Barrios to me is a better Carlos Sanchez….if playing Argentina, Brazil or Uruguay away and not wanting to lose fine play him it we want a team where everyone can attack and defend them Uribe/Lerma —Cuellar is better
The goal is to always have 23 starters. Bc the starting 11 from the first game of any tournament rarely is the starting 11 in the final game. Barrios, Uribe, Lerma and GC may likely be our 4 horsemen of the midfield
Holding midfielders don't need to attack, and lots of the top managers in the world view that position as the most important on the field since you link the defense and midfield and are critical for breaking up play and for controlling the build up. Lerma or Uribe aren't at the same level of Barrios but they play different positions.
Lerma was one of our best players at the start of Qualifying. And that was under the previous manager. I think Rueda can get even better games out of him.
Lerma scored, he's not great in possession and we got completely smoked those games under a manager who made clueless decisions. I could see him competing with Uribe and playing in games when we are going to be a bit more defensive. If we are going to continue with a 4-4-2 tbh it fits Lerma really well, he's good in a central midfield two, not a great fit for a 3 but if Cuellar can keep playing like he did last game he's gonna be tough to get out of the squad. Based on how Rueda played with Chile and the types of players he used I don't think Lerma fits his style all that well, not great in possession or passing.
I mean Peru was god awful but even then before the first goal it looked like we had no mf again Argentina is shit under the new coach but have way better players than Peru and will actually attack us I don’t know how many times the MF passed the ball to Sanchez and Mina but it felt like 100. Messi and Lautaro would score on at least 10 of those back passes Tough to judge a team against such a weak one. But before the goal we had like 98% of possession but did almost nothing with it. How many shots at goal did we have? Not from a corner? like I know some of you get mad that I expect us to be 2002 Brazil good. But I expect the team to play and take chances. If it wasn’t for the 3 - 0 Rueda still has a lot to work on with these guys.
We played a two man midfield, when you play a 4-4-2 with two wingers you are generally not going to dominate the midfield but are sacrificing that in order to have more on the counter attack when you recover the ball. We played with two wingers and two essentially holding mids and two forwards, the game plan was to stretch them and when we get possession to play a bit longer and diagonal to Diaz and Cuadrado which we did well. It wasn't a god like performance but it was smart and it was the first game with a new coach after looking completely terrible and without James and Quintero on the road in a huge match for us. Its not going to change over night, and compare this game to others we played without James and really its not that bad and is a good start to build on. Also playing at the back and building from the back is a hallmark of most of the top teams in the world, but besides that with that lineup and the game plan drawing out Peru to then allow space for Cuadrado, Diaz and Muriel is a good game plan and clearly our goal but in order to do that we need to draw Peru into us first, hence the build up from the CB's. Rueda is smart, he gave us a blue print to win and we got a lucky goal and a red but the game plan was still a good one, lets see how they progress over the next few games and when we get back James.
We did not get smoked against Venezuela and Chile. Scoring was not the only thing he did well. He was very active and put some shots on goal. Yes he made mistakes but you have to consider the context. It was his first few big starts of his career outside of maybe the World Cup game against England in which were were set up to fail. I totally disagree with him not fitting into the style of Rueda. Rueda could mold him into a better version of Mejia at Nacional. But we shall see. Cuellar and Uribe have his trust.
He's an average player who plays in the English second division and arguably has been for most of his years, doesn't do anything particularly off the charts and really doesn't fit into a midfield where you want to hold possession. That's fine if we are playing more players in midfield and we can let him destroy but in a 4-4-2 where you aren't defending all game you're probably gonna want both of them to be solid in possession when you get it for the most part. Lerma has 3 goals and 2 assists in 42 games in the championship this season, the fact he got a goal for us in qualifying is nice but if we're playing him for his offense we are not doing it right. We need our CM's to be able to progress the ball up the field and be able to create from deep while also defending. Lerma isn't gonna all of a sudden be a good possession CM who dribbles or passes really well at this point in his career, I think he's a good option when we need a destroyer and will be out of possession a lot or to close out a game as a sub when we want more defensive ability but for me if we're starting Lerma consistently its not going to make us a better team then Cuellar, Barrios, Alzate and even Uribe (Who'd I'd argue is his main competition).
