Four times in one year, it has been jokingly dubbed ‘El Clásico’, as Paraguay face Guatemala in yet another international friendly following the late cancellation of the game with Puerto Rico. They return to the scene of the first game in Luque which the albirroja won 2-1 . In Guatemala City it was also a victory for the South Americans but there was some fight back in round three, a 3-3 draw in Washington DC the highlight being Jonathan Fabbro’s international debut.
The first game in Luque finished 2-1 to Paraguay
Gerardo Pelusso has named a fairly strong team although if the truth be told we are not sure what his best side is and neither is he, there have been 25 players used in the first five games – Cristian Riveros and Paulo Da Silva the only to start every match. Jonathan Fabbro (2 starts, 3 sub appearances) and Víctor Cáceres (4 starts, 1 sub appearance) have also featured in all five. The Uruguayan has all but confirmed his starting eleven for tomorrow as he looks to play with a 4-3-3 formation he often used at Olimpia.
The basic idea will be for Ortiz and Oviedo to play as holding midfielders giving Julio Dos Santos license to find space in the final third to either hit Luis Caballero with balls into feet or find Nuñez and Benítez over the top. The latter two will almost certainly have too much pace for the Guatemala backline so if Dos Santos finds his range they could have a lot of joy down the flanks.
From Russia with Love, Caballero has traveled 13,000 km to be here – Photo: Prensa Selección Paraguaya de Fútbol
From what we’ve seen of Guatemala they like to play possession football and they usually go through Marco Pappa who I believe isn’t available for this friendly. The other player that caused problems three months ago was ‘Pescadito’ Ruíz, a slippery player that will cause Da Silva and Aguilar some problems if he starts.
PREDICTION: Paraguay at home must win this, 2-0
BEST BET: Haven’t seen any odds but would be very confident of home win looking at stats below
Paraguay XI probable (4-3-3): Diego Barreto; Iván Piris, Pablo Aguilar, Paulo Da Silva, Miguel Samudio; Richard Ortiz, Fidencio Oviedo, Julio Dos Santos; José Ariel Nuñez, Luis Caballero, Edgar Benítez
Defenders: Paulo Da Silva (Pachuca, México), Pablo Aguilar (Tijuana, México), Iván Piris (Roma, Italy), Miguel Samudio (Libertad, Paraguay), Gustavo Mencia (Libertad, Paraguay), Salustiano Candia (Olimpia, Paraguay), Claudio Vargas (Sportivo Luqueño, Paraguay)
Midfielders: Víctor Cáceres (Flamengo, Brasil), Hernán Pérez (Villarreal, Spain), Víctor Ayala (Lanús, Argentina), Richard Ortiz (Olimpia, Paraguay), Marcelo Estigarribia (Sampdoria, Italy), Lorenzo Melgarejo (Benfica, Portugal), Fidencio Oviedo (Cerro Porteño, Paraguay), Julio Dos Santos (Cerro Porteño, Paraguay), Jonathan Fabbro (Cerro Porteño, Paraguay).
Strikers: Rogerio Leichtweis (Cerro de Franco), Edgar Benítez (Toluca, México), Luis Caballero (Krylya Sovetov, Russia), José Ariel Núñez (Libertad, Paraguay).
** Justo Villar (Estudiantes) and Lucas Barrios (Guangzhou Evergrande) are injured
A rare goal from right-back Marcos Cáceres proved to be the winner as Newell’s went top of the table in Argentina under former Paraguay coach Tata Martino. Elsewhere both Oscar Cardozo and Claudio Correa scored for the two Benfica sides (senior and B) while Luis Caballero found the net for Krylya.
PORTUGAL
Oscar Cardozo and Lorenzo Melgarejo both started for Benfica with the former scoring a trademark penalty having missed a sitter earlier on in the game. Also Carlos Correa scored for the B team, an emphatic finish for his 2nd in 3 games.
RUSSIA
Pablo Zeballos started behind Luis Caballero (both Krylya Sovetov) in their 2-2 draw with Zenit St Petersburg, Caballero got his team’s second which at the time put them 2-0 up. Caballero now has three goals for the club from Samara.
EUROPE ROUND-UP
There was another goal for Aldo Adorno in Cyprus, netting APOEL’s third in a comfortable win while in Poland Jorge Salinas is said to have played well in Legia Warsaw’s 1-1 draw with Polonia Warsaw. Marcelo Estigarribia (Sampdoria) and Nelson Haedo (Valencia) both started their league games while Roque Santacruz (Malaga) came on off the bench.
ARGENTINA
A Marcos Cáceres goal handed Newell’s a 2-0 lead and proved to be the winner as they beat Colón 2-1 away to go top of the table and have stayed there following Boca’s defeat to Lanús with Victor Ayala starting for the winners.
The other starters this week were Federico Santander (Tigre), Eduardo Ledesma (Godoy Cruz) and Ricardo Mazacotte (Unión de Santa Fe) none of whom were involved in a win.
ECUADOR
Macará remain top of the league, albeit with two games in hand over their nearest rivals, with Domingo Martinez one of their key players. At the weekend however they lost to LDU Quito with Eduardo Echeverría started for the victors. Fernando Gimenez (Emelec) started for his side in their win as did Aldo Vera (LDU Loja).
MEXICO
Pablo Aguilar (Xolos) is now sharing his seat at the top of the table with Edgar Benítez (Toluca) following the latter’s win against Atlante where Osvaldo Martinez plays. Dario Verón (Pumas) and Herminio Miranda (Puebla) both played the full 90 minutes in draws while Paulo Da Silva (Pachuca) was subbed off in a defeat.
