“You've got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing”.
– Arthur Ashe
“It kills me to lose. If I'm a troublemaker, and I don't think that my temper makes me one, then it's because I can't stand losing. That's the way I am about winning, all I ever wanted to do was finish first”.
– Jackie Robinson
“Esperen tantito, ahorita se le quita”.
– Marcia Mejia Da Costa to my children every time Guadalajara loses.
It’s one of those weeks when it’s hard to read about anything related to futbol. Losing the Clasico was, to say the least, disappointing. The week lacks *umami. It is unsavory and unpalatable. A week to say the least which will be hard to digest. I will get over it, eventually.
The stats. The stats. As I look over the statistics, which are still strongly in favor of Club Deportivo Guadalajara, I might add, all I can think of is how Herrera ‘turned the tortilla’ on el ‘Profe’ Vucetich.
The teams stance was obviously expecting a much more offensive America but to everyone’s surprise ‘El Piojo’ played the counter card!!! Missing some important pieces in his lineup he did completely the opposite of what was expected of him. Most particularly brilliant was the inclusion of a ‘diminished’ Gio Dos Santos who was able to destabilize Guadalajara’s midfield, seemingly, with his mere presence. The one opportunity he had he sank it into the back of the net. What seemed like an impossible shot was accompanied by less than appropriate coverage. As I mentioned in the previous article, the Eagles are very good at taking advantage of the other teams mistakes.
Offensively, America did very little, statistically speaking, they had 13 offensive opportunities, with only 3 on target, to Guadalajara’s 17 and 8, with 7 corners. Chivas also dominated possession with the ball at their feet, 55% of the time. Passing precision was 82% to America’s 76%.
America over abused using the foul as a defensive deterrent, receiving 17 calls in total to Guadalajara’s 8. Both teams received 4 yellow’s. VAR failed to call an apparent rough behind the back tackle on Uriel Antuna inside the box. I won’t be so bold to call it a penalty because the ref called play on. That’s all I am going to say about that.
I ain’t even gonna talk about the ‘over-fraternization’ at the end of the game. A cheap ploy to draw attention away from a fiercely fought game and find a scapegoat to add flavor to the sportscasters table of weekly innuendos and cheap shots. Un hueso. If Oribe had scored the goal to tie the game in its dying moments that would have been the image bouncing around social media this week.
If you watched the game you know a draw would have been the most honest outcome. America echado atras, Chivas al abordaje. Herrera sabe de que pie cojeamos. El Piojo knows that El Rebaño needs a ‘killer’ and he bet on Vucetich’s team breaking upon the rocks of his defensive line. He bet right.
One thing that was definitely lacking was patience. The boys pulled the ball forward 17 times and 50% of those offensive pushes were cut short by a badly placed ball, or OMG a ‘field goal’ pass. ¡¡¡Calma!!! ¡¡¡Calma!!!
What’s the point of doing everything right, to finish it out wrong. We need more shooting as well. An overindulgence in looking for the ‘open spot’ lead to another percentage of lost balls. Sometimes it’s best to just put your boot through it and hope for a lucky rebound in the forest of legs.
It’s important to look at this as a glass half full. The team has possession, is accurate in passing and are slowly working towards finding the way to decipher defensively minded teams. The most important thing is to finish the plays in the back of the net. Lastly, my friends. America did not dominate. Herrera’s team came out timorous and tentative.
Time to support the team. Give them the benefit of the doubt. From what I’ve seen we will be in the playoffs. Who cares in which position, we will be there to give flavor to the fiesta. If the other teams are not careful, we will come home with another Cup.
* What in blazes is Umami? >>> https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/umami