I strongly disagree yet again. It does not matter where he plays. We just had a guy from Saudi Arabia play like a super star for Rueda. I think you are selling Lerma short on his abilities and what he can be capable of under Rueda. I will advise you to watch the Venezuela and Chile matches again. Many Colombian analysts agreed that he was the best player for Colombia last October at the start of our qualifying for Qatar. I still believe Rueda will bring out even better play from him.
I really liked what I saw out of Lerma in the first two wcq’s His temper/maturity was exploited in the 2nd two games but I think he has a ton of upside and would not cringe if I saw him start as opposed to someone like Jeison Murillo who has become too polarizing for my liking. On the negative side, I am not a fan of him playing second division. I am big proponent of players who play frequently at the highest levels. Over time, players will play to the level of their competition. Buuut, deep midfielders are a weird situation bc the role is not to score goals but to give the team balance and create havoc for opposing teams. The physicality in second division can theoretically be a good thing….
I think lerma have a good atitude and a very good physic......but the true is not the most useful cmf if we want to recover a style with collective football in the midfield....the guy dont have first touch iq or creative.. Lerma was the most impotant player in queiroz midcamp, his physycs and destrction was important in that football without organizrd transitions...if we want to play with another philosophy and style we need a style of play more collective
I think that is your opinion and assumption. My opinion and assumption is that Rueda will find a way to get the best out of him and most of the players he relies on. A good manager knows how to utilize the strengths of the players and apply them in needed situations. No one is saying Lerma is an undisputed starter or that he is great at everything he does. What I am saying is I think Rueda can bring out the best in him and he can help us get points just as he did at the beginning of the cycle.
I agree with you 100% homie For me it’s all about having 23 starters (GK’s is wishful thinking) There’s never going to be a magical 11 that will be the right answer. If anyone thinks that, you play too many video games or just don’t watch. Some games Barrios-Uribe will be the best combo. Other games Cuellar-Lerma, etc etc may be the optimal choice or other games it may be just Barrios only. The key is that whoever is thrown in there is ready to go come Copa America, WCQ, WC knockout game etc. Lerma does have areas of improvement but if he starts or comes off the bench, I won’t cringe (yet LOL) Cuellar still needs more playing time but he’s on the right track, so far.
I agree with this mostly You can get the best out of a player but you're not going to turn a player with a given skillset into something they are not. It doesn't matter where you play sure, but Lerma doesn't have the ability to be a player that thrives in a team that wants possession. I've seen lots of Lerma's games for club and almost all of them for Colombia and the guy is limited, CQ likes the style of player who runs around like a chicken with his head cut off and that didn't get us very far.
not really, its true roca was a pinto discovery, Sanchez not played for pinto more than 5 official matches and 9 overall (sanchez didnt play copa america with pinto before).....at the same time is different because sanchez in his prime the contribution was just in recovery.....lerma had a very lead role with queiroz with a lot of trasnportation but that actually isnt useful if we want to play like colombia pekerman 2014..... i think lerma for pinto, was more like a castrillon or vargas........ i would prefer to start using cantillo, rafa carrascal, alzate before lerma........lerma maybe to replace barrios or cuellar..............but in my ideal team lerma isnt part of the 23.
Frankly, I have been thinking this since after the Copa America '19. Queiroz used a lot of lineups without him due to his injuries and unavailability. BUT I still cannot say drop him from the team totally. He still has skills that no other player can provide outside of maybe JuanFer.
I just think the dynamic we don't become so predictable is actually starting to become advantageous. When James plays, everyone knows, pass the ball the James... It's the same Problem with Messi, pass the ball to Messi. I.E. In no way I'm not calling either player bad, but it felt we played better. I'm not sure if its rueda, or no james, or both.
James' Ego and Pride are just way too big for him to ride the bench though. I think he would retire from the National Team if he does not start. It may all just be hypothetical though because I think Rueda has plans for him. He mentioned in one of his recent press conferences that James is one of the leaders on the team along with Ospina and Cuadrado. So based on that I think he will be starter if he is healthy.
Let’s revisit after tomorrow. Personally, if James is fit and ready to go we can hang with any team. If James doesn’t play, we have to be firing on all cylinders and play mistake free futbol against to the top dogs