LATIN AMERICA ROUND-UP
It was almost a perfect afternoon for Roberto Ovelar (Uni. Católica) who scored two and set up another, however his side ended up losing a thrilling game 4-3 to Cobreloa. Cristian Bogado (Dep. Iquique) and Miguel Angel Cuellar (Cobresal) also got on the scoresheet. In Colombia there were no goals for Robin Ramirez (Dep. Tolima) who started alongside Antony Silva in a 0-0 draw with Huila.
A good week for Paraguayans with seven goals in Italy, Cyprus, Colombia, Chile and Bolivia. Here is the round-up of the profitable weekend.
EUROPE
ITALY
Marcelo Estigarribia scored his first goal for new club Sampdoria in a 3-2 win away to Pescara, it was the second of the game.
Ivan Piris (Roma) started in a surprise 3-2 loss to Bologna while Edgar Barreto (Palermo) didn’t feature.
SPAIN
Both Roque Santa Cruz (Málaga) and Nelson Haedo Valdez (Valencia) came on off the bench as their sides won at home.
CYPRUS
Aldo Adorno scored twice for Apoel in their 3-1 win over Doxa Katokopia, the first a follow up from a vicious free kick and the second a haeder.
RUSSIA
Both Luis Caballero and Pablo Zeballos were key figures for Krylya Sovetov who won their first game after three straight defeats. Zeballos set up the opener with a good dead ball delivery but it was Caballero who helped them turn the game around from 2-1 to 2-3 with two assists in the final 7 minutes. First chesting the ball down to Pyotr Nemov and then in stoppage time picking up the loose ball to send into the path of Roman Grigoryan.
LATIN AMERICA
ARGENTINA
Justo Villar (Estudiantes), Claudio Morel (Independiente) and Marcos Cáceres (Newell’s) all started while a host of players came on off the bench – Federico Santander (Tigre), Jorge Achucarro (Colón), Eduardo Ledesma (Godoy Cruz) and Samuel Cáceres (Independiente) – but there were no goals to speak of.
BRAZIL
Víctor Cáceres (Flamengo) was a starter in the 1-1 draw at home to Grêmio.
COLOMBIA
Marcos Lazaga (Patriotas) netted his third goal in four games but it wasn’t enough to save his team from a third straight defeat.
CHILE
Cristian Bogado scored the only goal of the game to secure a win for Iquique while Miguel Cuéllar (Cobresal) set his team on their way to a 2-1 win. Outside of the top division, Adam Brandon tells me that José Félix Pedroso is enjoying a run in the San Marcos de Arica side who are hoping to be promoted.
BOLIVIA
Pablo Escobar (The Strongest) scored the only goal in his team’s 2-1 defeat to Blooming and Carlos Neumann also got on the scoresheet for Real Potosí in a 1-1 draw with Nacional Potosí.
MEXICO
No goals from the guys up north this week although worth mentioning that Pablo Aguilar’s Tijuana team beat Osvlado Martinez’s Atlante and sit top of the league.
There was competitive action across Europe this weekend which is where we start and an action-packed game in Portugal.
EUROPE
Oscar Cardozo saved his teammate’s blushes with a penalty to earn Benfica a point against Braga in a 2-2 draw, earlier Lorenzo Melgarejo a striker converted to left-back had scored a headed own goal as he misjudged a cross.
In Spain Nelson Haedo made his Valencia debut, coming off the bench in the credible draw against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu. Antolín Alcaraz (Wigan Athletic) played the whole game in a 2-0 defeat. In Russia the Krylya Sovetov pair, Pablo Zeballos and Luis Caballero were sunk by the same margin, things were even worse for the Paraguayan pair as the latter was sent off after 39 minutes having reacted badly to a foul. Cristian Riveros (Kayserispor) was also defeated 1-0 this weekend.
CHINA
Better news outside of Europe when José Ortigoza (Shandong) turned Ortigol in China with a consolation goal in a 4-2 loss.
ARGENTINA
Also a couple of goals for our players down south, while Claudio Morel was sent off in Avellenada derby which Independiente lost, there was happier news for ex-Racing defender Marcos Cáceres who can be seen scoring below for Newell’s Old Boys in their 2-0 victory.
Víctor Ayala also scored his first goal in Argentina, a smashing effort to seal Lanús’ 2-0 win over Vélez.
MEXICO
It was the late late show for the Paraguayans this weekend. Osvaldo Martinez scored a penalty six minutes from time for Atlante in their 1-1 draw with his former club Monterrey.
Edgar ‘Pajaro’ Benítez left it until the 91st minute to score Toluca’s winner against Pachuca having come off the bench in the second half. Paulo Da Silva played the whole game for the losing side.
Elsewhere Dario Verón (PUMAS) was involved in a 2-1 away win and Pablo Aguilar (Tijuana) saw his side win by the same scoreline at home.
Another weekend, another goal for Pablo Aguilar, the Tijuana defender has now notched up three in four league games and is joint 2nd topscorer in the Mexican Primera División. Over in China, Lucas Barrios was left out of the side with sunstroke while in Russia Luis Caballero continues his hot streak with another goal for Krylya as they sit in sixth place. There are also goals from Ecuador and Cyprus in another decent week for our Paraguayan legion.
RUSSIA
Luis Caballero bundled in the first goal to set Krylya on their way against Rostov.Pablo Zeballos set up the winner last week and once again was the provider from a corner as the side from Samara ran out 2-1 victors to record back-to-back wins.
CHINA
Lucas Barrios suffered heatstroke on Wednesday so wasn’t included by Lippi in the Guangzhou team at the weekend, José Ortigoza’s Shandong ran out 4-0 winners but the Paraguayan didn’t find the net.
MEXICO
Another incredible weekend for Pablo Aguilar who is turning into a prolific goalscorer, the central defender opened the scoring for Tijuana in a 2-2 draw with Paulo Da Silva’s Pachuca.
