Liga Betplay: strengths and weaknesses of the eight finalists – Colombian Soccer – Sports

20 dates and 200 games passed. Seven of the historic Colombian soccer got into the fight for the star. The only ‘rookie’ is Alianza Petrolera. National, Millionaires, Tolima, Junior, Pereira, Cali and América complete the group of teams that begin to think about the possibility of a celebration on December 22.

Everything that was played until this Sunday was left behind. The eight clubs start from scratch and the illusion, at least from the outset, is the same for everyone. These are the strengths and weaknesses of the eight contenders for the title.

(Also read: Ready the semifinal home runs of the League: this is how the championship continues)

The four teams from group A

Atlético Nacional is the seed

Strengths. He has the second best forward in the League (32 goals scored) and the best defense (13 goals conceded, shared with Deportes Tolima). In addition, he is very strong as a visitor: he got 20 points in that condition. He has a roster with a lot of management and rotation margin, with many players in a position to fight for the starting lineup.

Weaknesses He suffers in the recovery zone, where he does not look so strong and when a team demands it, he puts his defense to work too much, as happened yesterday against Millionaires. In two positions he could sin due to lack of experience: the goal, where Aldaír Quintana has shown some shortcomings, and on the bench, with a rookie coach in finals.

Junior, in search of his tenth star

Strengths. It ended up being the best venue in the 2021-II League, with 21 points achieved in that condition and only one defeat in Barranquilla (1-3 against Atlético Nacional, on the tenth round of the championship). He has a point guard with experience in finals, a goalkeeper who has regained his confidence and who is also an important weapon in the attack, Sebastián Viera.

Weaknesses He is the worst visitor of the eight classifieds, with only one victory in ten games. The team has not been able to find an attacking benchmark after the departures of Teófilo Gutiérrez and Miguel Ángel Borja and in recent games it has had to appeal to the emergency formula of putting Edwuin Cetré as a false ‘9’. The DT, Arturo Reyes, has no experience in finals.

Deportivo Pereira has nothing to lose

Strengths. He has nothing to lose and he has already achieved his goal, which was to save the category. This classification to home runs and reaching the final of the Colombia Cup are already a gain. He is a magnificent visitor, with 20 points obtained in ten presentations outside of Hernán Ramírez Villegas, and has managed to combine youth and experience.

Weaknesses His performance in recent games is especially worrying about what happened against Nacional and América, two potential rivals for qualifying for the final: both beat him at key moments, one in the Cup and the other in the League. He does not perform at his stadium, where he could only win three games, although one of them was a very resounding victory against Nacional.

Deportivo Cali, for a title after six years

Strength. He has experience both on the bench, where Rafael Dudamel has led in youth world championships and in playoffs, and also on the field, where Teófilo Gutiérrez has become a key player in the scheme, no longer playing as a leading man but as a partner of his attack partners. He’s a very good visitor, five wins in that condition.

Weaknesses It does not yield to him in Palmaseca: in 10 games he won three, drew five and lost two. He doesn’t stand out much defensively either, with some serious flaws that have cost him points. And just as Teófilo Gutiérrez is key on the court and with the ball, his temperament has led him to fail at key moments, a factor that could be dangerous in the shot.

(Also: Nacional fans throw coins and a lighter at Millos’ player)

This is group B, with Millionaires as seeded

Millionaires aspires to reach star 16

Strengths. He has a very good attack, with 36 goals scored in the 20 games of the free-for-all phase, despite a slump that cast doubt on his seeded status. Its coach, Alberto Gamero, is one of the most experienced in the League, he was already champion with Deportes Tolima and has just reached the final in the first semester.

Weaknesses The Millionaires payroll is not large or generous in variants and in some positions it does not have much replacement, as in the central defender pair and in attack, beyond what was achieved yesterday by Jáder Valencia, replacement of Fernando Uribe. In addition, it is difficult for the team when it has to face tight defenses: there the road becomes complicated.

Deportes Tolima: for an unprecedented double

Strengths. Deportes Tolima is a team that knows how to play finals, it is the current champion of the League and coach Hernán Torres has known how to supply the players who have left him and who were key in previous achievements, such as Jáminton Campaz, transferred to Gremio , or Álvaro Montero, who is going to Millos. He is strong on defense and also on the still ball.

Weaknesses Apart from Juan Fernando Caicedo, Deportes Tolima has no other attacking benchmark with so much goal, which can mean that, if they score, they could take away offensive power. Although he has achieved important points outside of Manuel Murillo Toro, he is not a great visitor: he draws more than he wins, although that he makes up for with a lot of order.

Alianza Petrolera, third classification in its history

Strengths. Although he has yet to win a title, Alianza Petrolera coach Hubert Bodhert knows how to build strong and balanced teams. He has made Barrancabermeja a fortress and has taken advantage of the city’s heat conditions to score important points. The goalkeeper, José Luis Chunga, has shown that he has the ability.

Weaknesses He does not have a large roster and for most of the season, Bodhert has appealed to a base of 13 or 14 players. He is not a great visitor: he has only won two games outside the Daniel Villa Zapata stadium, one of them, against one of those who qualified for the finals, who will not face by draw, Deportivo Pereira.

America: after the miracle, the illusion

Strengths. He arrives with air in his shirt after having won the two key games to classify the home runs, when everyone considered him eliminated and when a couple of weeks ago they asked for the head of the coach, Juan Carlos Osorio. Already placed among the eight, the experience in the end of the risaraldense becomes a factor in favor.

Weaknesses Osorio’s now famous rotations have not worked well in America, which still cannot find a base payroll, to which is added the DT’s obsession with taking care of the yellow cards, which leads him to touch his team a lot in the intermediate of the parties. It costs him as a local and he will also have to find a venue for the Junior Pan American Games.

(In other news: Blatter makes controversial revelations about the Qatar World Cup)

Jose Orlando Ascencio
Sports Deputy Editor
@josasc