I want us to find our starting 11 Defense for me is up in the air other then Mina. Zapata with playing time seems like they are the two CBS but the rest. LB is def up in the air and sure no one believes in Arias like they did Zuniga We are stuck with Sanchez for better or worse so we need a better faster version of Abel Aguilar. Attack up seems set just what formation. 2 attackers or 1
i think we are getting close to finding a rotation that works. it's all about finding a solid core of 14 and other reserves who are ready to start at any given time. that's what made Italy, Spain and Germany so successful in their 2006-10-14 World Cup runs.... ***GK - Ospina is the man; would be nice to find a reliable backup before Russia (peace of mind) ***CB - Mina/Zapata is the popular duo; "Murillo Brothers" are perfectly capable of starting at any time and have also proven themselves; Davinson will eventually be a viable option too ***LB - Farid seems to be the go-to guy; Fabra is well-liked by Boca fans (at least the few that i know); but i agree this position is up for grabs ***RB - agree with you about Arias, but he's been solid - the kind of player that will probably always play 7/10; nothing great, but nothing terrible ***DM - i feel you are too harsh on Sanchez, he's been THE guy since 2010 WCQs; i really hope he's going to be a 100 cap guy for us when it's all said and done; i like the fact he is playing CB at Fiorentina. i think that will help him evolve his style of play and make him more versatile... as for Abel - good point; we do need a viable midfield partner for Sanchez and it's been a revolving door (EdwinV, SebP, Barrios, Celis, and DaniT, Uribe, etc.) Abel's presence is critical, but can he physically be able to play 3 group games in 10 days followed by knockout games by the time we get to Russia next summer? It's amazing how his absence in the CA2015 and 2016 and in several qualifiers really showed how disorganized the midfield has been; even against Brazil in 2014 WC the team looked totally different - we gave Brazil too much respect and space... ***AM - I feel like the group of James-Muriel-Cuadrado-Cardona is really going to click and we'll see one of those 4-0 / 5-0 games - hopefully in Russia during a knockout round game =) i don't know where MacTorres fits in this equation and i'm nervous about players like Marlos who have not developed at the club level much since leaving Colombia ***ST - we have not played with an in-form Falcao since 2013 so it will be really interesting to see how that will shake out when we get to see Falcao consistently go 80+ minutes for us without the concerns that many have had since 2014; Bacca has been inconsistent; Duvan/Borja need more appearances to really earn a place; are Teo or Roger Martinez viable options?
I would love Cardona in Europe where they will make him more of a box to box player but he is just way too hot headed. Really sucks that Barrios, Perez, Cuellar and Celis all went to where they don't play. But does Abel even play for Dep Cali? For me I don't like Sanchez or Abel. I hate how almost of you make Abel seem like a James type player. To me he should have been replaced long time ago but coaching won't allow it. Abel makes up for a ton of Sanchez problems mainly he can't pass for shit and craps his pants when he gets the ball. Is Sanchez our Main problem to me he is because he kills play. Rather have a slightly weaker team defensively if it gives us more attacking options. Problem is when We had Armero, Yepes and Zuniga all where way better defenders then we currently have + 1 trillion times better offensively then what we currently have. Them being that made Sanchez our unofficial 3rd Cb passing/offensive shittiness less of an issue. + the team was 4 years younger. Perfect world for me we find a top LB or we toy with 3 in the back with Arias as a MF. But we can't go to the World Cup with Sanchez-Abel starting. Next year is the WC wonder if we will see some of our guys not getting much play time come back to Colombia. Armero and Zuniga joining Nacional would be cool.
