“Before the invention of printing press, the problem was, lack of information, and now due to the rise of social media, it is too much information - the former leads to mental starvation and the latter to mental obesity”.
- Abhijit Naskar.
Everybody has an opinion. I have read many people commenting on what Guadalajara didn't do and few talking about what Pachuca did do to cancel out ‘Profe’ Vucetich’s game plan. Les hace falta ver mas BOX. Read between the lines.
I saw an even game, not very dynamic, perhaps leaning a little more in favor of Pachuca, still ‘muy trabado’. Both DT’s did their homework and cancelled out the other’s game plan.
The glass half full view is that Chivas kept their net clean and keeping a zero can never be considered something negative. Vucetich is working on his defensive line. Building or recreating a play style, is forcibly a bottom up process. We all know that a team is constructed defense first, especially when we can visibly see that Chivas has been having a hard time creating scoring opportunities. Or have they? Yo tengo otros datos.
The stats say otherwise. Guadalajara had 6 shots on goal to Pachuca’s 10, with 2 on target for el Chiverio. Possession was also evenly divided, with Chivas holding on to the ball 49% of the time. Both teams were spot on passing, Guadalajara’s passing precision was 82% to Pachuca’s 83%. Lots of fouls on both sides 24 in total with 3 yellow cards for each band. What was clearly a plus for the Tuzos was their counter attacking capability. You can tell they spend time on the practice pitch on recoup and attack. The speed with which they counter creates the illusion that Pachuca dominated the game.
The glass half empty is that Chivas showed little circulation with a controlled ball. Misplacing many passing attempts broke up Guadalajara’s forward momentum. If you recall from a previous article, pressing football has everything to do with possession and circulation. If there is little flow and control then it’s going to affect the scoreboard.
The numbers show that Chivas is slowly assimilating the concept and this is evidently affecting its offensive fútbol. I would say patience is the key. At some point everything is going to fall in place. It is only natural to find resistance when something new is placed before you.
Chivas has another opportunity come Saturday when they measure up to Tigres, very well organized and ‘colmilludos’. The norteños are coming off a couple of draws (with Pumas and Mazatlan) and a lost one (against Toluca), so they will be looking for someone to pay for los platos rotos. I have a feeling it isn’t going to be Chivas. They just need to read between the lines.
