker field with him solo. It's not a coincidence we looked formidable with Duvan out there(bad snub) with him. Second, I DO NOT LIKE BACCA. lol I'm sorry, but he lost me 3 years ago and, for my eyes, has done ish to remain a player for the national team. He offers no speed, no energy, no IQ, no killer instinct. The guy sat for 70 mins or so yet in that final 20, he looked like he played over 90 mins. Our guys gave way, didn't answer to the pressure of being in Russia. Not against Japan cause they really didn't do anything to cause such a strangle. It was no confidence and panic attacks left and right. Pekerman had 4 years to prepare this team, better this team, improve tactics and advance the winning culture that they themselves set before. I've been critical(not here) of his call ups, question why X, Y or Z weren't seeing playing time where A, B, C players are clearly not the answers. I had opinions of what kept this team from going further, our deficiencies internally etc.... but I held hope that we would show something more. Those ugly faces returned again and I'm not having it. GTG, but would love to chat Colombian soccer with you all. (anyone know a good board for soccer? I'm looking also for Uruguayan discussions(I am Half n Half)).
Good write up and observations. I’m with you on Bacca - I got blasted awhile back for being critical of him but he simply does not show up in 11 vs 11 games let alone 11 vs 10. I do hope we go back to a 4222 especially without Cardona. If anything using Muriel would give us a 4231 / 4222 blend. Using Borja with falcao could be worthwhile too. Unfortunately pekerman never played Borja and falcao at the same time. The injuries of cZ, Abel, fabra and Duvan have been frustrating, especially considering how some were kept on / kept off the final roster.
just finished watching this disaster of a match, honestly what a mess, everything about it was horrible. tough to really analyze anything when we were down a man the whole game all because of a mistake from Oscar Murillo (I think). Only reason I can think of why he started is because of Zapata's injury, same reason why James was benched. those 2 CB's were horrendous, Davinson lost most of his aerial balls, Oscar was terrible. I don't know what to say. I didn't bother watching the other 2 WC games, I just don't care right now. Now we are obligated to win the next two games, which could be even harder. This was really disappointing, I have no words. No one was good except for maybe Barrios. I didn't really like anyone
What was Sanchez thinking? Stopping a goal with your hand in the first 5 minutes, of the first group stage game is just really dumb. If you do it in the last stoppage time in a semi-final I can understand but this was just so dumb. Suarez in 2010 did it under the right circumstances, that's when you do it. I was quite wrong in my prediction as well, you guys did not get into a your groove at all! Good luck, there is still very much exists a path to the round of 16 for Colombia. Sanchez botched the whole match for you guys there's not really any point of dwelling on this game, unless you like hurting yourselves.
it was just mistake after mistake especially in the backline, I feel like Lerma didn't even play honestly. I didn't notice him. Davinson played like he was on cloud 9 at times, it was bizarre. He was so slow completely out of it, poor positioning, poor aerial ability. A better team would have put more goals past us. The header Japan scored was a disaster, there were 3-4 players surrounding him and they all lost. that backline was so bad, I think im going to see those plays in my dreams tonight. Im going to need time to get past this game.
What an odd line up. You’d thiink Pekerman would’ve learned to not play Falcao as the lone striker by now with so much trial and error. If Atlético Falcao never worked why would this Aged Falcao work? Just a very strange line up by Pekerman.