 Wysłany: Sob 10:02, 12 Kwi 2014 Temat postu: More to Colombia than Radamel Falcao. |
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When those great Buenos Aires rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate met in Sunday's 'super-clasico', Wholesale Russia Soccer Jerseys Colombia coach Jose Pekerman will have been paying attention to proceedings - and not just because he is from Argentina. Three Colombian Spain Soccer Jersey World Cup internationals are part of the River Plate first team. They combined to set up the opening goal in their side's 2-1 win. And there might be some food for thought there as Pekerman muses on how to combine the resources at his disposal in Colombia's World Cup challenge. The column inches have gone to the injury suffered by star striker Radamel Falcao Garcia, and his battle to be fit in time for the trip to Brazil. It is an important issue - he was the team's top-scorer in qualification and his presence on the field is likely But the ramifications of Falcao's possible absence can be overblown for a number of reasons. One is that Colombia have plenty of attacking options. Carlos Bacca of Sevilla made the point in midweek with his two goals against Real Madrid. Jackson Martinez, the closest like-for-like Falcao replacement, has been in the goals with Porto. Then there is Teofilo Gutierrez, one of that River Plate trio. In qualification he scored as many times from open play as Falcao - and he showed his ability to receive the ball in wide spaces on Sunday with the pass he gave for the first goal. Luis Fernando Muriel of Udinese is a strong candidate. Some will point to Adrian Ramos, enjoying a good season in Germany with Hertha Berlin. Colombia fans are more likely to argue for the virtues of Dayro Moreno of Millonarios, or Carlos Darwin Quintero of Santos Laguna in Mexico. In short, should Falcao not be able to recover in time there is a queue of eager aspirants. The second point is that Falcao on his own has never been the solution. He needs a supply line. It took Colombia a long time to begin to get the best out of their star centre-forward. In the 2011 Copa America, for example, there was little quality in their build-up play. They were knocked out in the quarter-finals by a Peru side who saw them coming. Then Peru coach Sergio Markarian identified the Colombians as good physically, technically and tactically. But, he said, they were a side with little fantasy - that piece of magic in the last 30m that can unlock the opposing defence. |
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