You could stay with Arias, Medina and Cuadrado as RB. As for the game yesterday, please watch it again and let me know if you saw one good cross/decision from one of them. And again, they are my players. From Machado I had more expectations than Helibelton, yet he is very disappoint so far. I wish they were much better or maybe will be in the future. Right now that don't even have the form to start for Nacional.
Machado was fast but his final pass/cross was horrible. Palacios was easily the worst player on the pitch. He was a nonfactor offensively, offered Quintero no link up, and was abused defensively. Experienced or not, he should never be called up again. EVER
Medina and Cuadrado as RB? I am not even going to get into that. I watched yesterday's game and they pretty much played the way I expected. They are not good enough to start for the National team we both can come to that conclusion. But they were not played off the park either. They are average players being given a chance in a friendly. Hopefully some other options come out of nowhere and the next manager finds them. I kind of like what I saw from Borja against Venezuela so I don't think we will be seeing Machado much in the future.
We have not had a RB provide anything offensively since Zuniga. Ironically you can replace Palacios' name with Arias the last few games and it would still make sense. (except the abused part) We need to find players who can attack and cross the ball along with being good defensively but those players either do not exist or are not on the National team radar yet.
You are aware to the fact that both of them started their career as RB and both of them in a much better form than the two mentioned, are you?
Arias is light years ahead of Palacios offensively. He makes great runs and links up well with the creative players. Yes his final delivery disappoints more often than not, but he is very involved offensively. Every now and then he does get the cross right as he did vs brasil barranquilla. For me his most important attribute is his link up and the runs he makes. Palacios was just utterly useless on both ends
Light years ahead but still the the final outcomes are usually the same in the final third. I am not suggesting Palacios is better than Arias or should start over him. I will say that he was not useless either. Give the guy a break. He had not even been called up by the National team in more than a couple of years. He had no chemistry or cohesion with anyone out there. No one was expecting him to flourish last night.
Speaking of Cuadrado. This experiment on the left has been an interesting one. He actually looked pretty good last night and against Venezuela on the left.
Borja, villa, were on the same boat, yet they both delivered. Palacios reminds me of a player that would be a part of that 2002 to 2010 cycle. A mediocre player that is just not at the level for a national team. Thankfully, we are past those years now.
They are more talented players and have a higher ceiling. Most people who know me will never imagine me being the one to defend Palacios and his taller clumsy chiguiro ways. I just think he did as I expected last night and not as bad as he could have been.
Homie, bro, the problem wasn't yesterday's match. I saw every single Nacional match from January, Helibelton and since July Machado as well, simply don't have the sufficient form to be in the NT. Even if they would be reasonable yesterday. Their current form is crap. Cuadrado, Arias, Medina, Roman for example, even Yerson Candelo could work here - all of them can perform much better in this position. If Helibelton will improve his form in the future and I wish he will, I'll be the first to ask for him to the NT. On the left side we do not have too many options, so Machado can be a decent one. but in general they aren't good enough.
When our options listed in this thread are him, an Arias who is currently getting no playing time, Medina and Cuadrado at RB and kids in the Colombian league who have never played internationally I am not sure we are past it yet. But if this Roman kid or someone else emerges than I will feel more comfortable.
I am saying that when a coach like Reyes comes in he looks at who has been a part of the process, who has been in the youth system and who is playing on the best teams playing week in and week out. I watch almost as many Nacional games as you do and I think you are exaggerating. Especially when guys like Roman play you mention you watch in one game against Junior and say he is a better option. He could be a better option but obviously no one in the Federation thought so.
I actually think we are better suited on the left side. It's the right that worries me. On the left we have, when healthy, fabra, mojica, borja. On the right we need to find a cover for Arias. Palacios is not it. Can medina recover mentally? Can Borja play on that side?
With Villa's appearance and the re-emergence of Quintero, I would love to see if Cuadrado could still play RB. He has speed and high stamina and he is not a bad defender. We would give teams nightmares on that side with him, Quintero, and Villa linking up. As a matter of fact, he played as a RB vs Brasil in 2012 and did a ton of damage. And that would give James tons of space on the other side.