There was another all-Paraguayan battle as Edgar Benítez (Toluca) got the better of Dario Verón (Pumas) in a 2-1 away win and on Friday night Osvaldo Martinez (Atlante) also won 2-1 as part of the visiting side, overcoming Jaguares. Herminio Miranda (Puebla) played the full 90 minutes as his side went down to 10-men and lost 1-0 to Cruz Azul.
BRAZIL
Víctor ‘Topo’ Cáceres made a long awaited debut as Flamengo moved up to ninth with a 2-0 win, elsewhere Figueirense ended a 15-game winless streak but neither Wilson Pittoni nor Mario Saldivar were in the match squad.
CYPRUS
Aldo Adorno scored a good goal to seal APOEL’s passage to the next phase of the Europa League
ARGENTINA
Ricardo Mazacotte (Unión de Santa Fe) still hasn’t tasted victory at his new club, it was also defeat for Justo Villar (Estudiantes) and Víctor Ayala (Lanús). However the latter’s defeat came at the hands of Newell’s Old Boys the only goal being set up by Marcos Cáceres’ low centre.
ECUADOR
A goal for Domingo Martinez (Macará) sealed a 3-0 away win against Independiente with Librado Azcona and Edgar Balbuena on the home team.
Also in the Andean country, Fernando Gimenez (Emelec) was involved in the clásico defeat to Barcelona before travelling to Washington DC for the Paraguay friendly.
ITALY
We don’t usually drop down a division but this was a special case as teenage prospect Rodrigo Alborno made his senior debut for Novara in the Coppa Italia on his 19th Birthday, the former Inter Milan left back’s side won 4-3.
A great weekend for the Mexican legion with defenders Pablo Aguilar and Paulo da Silva both securing 1-0 wins for their sides with crucial goals, Atlante’s Osvaldo Martinez capped a fine week for the expats with a penalty in the draw with América. On the other side of the world Pablo Zeballos came of the bench to set up Krylya’s late winner and Lucas Barrios’ Guanzhou Evergrande saw their lead at the top of the Chinese Super League cut to just one point. Here is a brief round-up.
MEXICO
Pablo Aguilar (Tijuana) got the winner against Dario Veron’s Pumas side following a defensive mix up
Paulo Da Silva (Pachuca) also scored the only goal for his side, making up for his own goal last week
Osvaldo Martinez (Atlante) scored the second of the game, a penalty, in a 2-2 draw.
Elsewhere in Mexico, Edgar Benítez played the final half hour for Toluca as they ran out 2-1 winners at home.
SOUTH AMERICA
In Argentina there were no goals, worth noting that Orlando Gaona Lugo got a rare outing for Boca Juniors, he played the last 30 minutes in their 3-0 defeat. Victor Ayala (Lanús) and Ricardo Mazacotte (Unión Santa Fe) both made their debuts in 1-0 defeats away from home.
Wilson Pittoni was involved in yet another defeat for Figueirense who sit bottom of the Brasilerão, Víctor Cáceres (Flamengo) has finally been cleared to play but his game was postponed this weeekend.
Miguel Angel Cuellar found the net for Cobresal, with ex-Sol de América striker Victor Ferreira playing for the opponents, Unión La Calera, having moved from Caracas in Venezuela.
Over in Ecuador there was a red card for Eduardo Echeverría (Liga de Quito) in the clásico against Barcelona, he picked up two bookings in the 2-2 draw. In Perú there was better news as Mario Villasanti (Inti Gas) kept a cleansheet in a win that puts them in sixth place. Robin Ramirez (Tolima) didn’t score in Colombia as he and his teammate, Antony Silva, fell 2-1 against German Centurión’s Santa Fe side.
No goals for Lucas Barrios (Guanzhou Evergrande) nor José Ortigoza (Shandong Luneng) as neither side managed a victory, losing 2-1 and drawing 3-3 respectively.
A good weekend for our ambassador’s around the world as several Paraguayans found the net, here is just a brief round-up of the major figures with video evidence of their labour.
EUROPE
RUSSIA
Luis Caballero (Krylya) and Pablo Zeballos (Krylya) made their official debuts for the Samara-based club against Terek Grozny, while Zeballos was subbed off his compatriot played the full 90 minutes and grabbed the equaliser with a cool penalty kick.
PORTUGAL
Juan Manuel Iturbe (Porto) got some rare minutes on the pitch in a friendly and scored this wonder-goal in his side’s 3-0 victory.
Oscar Cardozo (Benfica) has been linked with a move away from Benfica but he turned out for the Lisbon side in a friendly against Slask and scored a typical ‘Tacuara’ goal.
CENTRAL AMERICA
MEXICO
Pablo Aguilar (Xolos de Tijuana) was another player who scored on his debut, the ex-Luque defender grabbed the second goal of the game in a victory over Puebla, with Herminio Miranda representing the away team.
SOUTH AMERICA
CHILE
Miguel Angel Cuellar (Cobresal) scored the equaliser against Colo Colo as his side bounced back to win in Santiago. You can see his goal after 1:45 mins on the video.
ASIA
CHINA
Lucas Barrios (Guanzhou Evegrande) grabbed the winner for his new side in the Chinese Premier League with a good header.
Olimpia’s victory in the clásico añejo has taken them on the verge of back-to-back league wins and their 40th domestic title. They sit four points clear of Cerro Porteño with three fixtures to play between now and July 8th. The final meeting is of course the superclásico between these two great rivals. Here we round up the week with the usual awards at the bottom and some sad goings on in Luque.
