He can't play conference league because he wasn't registered. It may be good for his chances to play in La Liga though since they must be exhausted and have a league game on sunday.
The league is much more important though. I prefer that they qualify for CL than if they win the conference league.
This final being 3 days after their league final game is god damn criminal. This congestion of fixtures are all because of the club World Cup that is jammed in and is invite only for the clubs and has nothing to do with Betis. Just a nightmare to try and manage at the end of the season
⚽️ GOAL: Cucho Hernández🇧🇷 Sport Recife 0-4 Cruzeiro https://t.co/ujBxWp4WUR— Myles lewis skelly (@Afc_Skellyy) May 11, 2025
Really stupid game ended 1-1 and Betis probably lost the possibility of playing CL on account of that silly conference league. They rested Antony and Isco from the start and it cost them. As soon as they brought them on, Betis scored. Honestly it would've been better to rest these guys in conference league and go all in for CL-qualification. Betis must feel like Nottingham Forest today.
Cucho should be starting at striker for us the next window. Most on form player and offers everything we need from that position, bring Duran off the bench and let Corboba be 3rd choice. And he shouldn't be playing the Diaz role either, much rather play someone there who is more natural a wide player on the left.
I said it years ago in this thread (and people laughed) but Cucho is pound-for-pound one of the best headers in our talent pool. Even though he is shorter than most he knows how to get headers on target and also knows how to pass the ball with his head better than most strikers.
His all-around game is solid and he just has personality, confidence and attitude that are unmatched right now. It is all up to Lorenzo now. Cucho has been playing 9/false 9 for years now and Lorenzo still sticks him out wide. If he does stick him out wide for Diaz then I think it is likely Cordoba probably starts at 9 for more physicality against Peru.
I don’t think anyone was laughing but Cucho was never a priority during 18-22 cycle bc 1. Him playing in 2nd division likely held him back 2. When he was in top flight, he was underwhelming 3. Other strikers on paper were more promising 4. Coaches (Rueda and CQ) didn’t have the b@!!$ to bring in fresh faces despite results that eventually led us to not qualify for the 22WC right now - I’m all for anything that resembles a fresh idea from Nestor. Past 10 months he appears creatively bankrupt. Cucho to his credit has been very impressive and should be at the top of the list of strikers to call up since our depth chart is surprisingly thin
What you posted has nothing to do with the point of my post. He is great at headers both putting shots on target and passing. Yes, there were people who did not believe me or thought it was an exaggeration. It was not and still is not an exaggeration. The guy knows how to use his head.
Ok but who even cares Do we even have anyone who heads that ball that well anymore? Diaz can use his head at times and the big fella who we never use, Borré has scored some in the past. I want to say Sinisterra too. Nothing crazy to compare to
Who cares? I do. It would be nice to have guys who can put shots on goal with the head and also lead teammates to goals with assists with their heads. Or with any part of their bodies. I emphasize the head now because over the last few months I have seen him do it consistently. He has a lot of tools and weapons we can use in attack.
All of our strikers are good in the air really, Cordoba and Duran all solid in the air and Borre isn't a total slouch in the air, certainly Cordoba and Duran will will win more balls but Cucho for his size is actually a beast in the air, he's 73% across top leagues for winning his duels in the air which is really good. Diaz and Sinni are actually really good in the air attacking balls at the back post for their size and profile, in terms of threats in the air, we are probably arguably one of the best in the world, and we've shown it with a ton of goals on set pieces. All of our strikers have their strengths and weaknesses, but overall Cucho offers the widest set of skills and is on the best form, at worst he should be getting a chance at striker and Lorenzo doesn't have the same leverage to not try now that our open play offense is struggling, and on set pieces we still have Lerma, Diaz, Sanchez, Lucumi, Mina, Munoz.
his strength is his technique (hernandez), he really found the perfect team for him. We went through a period of time when we were ruining everyone with our set pieces
It's just variance on set pieces, we ran really hot scoring them and now we're a little cold and teams adjusted, but our ability in the air is still there and is still an asset but not just from set pieces. Look at Diaz how he attacks the back post, but we don't use anyone on the right to really utilize switching there, I think we should probably think about changing our formation, the James as a false winger is hurting us now that teams have figured it out. Cucho as well busts his ass defensively, which is important when we're carrying James just like why Betis needs that when Isco is their main creative threat.
Rumor has it Cucho will not start today. Probably being saved for the huge Atletico Madrid match on Sunday if speculation is true.
Another game and another goal for cucho. Lorenzo cannot keep ignoring this guy. ⚽️ GOAL: Cucho Hernández🇪🇸 Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Real Betishttps://t.co/FVaBbzzc3h— Goals Xtra (@GoalsXtra) May 15, 2025
They were down 2 and this is a must win for them, Cucho's goals have been fairly clutch for the most part.