I remember Medina being more of a CB and even a Midfielder his early days at Nacional. Not sure he is the answer. I am not sure Borja can play that side. These questions need to be answered before June unless Arias can get playing time at Atleti and regain his form.
The bad thing is that he may get caught up in his Cuadrado ways. Playing up field and flopping with the ball expecting a foul. If he does that as a RB it gives a free pass to the opposing left wing on a counter with little to no cover. I think we need someone who is more disciplined and stays on their feet better.
Morning guys. I'm not going to over-analyze since Reyes is an interim and we really don't know how are going to be playing next year. There was a system in place that he used as a base, and we were missing several key players (James, Mina, Arias). I think that the main point of the game is that we learned who can be in the mix and who can't. Cuellar, Villa and Benedetti should be in the mix; Murillo, Machado, Palacios and Bacca shouldn't. Diaz needs more minutes to really value his potential. Other than that, my take-aways are the same as most here: we need to start the games focused instead of wasting 20 minutes, and it is frustrating to see the team abuse possession in the last third of the field. Nothing else worth saying at this point of the process. PS: Yeah, Cuadrado can be very frustrating, but last night the problem was him playing on the left and not having a link up player. Think about it, he's always going to fake the dribble but from the right he can do it towards the inside or the outside, and usually Arias is a smart runner and someone in the middle will also offer himself; on the left his only option was Machado's run, since Quintero was on the other side and Cuellar was too far behind, so logically he will dribble to the inside, wait for Machado (we saw that kind of work a few times, but Machado's crossings were awful) and with no other options he'd look for the contact. Not saying he is not a flopper, saying that he couldn't do much else with the options he had.
Wait, I didn't say that I mentioned Roman according the game against Junior. I saw him several times and impressed bt him. And again, I never said that he is a NT material AT THE MOMENT. But Palacios is clearly not. And the guys in the federation also didn't invite Cucho, so it means that he is not fit?
how many pages are you going to argue with Homie. He never budges. It's clear to everyone that HP doesnt belong in the NT. There's a reason why he couldnt even break thru Europe in a 2nd tier league.
Shitty Game. Ospina 7: Very good overall. Had a lot of work and stopped every chance. Palacios 5: awful, often got caught out of position and doesn't get a worse rating because Davinson saved his ass several times. Machado 5: he isn't the solution we need, not physical enough to be a wingback. Davinson 7: the best defender we had. He was a wall. Murillo 5: disappointing. Horrible passing and bad positioning. Barrios 7: this Guy is a leader. Physically he may not look like much but he is incredible protecting the ball and his passing is good, but could be better. Cuéllar 5: he is a 5. You cannot expect him to be the link between the midfield and the offensive line, he lacks the Brains for that. IMO he was horrible, terrible passing and didn't help much defensively either, he just roamed the field doing nothing. Cuadrado 6:decent Game, he tried a lot but wasn't very effective, he Lacked a fullback that could benefit from the times he cuts inside. Quintero 6: not his best game, yet he created a very clear chance that was wasted by Bacca. Muriel 4: useless. Had a very decent chance to score and shot straight to the goalkeeper. Didn't do anything else. Falcao 6: he had the best chance, his shot was good but Armani made a great save. His link Up play was awful but he was also our second best defender in corners and free kicks. Subs Uribe 6: we need him and Barrios playing regularly together so that they can get used to each other. He brings the team forward and is overall a beast, but yesterday he could have shot two times and took the worst decision, passing It to Bacca. Bacca 5: he is just wasteful. He's Lost his pace and is taking way too long to shoot the goddamned ball. Villa 6: he had some good runs, he should fight for a spot the starting team. Benedetti 6: promising debut. He is very intelligent and helped defensively. He lacked space to do his thing but he Will get better with time. Diaz 5: I don't like to be too Harsh with debutant players but he was horrible, he had a good play and 3 awful that could have caused a goal against. I Hope that for the October friendlies we have the official coach, I like Reyes, but I have to be honest, he isn't ready yet. He has balls and tactically I think he is sound but our players need a motivator and from this couple of games I think he still doesn't have some of that fire to inspire them.