Olimpia vs Guaraní Estadio Defensores del Chaco (1-0) 2-0 – Pablo Zeballos (pen) 11′, Maxi Biancucchi 50′
A compact and professional performance by Olimpia earned an important victory that was mainly down to their excellent front three. It was epitomised by the two goals which both involved all of the terrific trio. In the first half Luis Caballero released the pacey Maxi Biancucchi who was felled by goalkeeper Pablo Aurrecochea in what was a red card offence but punished with a just a booking. Pablo Zeballos stepped up to convert the resulting penalty, his sixth goal of the season.
In the second period Biancucchi got the goal denied by the Guaraní goalkeeper previously, this time it was good work by Caballero to find Zeballos and the number ten slotted a through ball to ‘Mini Maxi’. The Argentine controlled well with his right foot before shifting the ball onto his weaker left and finishing emphatically. The closing stages saw the aborigen probe for a consolation mainly through Dario Ocampo, but El Decano were resilient in defence and kept their fourth cleansheet in five matches.
Olimpia XI: Martín Silva; Renzo Revoredo, Francisco Nájera, Salustiano Candia, Eugenio Montiel; Eduardo Aranda, Miguel Amado, Richard Ortíz; Pablo Zeballos ; Maximiliano Biancucchi, Luis Caballero
Subs: Carlos Humberto Paredes for Luis Caballero, Julio Santa Cruz for Pablo Zeballos, Arnaldo Castorino for Maxi Biancucchi
Guaraní XI: Pablo Aurrecochea; Eduardo Filippini, Elvis Marecos, Luis Cabral, Edgar Aranda; Iván González Ferreira, Juan Aguilar, Marcelo Palau, Luis de la Cruz; Dante López, Nelson Romero
Subs: Fabio Escobar for Edgar Aranda, Jorge Mendoza for Juan Aguilar
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Cerro Porteño vs Tacuary Estadio La Olla (0-0) 2-0 – Santiago Salcedo 82′, Jonathan Fabbro 87′
The game started as expected, after just five minutes Cerro Porteño had won four corners and it seemed the gamble to play Edgar Benítez at left wingback was paying off with Tacuary showing no attacking intent. Jonathan Fabbro looked motivated, at one point he was even seen busting a gut to track back 30 yards, and found space early on and nearly scoring with a vicious drive tipped over by Carlos Servín. But with Tacuary disciplined and the home team throwing balls into the box to no avail, the best chances were a long range Fabbro free kick and a fierce shot by Fidencio Oviedo diverted for a corner by Servín. The halftime whistle went and Tacuary had hardly crept out of their own half let alone risked shooting.
For Cerro Porteño the second half followed a worryingly similar pattern as the first, plenty of possession, plenty of crosses but no celar cut chances and even when they got a slice of luck with a deflection that looped into the top corner it was palmed away by the super Servín. Jorge Rojas entered the fray but even the tricky winger was unable to unlock the defence with his first forays from right wing back. Finally with Fabbro having no luck from dead ball situations nor Julio Dos Santos nor Edgar Benítez, the responsibility fell to Santiago Salcedo and the striker made no mistake to the relief of the club’s fans. His free kick was sent low through a gap in the wall surprising Servín to put El Ciclón ahead. With just eight minutes remaining Tacuary finally showed some ambition and incredibly almost equalised following a nice attacking move that ended with the shot flashing just wide. But Cerro had the final word, Rojas burst down the right wing and picked out Jonathan Fabbro with a square ball placed between two defenders that the Argentine gleefully converted to cap another good individual performance under Jorge Fossati.
Cerro Porteño XI: Pablo Gavilán; Luis Cardozo, Pedro Benítez, César Benítez; Luis Cáceres, Fidencio Oviedo, Julio Dos Santos, Édgar Benítez; Jonathan Fabbro; Santiago Salcedo, Guillermo Beltrán
Subs: Jorge Rojas for Luis Cáceres, Alejandro da Silva for Guillermo Beltrán, José Domingo Salcedo for Edgar Benítez
Tacuary XI: Carlos Servín; Gustavo Giménez, Gustavo Acosta Pera, Diego Viera, Grégor Aguayo; Pablo Espinoza, Marcos Giménez, Marcos Acosta Rojas, Ever Ortiz; Raúl Román; Jorge Ortega
Subs: Edgar Fernandez for Ever Ortiz, Lorenzo Silva for Raúl Romá, Jorge Alvarenga for Pablo Espinoza
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Carapeguá vs Libertad Estadio Juan Canuto Pettengill (1-1) 2-2 – Esteban Ramirez 31′, Ever Amarilla 90′, José Ariel Nuñez 38′, Maurito Caballero 59′
Libertad gifted their opponents a goal late on to draw and mathematically end any chances of winning the league title. It was an energetic game with Carapeguá offering ample attacking threat as well as defending well for long periods of the game. Early on Libertad controlled possession with little penetration which gave the home side hope they could get something out of the match. On the half hour mark Esteban Ramirez got inside the box and while his scuffed shot caused no danger he managed to regain the ball from Jorge Ayala who had held it up with his back to goal and smash home from the six yard line.
Libertad are used to falling behind and they equalised just seven minutes later, Pablo Velazquez with a cute ball into the area for his strike partner José Airel Nuñez, the 23-year-old latched onto the pass and finished with his left foot with a precise side-footed shot between goalkeeper and defender. The Gumarelo went ahead just after halftime thanks to Porto-bound (probably) Maurito Caballero who came off the bench to score with his first touch. It was a characteristically instinctive goal a double defensive error and with El Potro’s backline static he anticipated the flight of the ball to tap in.
The sides couldn’t be separated in Itaguá – Photo: D10.com.py
With that victory was secured, or so it seemed, but Libertad went on the back foot and were suddenly conceding ground to a Carapeguá side that wouldn’t give up. Víctor ‘Topo’ Cáceres, making his 200th and last appearance for the club, was replaced by a defender to try and see off the onslaught but ultimately he was caught ball watching at the end in some shocking defending. A deflected shot looped over the Libertad rearguard and with goalkeeper Rodrigo Muñoz staying on his line the ball was allowed to bounce, still the Guma stood like statues and when the ball was hooked back into the area there was Ever Amarilla unmarked in space to earn a vital point in the battle to avoid the drop.
