WCQ Peru vs. Chile "El Clasico del Pacifico" Match Centre

vipnerd · Nov 18, 2004

Caturro said:

Chile looked nervous and slow for most of the first half, and I fully blame it on the formation. Knowing that Peru had a weak defense, Olmos decided to go with a defensive strategy in mind, even though Chile had the players (amidst all the absences) to play a more offensive game.

Of course, after the first few minutes, Peru realized that the Chilean midfield was a mess: David Pizarro was the link with Pinilla, yet he always ended up moving way back like he does in Udinese (Pizarro doesn't work as an enganche), Pinilla was totally abandoned, Mark Gonzales went forward and failed to go back and defend his position, Valenzuela was a ghost throughtout the whole game, etc.

In reality, we gave away the midfield to Peru when we should've been pressuring all along. Peru needed the victory more than we did, so why not make them work for it? The midfield was the battleground, not our field. The result was Chile giving Peru plenty of ground so Vargas, Solano, and Farfan could develop the passing game that Peru is known for.

On another note, yesterday night Farfan was unstoppable. He really is an outstanding player and he caused a lot of problems to our defense... so all the credit in the world to him. Although unrelated to his quality, the Chilean defense probably had the worse 90 minutes in the whole qualifiers. It left holes everywhere and looked very insecure. To me, this is the result of letting Peru attack so much.

With all of this, Olmos gave away the first half just like he usually does. A very dangerous, if not unintelligent, strategy. A shaky midfield which was undefined between attacking or defending (because it couldn't do both at the same time yesterday night) and a very active Peruvian offense which hid very well the problems Peru also had in their field.

On the second half, with Chile having a more offensive, if not organized, strategy, the game turned more dynamic. Once Olmos had Valdivia and Sebastian Gonzales on the field, Chile definitely looked more dangerous. However, our defense never woke up and Olarra and Fuentes were probably the main reasons why Peru scored.

In all honesty, yesterday Peru played better than Chile, and most importantly, deserved to win. However, I personally don't think Peru is a better team than Chile and I think Olmos keeps missing chances to consolidate the Chilean squad once and for all: Chile has a dynamic, vertical and fast paced style of play (imposed by Olmos himself), so why not use it MORE? If we can play so good against Argentina, why can't we play the same against Peru? What is the the answer? Where is the problem?

One thing I do know: the problem is not our players... it is definitely Olmos.
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Great review ... one thing to add to it, both teams left everything on the field.

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Visca... · Nov 18, 2004

vipnerd said:

I thought he was 18 ... thanx for the correction Condor. And yes ... I was referring to his strength/size, what Colombians call biotypes. He's got great speed as well ... He looks to me as he would be a great DM as well, but for the future, once an alternative in the back is found.

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As long as he is not "chicho" salas!!! I hate that midget!!!

purojogo · Nov 18, 2004

Awesome...Just read the PbP, since i could not see the game yet..... Guerrero seems the kind of guy who can give both his club and NT a great deal of happiness IF he comes off the bench, -at least for now that he is still getting used to top flight futbol,- right?

condor11 · Nov 18, 2004

Visca el Barca! said:

As long as he is not "chicho" salas!!! I hate that midget!!!
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it really should be jose moisela from cristal
that way we shift vargas to partner ciurlizza or jayo

Visca... · Nov 18, 2004

condor11 said:

it really should be jose moisela from cristal
that way we shift vargas to partner ciurlizza or jayo
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Like I said, as long as it's not "el chicho". Guy has no strength, no height, no presence, nothing. Vargas looks good in that position.

Let's hope that Acasiete won't be missed a lot by the defense against Brazil. The youngsters Rodriguez and Villalta looked pretty good and decent on defense.

Argentine Gaucho 25 · Nov 18, 2004

This Question maybe "off topic" Did Peru "re-sign" Paulo Autori after he resigned from Peru after losing to Argentina?

vico · Nov 18, 2004

he never resigned although many wanted him to

Argentine Gaucho 25 · Nov 18, 2004

Oh, I remember watching Contacto Deportivo a day after ARG/PERU and they had a story of Paolo Autori resigning a day after the game concluded. So I was surprised to see him continue in the PERU bench....

Thanks for answering the Q, I appreciate it.....