CR press reports - pre-game

translated from Al Día



"Sele" to take revenge for the thrashing in Utah

The Tricolor has a thorn in it's side from the qualifiers

by Esteban Cuvardic

Boston, U.S.A. - This evening Costa Rica will have its most demanding game of the Gold Cup when it takes on the United States, an old and feared acquaintance, in the third game of Group B, where first place is up for grabs.

They will be a real enemy, because Canada and Cuba were not a good parameter to see our true level.

In the memory of many is the recent 3-0 defeat by "Sam Uncle" in Utah in the Hexagonal.

Alexandre Guimaraes confirmed that today the goalkeeper will be José Francisco Porras. The defense will be formed by Víctor Cordero, Michael Umaña, Harold Wallace and Roy Miller. The defensive midfielders will be Jose Luis Lopez and Danny Fonseca. Jafet Soto will be the creative midfielder, together with Cristian Bolaños or Steven Bryce. In the attack the presence of Randall Brenes next to the alajuelense Bryan Ruiz is almost certain.

The Tricolor practiced yesterday at 9:30 a.m. in the field of Wrentham State School, a half hour drive from the Double Tree Hotel.

"The group was not tired, in spite of the long trip that we had the previous night from Seattle to Boston," said Guimaraes, who today tries to make an adjustment in the offensive, so that the team "has more creativity, more depth and penetration in the enemy's defense."

The culmination of that adjustment would be the presence of Randall Brenes, who notched two goals against Cuba, in the front of the attack, so that Bryan Ruiz is not so isolated.

In the rival team the great figure is Landon Donovan, but 'Guima' assures that "there will not be a special marking for him."

With or without him, the game will be hard for the Tricolor, because at home the United States has had an absolute superiority over the Ticos. "It will be the most demanding game of the the tournament so far," said 'Guima', who lost the 2002 final to the gringos.

http://www.aldia.co.cr/ad_ee/2005/julio/12/ovacion0.html

 

from Al Día

Keller is a Great Wall

The truth is that Kasey Keller is a great goalkeeper. For one thing, he has played in Spain with Rayo Vallecano, England with Tottenham, and Germany with Borussia Moenchengladbach.

For another thing, he has made the eccentric Tony Meola long forgotten and shown great consistency in Uncle Sam's goal for the last decade. And he also had a great game in Utah, when the United States beat Costa Rica 3-0.

Off the field, Keller wears eyeglasses, that together with his bald head, give him the air of an intellectual.

When he expresses himself, either in English or Spanish, he is not stingy with his words, as he likes to explain each situation.

"In the last 10 or 15 years we have greatly improved," says Keller, speaking on the ascent of his team to the highest of CONCACAF.

"We are in a good period, very close to the Top Ten in the monthly FIFA classification," notes Kasey.

Today he will not face players like Paulo Wanchope or Rónald Gómez, absentees in the Gold Cup, but Keller is not relaxing. "If I play I have to be wary of Brenes or Ruiz, since they're hungry for victory. They want to improve and to be selected in the future."

Keller says that the United States has not shined in both previous games, but responds that "we know how to profit from our scoring chances. That's how it was against Cuba and Canada," the goalkeeper summed up.

http://www.aldia.co.cr/ad_ee/2005/julio/12/ovacion2.html

 

from La Nación

More experiments in the attack of the Tricolor

by Gustavo Jiménez M.

Wrentham, Massachussets. The third game for Costa Rica today in the 2005 Gold Cup against United States will serve for coach Alexandre Guimaraes to try a variant in the attack of the team.

Guima continues to experiment with the alignment and the tactical system, as he faces the second half of the World Cup qualifiers.

The technician is looking for three or four new players in this tournament to give solidity to the team in the final games of the Hexagonal.

The game tonight will be disputed in the Gillette Stadium of Foxboro, Massachussets, at 7 p.m. (5 p.m. in Costa Rica).

Guimaraes announced that he will make a change in the attack. He did not want to reveal names, but it could be the inclusion of Rándall 'Chiqui' Brenes as a starter.

Brenes showed his class against Cuba on Saturday, and his two goals were fundamental in the 3-1 victory.

'Chiqui' would team up with Bryan Ruiz or Óscar Rojas, which will give depth to the attack.

The back. But if there will be new features up top, the defense will maintain the formation of the first victory of the Cup against Canada.

This means that Michael Umaña and Víctor Cordero will be in central defense, whereas Roy Miller will run the left side with Harold Wallace on the right.

In the back there is less opportunity to experiment since the back four - the system that the Tricolor is using - demands much work of repetition and coordination.

Jose Francisco Porras will be the starter in goal, since Guimaraes will insist on his policy to rotate the 'keepers in this Cup.

The idea is to give as many minutes to Porras as to Alvaro Mesén, who was the star in the last two qualifiers.

Costa Rica will dispute this encounter against the Americans with quarterfinals in sight.

"The game of second phase is more important. By now we have arrived with the tranquillity of having an assured ticket," indicated Guimaraes after the morning practice, in a public field called Payson Road.

If Costa Rica wins the group today they will have to face a third place team.

However, with a tie or defeat they would finish in second place, and in the quarterfinals face the winner of Group A (Panama, Honduras or Trinidad).

And although until now the tactical agenda has been governed by experiments, Guimaraes gave away that a good part of today's starters will play in the other games.

http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2005/julio/12/deportes1.html