Subs: Pedro Rojas for Diosnel Almirón, Diego Benítez for Marcos Arce, Ever Amarilla for Ricardo Ortíz
Libertad XI: Rodrigo Muñoz; Carlos Bonet, Cristian Nasuti, Joe Bizera, Miguel Samudio; Víctor Ayala, Víctor Cáceres, Néstor Camacho, Luciano Civelli; José Ariel Núñez, Pablo Velázquez
Subs: Maurito Caballero for Luciano Civelli,Carlos Martínez for José Ariel Nuñez, Ismael Benegas for Víctor Cáceres
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OFF THE BALL
Blas betrays tradition: The old Paraguay football saying ‘The manager that debuts, wins’ was blown out of the water by Francisco Garcia’s excellent strike to hand Independiente a 1-0 win over Blas Cristaldo’s Rubio Ñu
Ortigoza at the double: José Ortigoza netted twice to see of Luque in a game marred by crowd violence. The Luque fans threw a knife at Sol de América midfielder Sergio Escalante when he was subbed off which landed a bit too close for comfort. They also threatened their own players, most notably Jorge ‘Mono’ Britez and it emerged today that the fans had left a death threat with the President of the Referee’s comittee warning him to make sure the referee ‘performed’ at the next match. Ugly times for the side facing relegation.
Nacional knocked for five: Amazingly not only did Nacional fail to win they were given a ‘paliza’ by Cerro de Franco who beat them 5-0, an incredible scoreline. The visitor’s must be missing defender Herminio Miranda now in Mexico with Puebla.
Orteman stays in Paraguay: Finally, the major transfer story of the week is Sergio Orteman who has decided to stay in Paraguay by signing a one-year contract with Guaraní. The two-time Copa Libertadores midfielder will team up with compatriot Marcelo Palau in central midfield for the Clausura.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Carlos Servín (Tacuary); Gustavo Gimenez (Tacuary), Francisco Nájera (Olimpia), Pedro Benítez (Cerro Porteño), Diego Ciz (Sol de América); Julio Irrazabal (Carapeguá), Cristian Andersen (Cerro PF), Fidencio Oviedo (Cerro Porteño), Jonathan Fabbro (Cerro Porteño); Maxi Biancucchi (Olimpia), José Ortigoza (Sol de América)
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Maxi Biancucchi can be a frustrating player sometimes, always wanting to take players on and wasteful in front of goal, but against Guaraní he was part of an excellent front three and won the penalty before scoring a great individual goal himself.
Maxi Biancucchi is player of the week – Photo: D10.com.py
GOAL OF THE WEEK: Independiente’s Francisco Garcia has been here before for a similar strike, picking it up on the left wing cutting inside and looping a long range effort over Osvaldo Cabral in the Rubio Ñu goal
DONKEY OF THE WEEK: Luque fans – not all of them of course but that pocket of ‘barra’ who are making it unsafe for supporters, players and officials to enjoy football in the Feliciano Cáceres.
STAT OF THE WEEK: 2 – the win over Guaraní was Olimpia’s first two-goal victory since November of 2011!
I wasn’t in Asunción over Easter so had to resort to listening to both Cerro Porteño and Olimpia on the radio (no cable in the countryside) but I did get my fill of football and of course all the weekend’s action (and there is a lot) is here. See how Cerro Porteño and Olimpia warmed up for this Sunday’s superclásico, Libertad’s limp response to a dramatic late win in the Copa Libertadores and finally, finally, Tacuary celebrated a win (as predicted here)!
Main Games
Sol de América vs Cerro Porteño Estadio Oddone Sarubbi (1-0) 2-2 – William Mendieta 38′, Enzo Prono 47′, Julio Dos Santos (pen) 60′, Jony Fabbro (pen) 72′
Somewhat surprisingly Sol de América brushed off recent form (three straight losses) and the José Ortigoza shaped hole in attack to go two goals in front in Ciudad del Este. William Mendieta opened the scoring, picking up Enzo Prono’s flick from a long ball and skirting his way round Cerro’s defence to finish with a clever chip. Just after the break Prono profited from an incredible mix up by Pedro Benitez and Alexis Gonzalez, the Sol striker pouncing on the mistake to tuck away a simple chance.
The Cerro comeback began on the hour mark, a penalty given to the away side for handball which seemed correct – the Uruguayan left back Diego Ciz had his arm away from his body as he leaned to block an overhead kick. Julio Dos Santos whipped the spot kick into the top corner, 2-1. When Angel Enciso was shown a second yellow less than ten minutes later it was clear the tide had turned in El Ciclon’s favour and sure enough on 72 minutes they had equalised, again from 12 yards. This time Edgar Segovia went for a routine clearance only to find that Jorge Rojas had reached the ball first so rather than smashing the ball 60 yards he smashed Rojas about 6 yards instead. Clear penalty. With Dos Santos no longer on the pitch, Jonathan Fabbro stepped up and smashed it hard enough that the keeper’s touch only pushed it into the roof of the net.
Dos Santos celebrates his goal - Photo: Estadio.com.py
After the game the imposing figure of Sol coach Ricardo Dabrowski took on some serious menace when he growled to journalists after the game about the refereeing and in particular an elbow on his player William Mendieta. ” When these things happen, Sol doesn’t lose, Paraguayan football loses.” indicating that the reason that the big Paraguayan clubs suffer in international football and “ship 6 goals” [Olimpia lost 6-0 to Lanús last week] is because they don’t get the same favourable treatment from referees abroad as they do at home. The big man might have a point there.
