Weekend Results : Current Standings: Accumulated Table: Quick thoughts: * El Cuilapa is finally back!!! I unfortunately didn't have time to watch it (or any of the other games for that matter) but it's in everyone's best interest for him to get up to speed as fast as possible. *Coban will be in Liga Nacional next season. They mathematically secured their place after defeating Mictlan. Malacateco on the other hand, has to win its last game to avoid direct demotion and hope the Usac loses against suchi. Either way, one of them will have the playoff to stay up. * Carlos Estrada scored, Reyes and Yanes were both starters for antigua, and altan keeps impressing. If we get the goalkeeper situation sorted we might have a fighting chance in the next u-20. Primera Division Semifinals: Aurora vs Carcha Nueva Concepcion vs Jocotan Youth leagues Semifinals: U17 USAC vs Municipal Antigua GFC vs Comunicaciones U15 Antigua GFC vs Petapa Municipal vs Comunicaciones Top 3 goals of the weekend #3 Carlos Estrada #2 Jair Arreola #1 Delfino Alvarez
Anyone watching the games ? So far la U needs to tie the game or else they're going down. José Valenzuela lleva 4 goles, mictlan already missed 2 penalties against cremas and Antigua needs to beat Guastatoya to sneak into the playoffs Que liga de España ni que chingados. ...hay liga ...Nacional
I think kamiani will either go to Xelaju (Laredo who brought him to Guate, wants him) Municipal (they've been pursuing him) Antigua (they'll be playing CCL) Cremas (they got the $$$) In that order. . .or who knows...Cr? ...mexico 2nd division?
Weekend Results: Final current table: Final Accumulated Table: Talking points: *Well it was an eventful weekend. Full of excitement, joy, frustration, tears, controversies, goals (26 in fact) and more. Therefore I decided to do a point on each team even if it's lengthy. *Suchitepéquez: If I could summarize this team in one word, it would be professionalism. They only needed a draw to be leaders but they went all out instead and slaughtered "La U" to make a statement of intent. Hopefully they can finally overcome their mental block and at least make it to the final. It would be a well deserved reward to long term planning, scouting and great coaching. Although it would be nice for once that the people in charge would pay their players on time. It's ridiculous how this always hurts them when it comes to retaining their players. *Municipal: I might be in the minority here, but I believe rojos to be the favorites to become champions. This team reminds me of the comunicaciones version that ended their championship drought in 2010. The Parallels are outstanding. They're both lead by a controversial veteran icon (Fonseca & Fish respectively), a goalkeeper in the form of his life (Paredes & Motta), a coach from the youth teams ( Sopegno & Machain), and youth products full of hunger. I feel that the only obstacles standing in their way is their poor conditioning (they usually get tired every second half) and a clasico in the semis (if cremas beat marquense). *Comunicaciones: It's incredible how forgiving our league can be sometimes. Up until a few weeks ago there was a real concern they wouldn't make it to the playoffs. And yet they finished in 3rd place. Make no mistake though, this team is still very inconsistent and I still get the impression there's no chemistry between the players and their coach. Not to mention how clueless Sopegno's tactics have been plenty of times. Having said that, they shouldn't be counted out just yet. They still posses arguably the most talented players and can overcome just about anyone with ease when they're on song. *Malacateco: It speaks of the incompetence of the league's design, when you find out that a team can win the championship and still get relegated. Malacateco finds itself in this particular situation. I know many will focus on the sketchy result against Coban (9-0), and rightly so, but we can't take away from them the hunger and belief they've displayed this season. Add the fact that they're one of the few clubs which pay on time and have an actual loyal set of supporters, and you realize that them staying up might not be a bad thing. I still don't like how they scheduled their games (noon, around 100 degrees in that kinda surface), but I wouldn't mind seeing Carlos Estrada lead them once again next season ( they still have to play against the loser between Escuintla-Heredia vs the winner of Jocotan vs Carcha). *Antigua: Another team that was all but buried a couple a weeks ago has sneaked in and emerged as the dark horse for the finals. A lot of the credit must go to the coach (who ironically is questioned at every opportunity). It's not easy to remain competitive when you lose the spine of the team (Ayala, Robinson, Diaz, Thompson, Archila). And yet his philosophy of pressing, using width, and attacking irrespective of playing home or away has remained undeterred. Everyone must now beware of current champions. *Marquense: Another team that has remained competitive regardless of their economic situation. Both the players and the coach must be commended for their commitment and loyalty to the cause. Lucky for them they got paired up against one of the "big