1. Cardona in Europe would be interesting...i'm always nervous when a player changes teams the year going into a world cup unless that team is really investing in him... 2. Zuniga / Armero - i would love to see them back in the mix too. they both need to get their club careers back on track which hasn't happeend for quite some time. even changing teams has not helped that cause....makes you wonder what really is going on with them? 3. What alternatives would you suggest for Abel/Sanchez? by the way, didn't Sanchez have a brilliant pass that led to a goal during the recent WCQ's? =) i think you're way too critical of Sanchez. 70+ caps should tell you that he's been doing something right all these years... On paper, each player on their own may not be the most skilled on the roster, but together their skill sets compliment each other and help the team achieve the greater good. we need that enforcer type midfielder who is not afraid to get physical and disrupt the opposing team's possession. Edwin Valencia was a pretty good option, but he's sadly proven to be not that reliable... a good DM that comes to mind and i've said his name here multiple times is Gilberto Silva. on paper there were probably 50 other brazilian midfielders between 2001-10 with more overall skill than him, but Silva was an unsung hero and selfless player who gave balance to any brazil starting 11. he never played fancy footy and was known for playing defense and always moved the ball via short quick passes. somehow he managed to get 90+ caps for Brazil and helped them win a world cup, confed cup and copa america...at Arsenal, when he was paired up with Patrick Vieira, they were quite the midfield duo. Abel/Sanchez together provide a skill set and good mix of ball distribution / defense that cannot be measured statistically. for multiple reasons, we have not been able to get that midfield organization that we used to see since the world cup. Having 4 attacking mids won't necessarily work b/c you need to have one or two MFs who are defensive minded / short pass mentality - which is probably we won't see Cuadrado-Muriel-Cardona-James at the same time. I'll give you a few examples of teams with 2 DMs (or whatever you want to call it) that still were able to have high powered attacks: Spain: Xabi-Busquets Brazil: Melo-gilberto Silva Germany: Kroos-Khedira France: Makalale-Vieira Holland: De Jong - Van Bommel you'd be suprised to know that ESPN does a good job of keeping track of game logs for most players, even in South America! Aguilar stats: http://www.espnfc.com/player/92051/abel-aguilar
2019 Copa America is not too far away =) http://www.espnfc.us/copa-america/s...ve-16-teams-for-2019-edition-hosted-by-brazil
Reports are swirling that Venezuela is having a difficult time trying to figure out where to play us in August. Hopefully that instability goes in our favor. We need all the help we can get against those guys.
As a fan I just want to see three points in a Country we rarely win in. It would be nice if we did it in an ideal situation but i won't complain if we had some advantages due to circumstances.
I want to win 12-0 but we need these 3 points to be in Russia. Rather win with an own goal and 1 shot at goal and win then play the greatest 8-8 thriller of all time.
Any update on what happened with the Bolivia points? I mean if Chile gets the goals and points removed that would basically qualify us and eliminate Peru who lose 3 points. Are they seriously waiting to the last games to see how Argentina has done before they decide to screw Chile over haha
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is still reviewing testimony of representatives from all the Federations who testified. Not much else to report yet.
Saw the uS v Venezuela SnT game and they looked real good and dangerous. They basically started a mixed team and players a very dangerous counter attack game which usually kill us. Looks like they've left most their star players off the list or maybe they are already thjnkjng of 2022 cup.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear the case on July 5. Bolivia is challenging two FIFA verdicts for fielding an ineligible player. CAS typically announces judgments within weeks. https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-case-of-forfeited-world-cup-games/102096372/
I know CBs aren't a huge issue for us but how did Espinosa do in the EPL he became a starter half way through the season and had some good games. I have always hated the EPL and didnt really watch much of it or the Mosquera kid from think Osasuna. he one to watch for the future or just got really lucky everyone on his team was injured? I mean insane that Jesid Murillo isn't even called any more. He was our best CB at Copa America
http://www.goal.com/es-co/news/4562...dos-de-colombia-ante-selecciones?ICID=HP_HN_1 Goals 5 best against Europeans... all fking ties or losses !! come on man that is fking pathetic to write that shit ! We need tougher friendlies and better mentality because for someone who gets paid to write articles to do a top 5 where we lost 1 and tied 4 is fking PATHETIC
Venezuela will host Colombia in San Cristobal: http://www.futbolred.com/seleccion-...-duelo-de-eliminatorias-a-rusia-2018+16856192
"Juan Carlos Osorio y Reinaldo Rueda desde ya son los candidatos para dirigir a Colombia después de Rusia 2018" lo dice Jesurum en Colombia.— ricardo mayorga (@mayorga1) June 17, 2017