I wonder if we'll ever see Rueda call him up. I think Rueda is one of those people who would rather call some guy from Fortaleza than call up an english guy from Brighton.
When Reinaldo was in Chile, he was the one who looked for and found Ben Brereton, an english with chilean grandparents who plays in the second division of england (blackburn rovers)
I think he was just desperate to find younger players for Chile. Especially attacking players. I am also wondering how Alzate could fit into his tactics schematically. If he is not called up in September or October Rueda may just not think he is a good option for his style of game.
I remember Rueda playing with five volantes mixtos during his last stint as NT coach and it was clear he should have called a couple for the CA. Hopefully he brings some one in that can offer it, I'd consider Stevie.
as homie said I think that may have more to do with Chile's lack of depth than anything. He's probably like "We have Steven Alzate's at home" and he calls up like Stiven Vega from Millonarios instead
If Alzate keeps playing you have to hope that Rueda calls him, if he doesn't and keeps calling up scrubs then the dude is lost. Alzate is a versatile player, not only is his ceiling really high he looked really good in the games he played for us.
With the exception of Seba and maybe Perlaza (didnt see him in play in Copa so Rueda must see something he's not crazy about), in that DMF position: Barrios, Uribe, Cuellar, Lerma have that position pretty covered. You can even add on Yairo and even Cuadrado. Let's see if he keeps that starting spot with Brighton but I don't think he's the missing quality player for us to make that jump.
I just don't see anything special form Alzate either. Not for Brighton or when he played for Colombia.
Alzate has played forward, he's play as a wide midfielder and he's played as a holding midfielder last weekend. He offers a skillset that none of those guys offer and its something we have been sorely missing for a long time now, he's smooth on the ball and can dribble from deep and attract pressure to free up space for attackers higher up the pitch. So many games James has had to drop deep to get on the ball, in order to avoid that you need players with profile like Alzate to operate deep in a way that allows them to dribble out of pressure and to change the pace of the game in those areas. Barrios is pretty good at it but he's a pure holding midfielder, Uribe is not good at all in that area and Alzate is solid defensively but when he played for us he really did the job to free up James and if you look at a lot of the top teams in the world they have those players who can operate under pressure deep in midfield which pays off for the attacking players by getting them space. Uribe scores a nice goal from time to time, Lerma does as well and is good pressing opponents but I think a profile like Alzate is much more beneficial for our overall game even if the stuff he does doesn't jump off the page at first glance, but it shows up in the overall tactics of a team.
I just watched Alzate's touches from the weekend and we really could have used his profile in the CA - not the flashiest, but he is strong, and plays at one touch while a lot of our guys need two or three (looking at you Seb Perez) or struggle to control (Uribe is a mystery every game whether he is going to be able to possess or just give it to the opposition). I think Rueda should call him and will be surprised what he does - I really liked him when CQ called him.
He's always been pretty powerfully built from what I can remember. The guy isn't a super star in any area, but he's good in all areas and is really calm in possession with the ability to play in different types of scenarios and adapt his game to whats needed. Also he's young and just coming through and should have a solid future, I understand that he wasn't playing a lot at the end of the last season so I can understand why he may have been excluded but if he's playing and performing he deserves to be in camp.
Neither does Sebas Perez but he was called up instead. We don’t need special. We need good players that play in competitive leagues. What I like about this kid is that he’s cut from a different cloth that we’re not used to.
This topic has been discussed ad nauseam. Guys like Perez and Oscar and Chara... ... Rueda knows very well and knows how they can contribute on the field and in the locker room. It should not be that surprising he went with those guys for an experimental tournament that was not 100% known to be played until a couple weeks before the first kick. Besides that, I don't think Perez will be his competition this Fall. It will be the guys kromekote listed in his post. Maybe some of the guys from the Domestic camp in Bogota and maybe someone like Cantillo if he is in form.
Cool. He is as comfortable on the ball as Lerma (and probably controls with more ease for one touch to play out of midfield, if having a touch less pace but plenty for the Prem) and Uribe is completely random when he laces up his boots. We should absolutely call this kid and see how the other guys show up.