ones" (cremas). Hopefully through their ticket sales they can finally afford to pay their players. *Guastatoya: Victims of their own decisions, el subcampeon Nacional will not get a chance to take another crack at the championship. I still can't believe how they changed Paco Melgar for a no name Argentinian. At the end of the day it didn't really improve anything. There's also something rotten in that locker room (Dani Guerra and their own goalkeeper almost came to blows in their game against Antigua) and I wouldn't be surprised if their best players leave at the end of the season. It appears both Sena (struggling with platense) and Guastatoya cannot succeed without each other. The only one succeeding is their former assistant coach Amarini Villatoro with Jocotan. *Mictlan: A solid season for them if you ask me. Sure they could've sneaked in but you can't fault them when you take into account their budget compared to the rest of the clubs. I wouldn't pay to watch them (too defensive), but you have to give credit to Chejo Guevara for keeping them up with ease. *USAC: "You only had one job, one job". I mean they only needed a draw from their home game, granted it was against the leaders, but just a point nevertheless. A whole book could be written about how la U managed to go down so disgracefully. Even if up to two months ago they look like champions material and their goalkeeper (best stats in the league) and their forward (Kamiani scored 15 goals, same as JJ Valenzuela but José played less minutes) were both at the top of their respective tables. So I decided to enumerate them. 1. Hiring Gamarra 2. Not firing Gamarra on time 3. Crappy home form 4. Bringing Paquetazos 5. Playing the paquetes instead of their best players 6. Almost non existent fans (social media fans don't count). And the only ones who do show up, just do so to insult their players. If you don't believe me just watch any highlights where the U is at home. The insults are funny but how miserable do you have to be to show up to the stadiums with the sole purpose of cursing your players? *Xelaju: a season to write off if you ask me. Many of their players are already leaving (Lagos, Mendoza, Rangel, Hamilton, etc) and the new coach has been announced. Rafael Loredo is coming back to Guate and it's rumored he has asked specifically for Carlos Kamiani (it makes sense since he was the one that brought him to Guate in the first place). *Petapa: This might be one of the most pointless teams in the league. Although their contributions to youth development must not be overlooked. Favorites to go down next season since Centrone is leaving (one of the better coaches in the league) and Cepeda (yes the one that just helped Usac go down) is rumored to take the reigns. *Coban: If I could define this team with one word it'd be embarrassment. The players seem careless in most of their games (especially their last one against malacateco). But not all fault lies with the players or the coach. The people in charge seem full of good intentions but lack the necessary soccer knowledge to build a solid squad. The team was unbalanced from the start with 5 forwards (Cordova, Tinoco, Castellanos, Pérez, Betancourt) and no decent midfielders or defenders. Their fans on the other hand should be praised. Top Scorers: 1. JJ Valenzuela 15 goals (less minutes). 2. Carlos Kamiani 15 3. Emiliano Lopez 11 Top goalkeepers: 1. David Guerra 0.89 2. José Mendoza 0.95 3. David Monsalve 0.95 I wonder when was the last time the best goalkeeper and Top scorer were both guatemalan @ChaChaFut ? Playoffs to access semifinals: Marquense vs Comunicaciones Antigua vs Malacateco Top 3 goals (there were 26 goals in total, yet they were so dull I had to include one from Primera divison) #3 Carlos Ruiz #2 Rafa Burgos #1 Diego Palma (el "James" chapin lol)
This might be his second year in a row that he leads a team to liga Nacional (did it with mictlan last year). I still don't understand why mictlan let him go. Even more baffling was his omission (and to a lesser extent luis Samayoa's) from the U -20 in Jamaica last year.
Puta te lo perdiste. It was everything our league should be. Estadio lleno, juego dinamico e intenso y golazos. Best game of the season so far (next to the Antigua - Cremas a few weeks ago) Marquense 3-3 Cremas Mar: Kevin Elias, Frank de Leon (x2) Cre: Blackburn, Emiliano Lopez (x2) *Frank de Leon esta pidiendo a gritos ser llamado por claveri
Damn looks cold. That stadium is at 7,000 ft above sea level. Pta, qué golazo el último de Frank de León.
Antigua 2 Malacateco 0 *if Claveri is watching these games, we should see frank de Leon, Galindo, Matta & kendell (Valenzuela, Cuilapa & kevin elias should be in with a shout as well) in the next morfociclo.
*Ariel Sena is coming back to Guate to take over Coban. If he's afforded enough time he might resurrect this "sleeping giant". *Cepeda is rumored to be the next Petapa coach (yes the one that just relegated "La U"). Petapa favorite to go down next imo. *Centrone (ex petapa coach) is rumored to be the next Usac coach. I think hiring him is the best chance they got of coming back up right away. The dude is an expert at over achieving (got both halcones & petapa promoted and kept them there).
