I'm honestly gonna say either Peru or Venezuela win this cup. Unless of course i just jinxed them by saying that.
See, Rueda is so right. Who needs wins when you can tie your way to a title and perhaps a world cup. *sarcasm alert*
I think it just underlines the whole point about good coaching. Venezuela has caught up in many ways, but they don't have the best individual players or football in general. There is never a game where they dominate possession against another South American team. However, they know their strengths and weaknesses, and they play to them. They have a pretty good defense, and in attack they have Arango's left foot. They defend, counter, and wait for set pieces to get players up the field. They play a very smart, organized and efficient game. Kudos to Farias for a job well done with that team.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQVv7IHQv7I"]Publicidad Coca Cola Infiltrado Ecuador Copa América 2011‏ - YouTube[/ame]
I'm watching this semifinal between Par-Ven and it's hard to believe we couldn't do anything to either of these poor teams. Regardless of their Copa performance, neither of these teams have the quality to do well in the WC qualifiers. A short tournament is different because you just have to play one or two games well. This is the worst Paraguay in years. And Venezuela is getting results but still lacks individual talent.
Paraguay still holds it down with their defense. That's actually what this whole tournament has been about, especially when it comes to Paraguay. On Venezuela's part, they have effective forwards and their defense does pretty well. Remember the game vs. Chile? Venezuela had 2 opportunities which were off free-kicks. And they scored on both opportunities. Chile dismantled Venezuela the entire game. Same with Brazil vs. Paraguay. Brazil had them on lock with nothing but like 1 shot on goal for Paraguay ALL game. Sound similar? didn't we manage to dominate a handful of teams in the last qualifier and still not get results? So IMO, Venezuela is not playing poorly. They're effective and in the end that's all that matters. Whether or not they have more possession than their opponents, they still manage to get results. In this qualifier, if Venezuela plays the way they are playing right now, their ticket to Brazil is won. For Paraguay it's different, they defend but if Santacruz or Haedo aren't having a good day then they're screwed. B/c no one's gonna net one in for them. In Venezuela you see Vizcarondo. Rondon, Fedor, and Arango scoring. last qualifier Maldonado scored a handful too. So they make it work out either way. In these type of tournaments, your right, Paraguay can get lucky and reach a final by straight up tying. But if they continue this style of playing they'll hit harsh reality in the Qualifier and it will hit them hard. They're playing "a lo Rueda"- puro empate.
no talent? ver a rincon - ausente hoy rosales o gonzalez fedor o salomon son tipos que hay que respetar en cualquier cancha o esquema tactico. es una realidad, que no queremos ver en conmebol
if only you knew what you were saying. your talking about the same guy that took Paraguay to a quarterfinal of a WC
Paraguay's going through a generational transition like many other teams. But unlike Chile or Uruguay, they haven't produced young new stars to replace the guys who are getting older, or who got shot in the head, or both. Haedo Valdez and Lucas Barrios are good, but they don't have the physical presence or consistency of Cabanas or Santa Cruz. I personally foresee Paraguay having a tougher time qualifying this time around. Remember the last half of qualifying matches, they were not doing good at all, but they started off so well that they were almost qualified halfway through. They have been incredibly lucky the past 2 games, Venezuela hit the post twice in the last half of overtime, and if the game lasted 10 more minutes Venezuela would have won it. Venezuela on the other hand, still benefits from being perceived as the underdog. It puts a lot of pressure on their opponents to win. I think we used to benefit from that a few years ago. They have some pretty good players, but they do not have any standout performers. Their coach deserves a lot of credit because they play to their strengths, defense and long passes to their forwards.
I think that Venezuela should have won the game last night. They hit the post twice in the first overtime and Villar had some nice saves. I agree with Manolo that had the game lasted another ten minutes Venezuela would have pulled it out. Paraguay has been the recipient of some good luck, in both games against Brazil and Venezuela they were the inferior team IMO, but Villar and some good luck and kept the score leveled. Qualifying for Brazil is gonna be a b*tch for every team. At this point Peru, Venezuela, and Colombia are contenders. And to be honest we're probably only ahead of Bolivia of all SA teams. All I know is that if Ecuador wants to qualify we have to win at home and make use of playing 2000+ meters above sea level.
I see the bottom 4 in this order: Paraguay Argentina Ecuador Bolivia Everyone else is ahead of us. I'll even go as far as saying Uruguay and Chile will lead this Qualifier. And out of Venezuela, Peru, and Colombia one of them at least, will surprise being in the top 3 spots.
gracias a un proceso que solo conoce dos entrenadores en 10 temporadas!!! richard paez y cesar farias PROCESOS...PARECEN GANAR de cualquier manera ver fracaso argentino y resultados de tabarez en 5 an`os o del tata martino en otros tantos.
Brazil is going to lack the real practice of the quals, and may get to the Cup in their home completely below their standards.
Congrats to Uruguay... anyways you guys can forget the World Cup 2014. I am certain that Ecuador will not make it. We are one of the worse teams in SA only better than Bolivia. All other countries have better team/management/coaching than us. I have zero hope of Ecuador winning anything anytime soon with Rueda and Chiriboga. Until they are out of FEF and get a brand new management and a top notch DT we aren't going anywhere.
See what I meant? Both Venezuela and Paraguay got their a$$es handed to them when they didn't have the luxury of being huge underdogs. They are both crap teams and will not qualify, along with us and Bolivia.