Sol de América: Roberto Acosta; Roberto Bonet, Ricardo Martínez, Édgar Segovia, Diego Ciz; Reinaldo Ocampo, Ángel Enciso, Alfredo Rojas, David Mendieta; William Mendieta, Enzo Prono
Subs: E.Orzusa for R.Ocampo, C.Dominguez for E.Prono, S.Escalante for W.Mendieta
Sent Off: A.Enciso (two bookable offences)
Cerro Porteño: Diego Barreto; Matías Corujo, Mariano Uglessich, Pedro Benítez, Luis Cardozo; Jorge Rojas, Alexis González, Julio Dos Santos, Édgar Benítez; Jonathan Fabbro, Santiago Salcedo
Subs: W.López for J.Dos Santos, G.Beltrán for E.Benitez, L.Caceres for J.Fabbro
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Olimpia vs Sportivo Luqueño Estadio Manuel Ferreira a.k.a Para Uno (0-1) 2-1 – Arnaldo Castorino 73′, Gabriel Montiel 82′; Carlos Martinez 14′
Olimpia took the first steps to erasing the Buenos Aires humiliation with a typically gritty win over Luque in Para Uno. The relegation strugglers were a goal up against their illustrious rivals when youngster Carlos Martinez scored. He was given time and space on the right hand side to drive home from outside the box. Luque would have been two up at halftime were it not for Salustiano Candía’s goal line heroics, Luque striker Guido Di Vanni had lifted the ball over Martin Silva and it was heading into the empty net only for Candia to race back and stretch out a leg to keep the score at 1-0.
El Decano pushed and pushed for an equaliser, it finally came 17 minutes before the end from an Arnaldo Castorino header who reacted to Sergio Orteman’s flick on following a corner. As ever the black and white machine driven forward by captain Orteman didn’t stop there. The Uruguayan shrugged off his marker on the right to send a looping cross over to the other side of the box where the debutant left-back Gabriel Montiel (the Paraguayan press insist on calling him Eugenio but he uses Gabriel on his facebook so I’m sticking with that!) had made a lung-busting run into the box and side footed in on the half volley to win the game and extend their lead at the top of the Apertura Table to four points.
Arnaldo Castorino gets the equaliser - Photo: D10.com.py
It was a wonderful moment for Montiel, from Mariano Roque Alonso on the outskirts of Asunción, who had everything to owe to his parents who supported him with the little money they had. His mother, like many Paraguayans in tough economic situations, moved to Spain to work as a maid and send money home so her son could continue his dream of playing football. Now 20 years old that dream is starting to come true.
Olimpia: Martín Silva; Francisco Nájera, Adrián Romero, Salustiano Candia, Gabriel Montiel; Eduardo Aranda, Fabio Caballero, Sergio Orteman, Alberto Contrera; Pablo Zeballos, Luis Caballero
Subs: A.Castorino for A.Contrera; S.Almirón for L.Caballero, O.Hobecker for F.Nájera
Sent Off: O.Hobecker (straight red – elbow)
Luque: Tobías Vargas; Juan Gamarra, Ronald Huth, Pablo Aguilar, Sergio Vergara; Claudio Vargas, Édgar Robles, Juan Raponi, Carlos Martínez; Guido Di Vanni, Pablo Giménez
Subs: C.Caceres Cañete for P.Gimenez, J.Britez for J.P.Raponi, R.Gamarra for C.Martinez
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OFF THE BALL
Libertad punch up: Libertad’s last gasp Copa Libertadores win meant nothing at the end of a 1-1 draw with lowly Independiente in the league. In the previous home game there had been verbal exchanges after the same result against Carapeguá but this time things got physical. Pulciano Aquino, the assistant to Jorge Burruchaga, sought out ex-board member Gustavo Invernizzi who had been verbally abusing the coach’s wife as an angry mob gathered around the press conference area to vent their anger at results. A full on fight was only avoided by the private security present (if you thought that should read police, dream on) who waded in to pull the potential pugilists apart.
León out the door: Felix de León has left Luque to become the third manager to lose his job so far this season having garnered just 12 points from a possible 30 which keeps the auriazul in relegation trouble. His replacement is Carlos Kiese which has been received with a mixed reaction, in his previous tenure as Luque manager he won just one game!
Tacuary win twice! Not only did Tacuary win their first game of the year in the Primera but their namesake in the regional league of Caraguatay got the better of my local team 6 de Julio on Maundy Thursday. They are the ones in green and white!
Tacuary won 2-1 in the Easter rain
Player of the Week: Must be the aforementioned Montiel!
Donkey of the Week: Sorry Federico Carballo of Guaraní – your own goal was one for the ee-aw collection!
Goal of the Week: Derlis Gonzalez showed everybody why he is on Benfica’s books, gliding past two challenges to fire home clinically from the edge of the box. It is the first goal in the link below!