We'll have a new champion this season since Antigua has been eliminated. The king is dead, Long live the king! Playoffs to semifinals highlights: Comunicaciones 1(4) Marquense 0(3) Malacateco 3(3) Antigua GFC 0(2) Primera Division Final Carcha 4(5) Jocotan 1(4) 3 golazos with another Diego Palma special (2nd goal) Quick thoughts: * Suchitepéquez has its best shot to make the finals in years. They're going against a team that only wins at home (hasn't won away from it in > 60 games) and would definitely be more focused in their coming relegation playoff. Although write off Malacateco at your own peril. * The clasico can go either way. Cremas will definitely be tired after the taxing games against Marquense. Also, their defense is still prone to errors. Municipal on the other hand tends to tire in the 2nd halves and run out of ideas when chasing a game. * Marquense deserve every bit of praise that comes its way. Not only did they qualified to the playoffs after 2 years, but they did so without getting paid for 3 months(still waiting). Add the fact that they were close to eliminating cremas with a lot youth in their ranks, and you see why everyone seems to like them. * Antigua must rebuild if they want to have a decent participation in the CCL. I know many people want Tapia out but I feel he did the best with the unfortunate circumstances he found himself with. * Both semifinals were entertaining in their own way. Marquense - Cremas was open, attacking and dynamic in both legs. While the Antigua -Malacateco had antigua battering Malacateco with chance after chance at home. And a slightly more cagey match (though there were a bunch of chances in the 2nd half) in the return leg. * Carcha won the Primera Division title and is a game away (or 2) from returnig to La Liga Nacional. We could have a clasico de las verapaces next season. Semifinals: *Comunicaciones vs Municipal *Malacateco vs Suchitepéquez Promotion match: *Escuintla-Heredia vs Carcha Relegation playoff: *Malacateco vs (loser of above match) U20 semifinals *Municipal vs Suchitepéquez *Petapa vs Comunicaciones U17 Final: *Comunicaciones vs Municipal U15 Final: *Comunicaciones Vs Antigua GFC
Malacateco 1 Suchitepéquez 2 *Suchi took a massive step towards the final. Especially, when you realized that Malacateco hasn't won away from home in > 60. *Also, their coach was honest and said that though they will fight til the end, their main priority remains the relegation playoff. So they won't risk any injuries to their main players. *Will Douglas Zamora be the first guatemalan coach to win the championship since el Grillo Roldan? @ChaChaFut *JJ Valenzuela and German Esquivel deserve a chance, but claveri only calls el pin plata's friends (rant).
Comunicaciones 1 Municipal 0 Fish's 2nd yellow Rightfully ruled out goal *I hope that the 1-0 is enough for the return leg. I can't believe we still miss so many chances. * I hate Walter Lopez, not only is he incompetent but arrogant as well. Although contrary to what many argue that he benefited cremas tonight (and always). His mistakes had no bearing in the final score. *Ruiz was rightfully red carded, Aparicio should've as well. And the Municipal goal was rightfully ruled out. Oliva was offside, and even though he doesn't touch the ball, him trying made the crema player try to intercept the ball. End of discussion. * Sopegno sigue con sus pelotazos, and still a ratonero. I think I hate him with a passion now.
Si es, when I saw it live I thought that it was a legitimate goal, but after "analysing" it and reading the rules I believe it was the right decision. *First of all, Oliva esta en offside, even if he doesn't touch it, we can agree right? *This is where it gets a lil complicated, si bien el no toca la pelota, Darwin hace por ella, desde ese momento ya esta interviniendo indirectamente. * The only reason the crema player se barre es porque Darwin viene atras. Si Darwin no estuviera alli, el crema no se barreria. * in conclusion Darwin is indirectly participating in an offside position, since that's the only reason joel Benitez has to slide like that. That's one of the hardest decisions I've seen, and the referee only had a second to decide, so props to him.
*Suchi returns to a final ( last one was in 2007). Malacateco played with substitutes clearly focusing in their coming relegation playoff against Escuintla-Heredia. Douglass Zamora might become the 1st guatemalan to lift the trophy since el Grillo Roldan. * Comunicaciones also returns to a final. They needlessly suffered against a poor municipal due defensive mistakes and wastefulness. Before the rojos start blaming the referees, let's say they were lucky Reyna didn't "see" the 3 penalties in their area. * Municipal won't end their drought this season. 1. There are Rumors AA want to sponsor them. No solo por sus jugadores borrachos, si no porque en 5 años no han probado una sola copa. 2. Los Rojos parecen mujer acomplejada...se rehusa a llegar a los 30. 3. Desde hoy propongo ya no llamarles el mimado de la aficion. El mote de Santa Claus me parece mas idoneo. Porque es rojo, Viejo y siempre anda lleno de paquetes. 4. Feliz 80 aniversario *There will be a clasico de las verapaces next season. Carcha beat Escuintla-Heredia on penalties. Can't wait to see Diego Palma back in Liga Nacional.
Mafre Icute and Carlos Kamiani to Rojos. Do they do well, or just become more wasted talent in the Rojo wake?
Well Kamiani is one of the best forwards in our league. Though he tends to be very streaky and comes to municipal in the twilight of his career (though they can probably squeeze a few years out him). Icute is also decent, but I don't rate him much. He's too one dimensional (run and cross). He needs someone good in the air for him to shine. Having said that, de nada sirve if you still have players like Deniss lopez and marco Rivas. They still need solid defenders and creative players (ala marquez o contreras) to provide them a solid platform. Si no el otro torneo tambien se van en blanco (as in both, no championship & Cremas, get it