I hear ya, I said they both grew up very fast and they became very good in a relatively short amount of time. Reliable players. And they are veterans when it comes to club play. No doubt about that. However when it comes to the toughest World Cup qualifiers in the World and AND a Copa America those are different beasts all in themselves. In the grand scheme of things those two have not been battle tested as a cohesive pair for that long compared to many of the CB combinations we will face down the line. Adding two younger CBs who have not played these grueling South American matches is a bit of a risk.
This WCQ cycle we are going to have a lot of fresh faces. I’m more concerned about who the RB/LB will be - one day Medina impresses and the next day he plays timid. I wouldn’t mind seeing orejuela get the majority of minutes these next two games. LB - Tesillo, I feel good about and don’t mind seeing emerge as the LB for this cycle, but the others we have used so far play in a way where they are more concerned about not making a mistake rather than show a bulldog mentality. Good thing is that Mina and Davinson have been a duo for 18 WC and 2019 CA. By the time the WCQ comes around, they should hopefully have worked 2020 CA as well.
To be clear , I am not concerned about Mina and Davinson at all. (Some people around here are, but I think they will be more than fine.) I am a bit concerned though if we just have a 21 year old and a 20 year old as their backups unless they are clearly playing consistently and better than the older alternatives with experience in WCQing.
I think that's probably not the case imo. Crosses are a minuscule part of the game compared to everything else, the % successful rate of crosses is super low. Arias cross successful numbers are higher then Medina and he has more key passes. Arias wasn't playing under CQ this summer when he was getting playing time and he Medina who isn't really a natural RB was getting played over him and Arias was dropped all together. Medina did pretty well for sure, but Arias is a better RB and has shown that he's a lot better player overall then any other option we have there. CQ is too good of a manager to pick his players based on the style of their crosses imo.
I think its more important to bring in guys like Cuesta and Lucumi and get them acclimated to the team and manager now and get a good look at them then the older guys. If we need someone to play right away and Davinson or Mina is down then we can also go to the old hands who will be able to step in right away since they have experience and can adapt quickly, the others we should determine now if they are a realistic option, although I'd argue Lucumi clearly is but Cuesta is now the question mark with a lot of promise.
As I said, it is my opinion based on my observations. I admitted I am not the manager and I could be completely wrong. It is also based on conversations with Portuguese fans and Iranian fans who have more knowledge than any of us on what he looks for in RBs and FBs in general. In the friendlies and Copa we have seen Medina cross a bit better in the air than Arias and still be reliable in the other attributes that you mention for the most part. Now if you have an alternate opinion as to why Arias has been benched in favor of Medina I would like to hear. I am, open to it but there really does not seem to be many hypotheses that are convincing to me.
Agreed when applied to Lucumi. With Cuesta I am not there yet but as we can agree it does come down to him getting more playing time and being consistent within that playing time in Belgium.
I think there must have been some disagreement or friction, hard to say from a playing basis there is any realistic argument that Arias isn't our best RB and hasn't been a stalwart at that position for us. So that to me means there must be something going on behind the scenes that isn't necessarily soccer related, because I can't see it. I could see giving Medina minutes and maybe liking someone better and letting him win the job, but then why would you completely not call Arias, there's no argument that he's not at least someone deserving on merit to be in the squad even if he's not playing every game, its a position we are pretty thin at.
I think there's no rush for Cuesta, but imo there's no reason we should be relying on Oscar Murillo at all, so why not bring in Cuesta and see what we got/get him bedded a bit in the team, because from all accounts he has a bright, bright future ahead of him. We were too slow on guys like Mina, Davinson and Barrios imo, now Cuesta is further down and at a new team not playing a ton but similarly he's got very good pedigree and a skillset that has a strong chance of him being a great player going forward.
100% agree with the behind the scenes factors we probably have no idea about. Those could be the source of the benching and the ignoring. To add to that, maybe Queiroz talked to Simeone and got negative feedback? Maybe Queiroz told Arias that if he is not a regular starter he won't be called up?Who knows? It is all conjecture. As for being on the squad I think an argument can be made for a player like Orejuela who seems to be getting consistent playing time and looks like the type of player the manager may favor but once again that is just my opinion.