Results: Guaraní 2-1 Carapeguá, Tacuary 1-0 Cerro PF, Libertad 1-1 Independiente, Nacional 0-2 Rubio Ñu, Olimpia 2-1 Sportivo Luqueño, Sol de América 2-2 Cerro Porteño
Intermedia Results: Atl. Colegiales 2 – 0 Paranaense FC, General Díaz 0 – 0 Fernando de la Mora, Sp. Iteño 2 – 2 29 de Setiembre, 2 de Mayo 1 – 2 General Caballero, 3 de Febrero 0 – 1 Resistencia FC, River Plate 1 – 1 Sport Colombia, Sp. Trinidense 0 – 0 Dvo. Santaní, San Lorenzo 1 – 3 Dvo. Capiatá
While Lionel Messi scored for Barcelona in Spain, across the Atlantic his cousins Maxi and Emanuel Biancucchi netted goals in Asunción on Saturday and Sunday respectively. But while Maxi scored the only goal of the game to keep Olimpia top of the league, Emanuel scored what turned out to be nothing more than a consolation penalty as his Independiente side were mauled 5-2 by a rampant Nacional. The Ricardo Gregor stadium is where we kick off…
MAIN GAME
Independiente vs Nacional Estadio Ricardo Gregor (1-2) 2-5 – Emanuel Biancucchi (pen) 31′, Herminio Miranda (og) 83′; Denis Caniza 15′, Javier Gonzalez 45+1′ & 54′, Angel Orué 64′, Ricardo Teixeira 71′
This weekend I visited Independiente’s ground for the first time to watch Sunday’s early kick off between Alicio Solalinde’s strugglers and Javier Torrente’s title challengers. Just ten minutes before kick off a black cat ran past the stand, it was clearly an omen as Independiente played well for 45 minutes only to be beaten out of sight.
Stern refereeing at the game saw five yellow cards - Photo: Prensa Club Nacional
The game began with neither team fashioning an opening, Nacional were better in the middle where Marcos Riveros and the excellent Silvio Torales controlled posession and the tempo of the game. Independiente however were dangerous on the wings with Francisco García, on loan from Cerro Porteño, showing excellent movement and technique on the left hand side, supported ably by his full back Richard Lugo. But that left gaps to be exposed and after 15 minutes the Nacional right back Denis Caniza profited with an excellent volley from Ramón Caceres’ cross on the left. Caceres had got in behind the Inde defense thanks to Torales incisive pass despite having little space to work in. On the half hour mark Independiente got a deserved equaliser via an undeserved penalty, Emanuel Biancucchi was allegedly fouled and brushed himself off to score from twelve yards. It came at a time when the home side had been creating chances with García drifting inside and Luis Miño linking well with his strikers. Nacional had taken their foot of the gas after the goal and there was often 30-40 yards between the midfield and two strikers as they visitors were forced deeper and deeper.
Both sides threatened to take the lead before halftime, first Caniza had space on the right to put in a wonderful cross for Angel Orué but the big number nine headed wide, down the other end Miño nearly replicated his ‘golazo’ against Olimpia with a dangerous dipping shot from distance tipped over by Ignacio Don. In the end Independiente went into the break a goal down thanks to some shocking defending. A routine long ball to Orué (Nacional’s strategy throughout the half) saw the lanky striker win a freekick, Javier Gonzalez was quick thinking at tapped the ball to Ariel Bogado who returned the ball to Gonzalez in the area to finish. 2-1, halftime and Independiente bemused and demoralised.
Javier Gonzalez with his second of the game - Photo: Prensa Club Nacional
If that goal on the second stroke of halftime knocked Independiente, the third goal killed them as it opened the floodgates in 17 forgetful minutes. Nacional were gifted the ball and a searching pass should have been cut out by Lugo but he was too weak and allowed Gonzalez to nick it from him and finish with aplomb. The next goal was down the left, Caceres muscling past his man to square to Orué for a simple tap in. Four became five when substitute Carlos Ruiz Peralta carved out some space on the right before passing to Caniza, the right back found another sub, Ricardo Teixeira, with a clever cross who chested down to poke home. The consolation, Herminio Miranda’s comic own goal, didn’t raise a smile amongst Independiente’s players or directors who aired their complaints to the club president before entering the home dressing room after the game to let the footballers know more was expected of them.
As for Nacional they now go into the crunch Copa Libertadores with Corinthians full of confidence and still in title-challenging territory.
Independiente XI: B. Hermosilla; R. Martínez, M. Godoy, M. Almirón, R. Lugo; V. Dávalos, J. Báez, L. Miño, F. García, E. Biancucchi, I. Iriberri
Subs: C. Machuca for F. García,
Nacional: Ignacio Don; R. Mazacotte, H. Miranda, Denis Caniza, David Mendoza, Carlos Ruiz Peralta, Marcos Riveros, Javier Villarreal, S. Torales, A. Orué, A. Bogado
Olimpia vs Sol de América Estadio Para Uno (0-0) 1-0 – Maxi Biancucchi 63′
Olimpia fresh from their heroics against Flamengo and looking ahead to their Buenos Aires showdown on Tuesday with Lanús had to overcome a stubborn Sol side to remain top of the league.
The first half ended goalless with Olimpia in control but without somebody at the sharp end of things, with Luis Caballero and Pablo Zeballos rested it was the turn of Sergio Almirón and Maxi Bianucchi to start up front. Both missing excellent chances in the early stages, Biancucchi losing his footing after a one-two with Alberto Contrera put him through on goal while his partner headed wide from a Sebastián Ariosa cross. Sol’s main tactic was to try and get balls over the top to José Ortigoza but their best chances came from headers. On 23 minutes David Mendieta got on the end of Angel Enciso’s centre but somehow Martin Silva got down to the ball, a world class save. Four minutes before the break Edgar Segovia sent a weak header into the floor which subsequently reached Silva’s gloves after a deflected freekick had given the Danzarín defender a golden opportunity.
In the second half Olimpia survived a penalty shout, Ortigoza went down under Salustiano Candia’s hefty challenge and replays indicate a spotkick would have been a fair decision. After 60 minutes came the turning point of the match, Zeballos replaced Almirón and his impact was profound. He brought verve to Olimpia’s offense almost immediately latching onto a through ball and causing Sol’s defenders to get disorganisedwith his surging runs from deep. Three minutes after his substitution and El Decano were ahead, Zeballos played a slick one-two with Contrera before putting in Biancucchi, it was the Argentine’s hardest chance of the game but he found the net, scooping the ball over Roberto Acosta. That was Maxi’s first goal since the late winner against Nacional six games earlier.
