Deportivo Cali will have to get used to the idea of not having Agustín Palavecino and on Sunday (18:05) he returns to Tunja to face the Patriotas and look for a new victory that will keep him as the leader of BetPlay League I-2021.
Exactly, a goal of the gaucho midfielder gave the verdiblancas three points and the first place (10 units) last weekend in that city, on the fourth day of the competition, against Boyacá Chicó.
Palavecino’s departure is imminent, probably for River Plate, as well as the interest of the Argentine club and the player, although it is not excluded that an offer will appear from Palmeiras in Brazil. Therefore, it is not part of the trips to Boyacá territory.
Coach Alfredo Arias has two options: Keep Kevin Velasco and Andrés Arroyo with Marco Pérez as the only striker or remove one of the two local players to include Ángelo Rodríguez with Pérez.
It is undeniable that Palavecino’s absence removes the elaboration of the game from the distribution of “sugar” and means that he must resort to more direct football, although recent experience on the field of La Independencia stadium would suggest that he will use this second. alternatively, already tall grass does not allow short arrivals in the association.
The forced drop in the starting eleven in the Valle del Cauca team is the departure of right defender Juan Camilo Angulo due to a muscle strain, which would take him away for three games and the appearance of Harold Gómez.
Arias, at a press conference, stressed that “the team comes from the continuity of last year, I think it is competitive, with all the teams we came out to raise our idea, to win, we believe in that a lot, the players are convinced , they were brave in a game like the one of the past days in which the field conditions were difficult, they continued the game, they mark only a way in which we have to improve many things, maintaining the attitude of always wanting to win ”.
As for the Patriotas, he said that “it’s a team that works well, has a definite game idea, a fairly compact possession game, with tight lines and a short team, both from one side to the other. of the field, as well as from the depth, deserved more They have points and we will have a very tough game, because they will fight for possession of the ball, for possession, they are more accustomed to that field than us, but we are going to go again for three points ”.
Considering that he already knows the Tunja field, he had to learn about learning, he explained: “Every day you learn about everything, it is a field that hurts all football, not just us, all those who play this game that goes to ground level. , with a ball that has to spin or run fast and it’s like going to a pool table and playing with the canvas raised or with holes, the same way, they’ll definitely say “I can’t play here Well, but it’s what’s there and all the teams have to go there, they all suffer, so we have to adapt, try to be very careful not to make mistakes, that the ball stays, that sometimes he boots badly, that sometimes he wears you more and it eats your foot, we hope we can learn and do better because we are facing an opponent who played well, they failed to win, but they played well ”.
Regarding the two calls to the Colombian national team, Jhojan Valencia and Jhon Vásquez, he said that “I am very happy for them, for the institution, I am very happy that coach Reinaldo Rueda is doing this, I think the technicians are here to coaches, we are coaches, sometimes the national team does not allow you to train because a coach returns to you 2, 3 days, but it allows you to work the rest of the year with the other players, raise your idea with them, know them, if I go to Europe or somewhere else, I already know you or you know them at the same time, I think Reinaldo Rueda is very important, in the long run we will decrease a little in this this week because we will have those players definitely mentioned, but always I think this will help the player, to the institution that I am in the national team “.
Similarly, he referred to Tolima, his first rival in the South American Cup: “A very good team, along with Santa Fe, were the best last year throughout the season in the regular season, because they reached the first and secondly, this year has already started to show regularity, the type of game that his coach has, he has an idea that comes from years, he has a very strong team, even this speech is respect when the game starts , we will go for the three points, here and there ”.
Sunday, February 7
Stadium: La Independencia (Tunja)
Hour: 18:05
They transmit: WIN Sports + and winsports.co
Probable formation:
Guillermo De Amores; Harold Gómez, Hernán Menosse, Jorge Arias, Darwin Andrade; Carlos Robles, Jhojan Valencia, Kevin Velasco, Andrés Arroyo, Jhon Vásquez, Marco Pérez (Ángelo Rodríguez).
DT: Alfredo Arias.
Referee: Diego Ruiz (Goal)
Participants: Miguel Roldán (Antioquia) and Geovanny Padilla (Bogotá).
Marco Antonio Garcés
Futbolred Cali correspondent
On twitter: @marquitosgarces