Maybe he is rewarding Oscar for constant playing time at his club and not looking out of place against Venezuela. Maybe he is looking at veterans as a priority over a guy who has just played at the Sub 20. And another factor could be Reyes maybe wanting him for the pre-Olympics instead once he does establishes himself as a consistent starter. Although I am just throwing that up on the wall to see if that sticks.
He says that nobody talked to him to dont be called.....including james and falcao "Se han dado muchas especulaciones con el caso James-Falcao, sin embargo no me gusta hablar de los jugadores que no están en la convocatoria" Carlos Queiroz.#ConLaTricolorPuesta pic.twitter.com/CCOKhLBtB6— Kick-Off 🏡👍 (@KickOffWIN) October 8, 2019
So Colombian media is circulating Fake News or James himself is circulating Fake News to the media. There's really not too many other options here.
actually he refered to spain....to the chiringuito rumours, that james asked not to be called up #EnVivo @Carlos_Queiroz: "Alguien que está en España dice una cosa y eso parece que se vuelve palabra de verdad en Colombia. Hay que ser más independientes de España" https://t.co/8EwS0IgBMC— Mi Selección (@MiSeleccion_) October 8, 2019 Queiroz dice: "Alguien que está en España dice una cosa y eso parece q se vuelve palabra de verdad en Colombia. Hay que ser más independientes de España". ¡De acuerdo! Nos hemos vuelto replicadores de chiringuitos, de jugones y de otros medios q quieren vender a punta de mentiras— Francisco Henao Bolí (@FranciscoHenao) October 8, 2019
Ah. Blame it on Spain. Not surprised if true. The only thing that confuses me is that you would think that James would have denied the report once he and his agent heard/read about it in the tabloids. Or he just did not care enough to correct them.
Chiringuito is broadcasted all days.....are clowns, if i was james or another athlete wont care or answered them.........the problem is that in Colombia the “professional“ media quote chiringuito as a reliable source...
Colombian media trying to create a rift for no reason It's best for James and the NT to not call James. He needs to regain playing time in the club in order to be in good form for the NT and we need to have other players since James gets injured a lot
"Que James pidió no estar, no es verdad. Nunca me pasó que un jugador pidiera esto. La decisión es natural, los 24 jugadores que están aquí corresponden a los objetivos que tenemos, mantener la base de 15 y 16 jugadores" Carlos Queiroz— Daniel (@Danielxponk) October 8, 2019 "Si no está uno, tiene que estar otro mejor. No nos quedamos a llorar. Nos encantaría tener aquí a Valderrama, pero no está. ¿Qué vamos a hacer Pékerman o yo? El equipo es más que yo, o que a,b,c" Carlos Queiroz— Daniel (@Danielxponk) October 8, 2019
One would hope that James is one that base of players. Even with his dumv decision to stick with Madrid, he has played enough and is still easily our most talented player. He is also a guy that has had some issues at club level, but has given his all for the national team. Imagine hosting copa America and leaving James off? While having the likes of Berrio in the squad. I just hope Queiroz is not one of those coaches that sticks to their guns even when wrong out of stubbornness
It depends on James' situation at Madrid but it also may depend on Muriel-Zapata-Roger. If they continue to play well together and continue to create chances and look dangerous these next two months Queiroz may just be tempted to stick with the three striker formation and forget about James.
Since 22 of september, after 4 matches...james have played 28 minutes of 360 minutes. If james at the end of the year only will play at this average....he should force a movement. Yeah is a madness not to called him......but if he will play 8.33 % of minutes as have happened in the last 4 matches, from here to wcq or copa..........we cant judge if he isnt called up.
Yeah I hope that James is taking these 6 months as im gonna give it my best effort...like a married couple going to counseling as a last ditch chance. But if he is still is the odd man out and unfairly treated, demand a transfer. I hope that's the case
Yes. But not in the way Roger and Muriel play out on the wings. Or Diaz or Sinisterra for that matter.