Biancucchi celebrates his goal - Photo: D10.com.py
Sol had no way past Silva who pulled off another fantastic save from a header in the 76th minute, this time down to his left from Alfredo Rojas. Ortigoza cut a frustrated figure on the eve of his 25th birthday and late on his cross to find substitute Enzo Prono was cut out by Enrique Meza who has been in commanding form in recent weeks. Olimpia held on for the victory and it was no surprise, their last 13 triumphs have been by a single goal.
Olimpia XI: M.Silva; R.Revoredo, S.Candia, A.Romero, S. Ariosa; O. Hobecker, F.Caballero, C.Paredes, A.Contrera; M. Biancucchi, S.Almirón
Subs: E.Meza for A.Romero, P.Zeballos for S.Almirón, F.Nájera for R.Revoredo
Sol de América XI: R. Acosta; R.Bonet, E.Segovia, R.Martínez , D.Ciz; R.Ocampo, A. Rojas, Á.Enciso, D. Mendieta; W. Mendieta, J. Ortigoza
Subs: E. Orzusa for A.Encisco, E.Prono for W.Mendieta, C.Dominguez for J.Ortigoza
Cerro Porteño vs Guaraní Estadio La Olla (0-0) 1-0 – Santiago Salcedo 48′
Like Olimpia, Cerro were made to battle but got the only goal of the game as the two rivals continue to battle it out at the top of the table. Travelling back from the Independiente game, I missed the goalless first half, but the two key moments were shortly after the recommencement of the second period.
Santiago Salcedo celebrates his strike - Photo: D10.com.py
48 minutes had gone when Julio Dos Santos, in his deeper role picked out Santiago Salcedo with a wonderful pass, the 30-year-old striker had moved in between the two centrebacks, controlled the ball with his chest and scored with a terrific scissor kick. It was his fourth goal in six games and was enough to sink Guaraní who now have just one goal in their last three games despite playing well in all three. Salcedo was then involved moments later when Cerro were awarded a penalty, Jorge Rojas sliced through the Aborigen defense before being clumsily chopped down by Luis Cabral, the defender saw his second red card of the season for what was a very similar challenge that saw him sent off against Rubio Ñu. Salcedo stepped up but the spotkick lacked direction and power as it trickled into Joel Silva’s grateful arms.
Salcedo nearly made amends with a vicious shot that was well saved by Silva and in general Cerro Porteño looked motivated and showed good energy in midfield as they kept pushing to extend their lead. In theory the numerical advantage and their will to keep going forward should have suited the home side but Guaraní managed to take advantage of the space despite being down to ten men. Dante Lopez rounded Barreto but took the ball too far and was unable to get a shot on target, later Barreto made a super stop with his left hand to deny Guaraní an equaliser.
The result means Cerro continue just two points behind Olimpia with one more game until the Superclásico meanwhile Guaraní have suffered the same fate a few times this season, unable to take all three points because they just lack that finishing touch up front.
Cerro Porteño: D. Barreto; M. Corujo, M. Uglessich, P. Benítez, L. Cardozo; J. Rojas, J. Dos Santos, A. González, J. Fabbro; É. Benítez, S. Salcedo
Subs: F. Oviedo for E. Benitez, I.Torres for E. Benitez, L. Caceres for J. Dos Santos
Guaraní: J. Silva; E. Filippini, L. Cabral, J. Manzur, E. Marecos; N. Romero, M. Palau, D. Figueredo, B. Cáceres; D. Ocampo; D. López
Subs: F.Escobar for B.Caceres, C.Hidalgo for D. Lopez, P.Chavez for D.Figueredo
Almirón Angry: The Independiente central defender walked off the pitch and instead of heading right to the dressing room he went left towards the car park and specifically a fan who had been laying into him for the heavy defeat. Fortunately he was held back by friends and the fan was dragged away. Almost 30 minutes later when Almirón emerged from the dressing room his family asked “Who was that you nearly had a fight with?” – the response was a grunt, he clearly hadn’t calmed down.
Team of the Week: Diego Barreto (Cerro Porteño); Denis Caniza (Nacional), Luciano Vera (Tacuary), Pedro Benitez (Cerro Porteño), Sebastián Ariosa (Olimpia); Julio Dos Santos (Cerro Porteño), Silvio Torales (Nacional), Fabio Caballero (Olimpia), Eduardo Echeverría (Carapeguá); Javier Gonzalez (Nacional), Pablo Velazquez (Libertad)
Player of the Week: I was tempted to give Eduardo Echeverría an honorary mention as the Carapeguá midfielder has now joined José Ortigoza at the top of the list but as I didn’t see him play it would be a slightly blind decision. Therefore this week’s winner is veteran full back Denis Caniza who scored a good goal, got an assist and was generally a pest all day down Nacional’s right hand side.
The 37-year-old is player of the week - Photo: Prensa Club Nacional
Donkey of the Week: The barra or barras of Cerro Porteño fighting amongst themselves in the stands making it unsafe for families who want to go to a game and not pay a fortune. It should be of huge embarrassment to J.J.Zapag and his board of directors that they are still unable to control this the same weekend that their arch-rivals Olimpia were launching a new ‘smart card’ ticketing system for their socios. As one club moves forward the other stays stuck in the past.
Intermedia Results: 2 de Mayo 1 – 2 3 de Febrero, Resistencia 1 – 4 Sportivo Trinidense, Fernando de la Mora 2 – 3 Sportivo Iteño, General Caballero ZC 2 – 2 29 de Setiembre, Deportivo Capiatá 5 – 0 Atl River Plate, Paranaense FC 0 – 0 General Díaz, Sport Colombia 0- 1 Atl. Colegiales, Deportivo Santaní 0 – 0 Sp. San Lorenzo
