Tough beginning for Comesaña (i’ve lost tabs on how many times he has come and gone from managing Junior) Hopefully, he will be able to straighten up this ship, because it’s going to sink.

Atletico Junior back coach Escobar, then fire him

BOGOTA, March 11 (Reuters) – Atletico Junior, bottom of the Colombian championship, fired coach Santiago Escobar on Tuesday, less than one day after telling him his job was safe.

Escobar, who had been at the helm for only seven games, took charge of training on Tuesday morning but learned afterwards that the club had changed their minds. He was the first coaching victim of the year among Colombia’s 18 first division clubs. ‘Another extraordinary meeting was called on the subject and the decision was taken to end the contract with the technical staff,’ Hernan Yunis, a member of the board, told reporters. Yunis added that Uruguayan Julio Comesana was favourite to take over from Escobar place.

The point is that this blog was down due to problems with my internet conection. But as you can see, it is up and running again.

At the 23rd minute, right wing Hayder Palacio, who returned to the team after his spell at Deportivo Cali, scored the first goal of the match on a penalty kick. Three minutes after the beginning of the second half, peruvian striker Johan Fano scored the temporary drawing score for the visitors and Herly Alcazar (former Once Caldas player) gave Junior the three points. On a somethat surprising note, it seems Carlos Perez has beaten Didier Muñoz for the goalkeeping starting spot.

Lineups:

Atl. Junior: Carlos Pérez; Háyder Palacios, Róller Cambindo, Hilario Cuenú, Háyder Romero, Wainer Caneda (Del Castillo, 27’), Nicolás Torres, Giovanni Hernández (Méndez, 88’), Émerson Acuña, Herly Alcázar and Jorge Díaz (Ruiz, 65’).
Substitutes: Didier Muñoz, Marcelo Méndez, Vladimir Hernández, Luis Carlos Ruiz and Álex del Castillo.
Head Coach: Santiago Escobar.

Once Caldas: Héctor Landázuri; Jimmy Asprilla, Samuel Vanegas, Alexis Henríquez, Luis Núñez, Carlos Ortiz, Nilson Cortés, Elkin Blanco (Canchila, 30’), Dayron Pérez, Johan Fano and Édinson Chará (Mena, 80’).
Substitutes: Julián Mesa, Hárnold Palacios, Marco Canchila, César Alzate y Wilson Mena.
Head Coach: Juan Carlos Bedoya.

*Translated from futblog

Before the Bucaramanga loss, Junior soundly and convincingly beat Estudiantes Merida 4-2 and, according to reports, Giovanni was the main inspiration behind Junior’s creative wisdom. We just have to wait and see if such magic was real and it appears again when it matters, against the blanco, blanco.

Copa Colombia: One of the most interesting news this week is the possible creations of the Copa Colombia (Colombia Cup), a tournament featuring the 36 teams of the first and second divisions of Colombian soccer. So if the club presidents of the 2nd division teams approve it, like their first division counterparts, Colombia will have a cup tournament like the top leagues in Europe with Coppa Itaila, the FA Cup or Copa del Rey. If it goes through, the tournament will format include a first group stage of 6 groups divided regionally. For Junior, this means competing against five 2nd division sides (Union Magdalena, Real Cartagena, Cordoba FC, Valledupar FC and Barranquilla FC) thus reflecting that, nowadays, the Colombian Coast is the most depressed region in the counrty in footballing terms. That’s the reality that Junior has to change.

Escobar’s idea is to have Giovanni phisically fit for the beginning of the season and we have to keep in mind that last year he missed up on the National Team because he was out of shape. So it’s better for junior and for Escobar to test the waters and give playing time to the youngsters and the apparent reserves and get all the stars ready for the Copa Mustang opening.

Nertheless, since Escobar said that Gio could have gotten some minutes yesterday, i assume he will be getting them on Tuesday in Merida, where Junior will play at the “Feria del Sol” pre-season tournament against Colombian side Bucaramanga and home sides Estudiantes and Deportivo Tachira. Giovanni should perhaps star in the last game of the competition.

Yesterday Junior played with Carlos Pérez, Hayder Palacios (Jaider Romero 78′), Marcelo Méndez, Hilario Cuenú and César Fawcett in the backline; Jorge Banguero (Alfredo Padilla 65′), Nicolás Torres, Alex Del Castillo (Andrés Casañas 72′) and Emerson Acuña on the midfield; Jorge Díaz (Carlos Ruiz 78′) and Edwards Jiménez (Teofilo Gutiérrez 84′). DT: Santiago Escobar *

*from X-man’s Junior blog at Eltiempo.

So hopefully this tour will fullfill the purpose of getting the players to know each other and add minutes to get the machine rolling. Because after 02-03, there will be no excuses.

Altough many might think that Riep was the one called upon to form a lethal partnership with Giovanni, the fact that boss Escobar might not necessarily play with two offensive mids and that he has to use an under 20 player and that spot might go Causado severely hurted Riep’s starting chances. So to partner Giovanni, now Escobar “only” has Acuña, Rolong, Causado and even Del Castillo altough i’m stil wondering… What ever happened to Pedro Ortega??

Junior is playing today (Jan 13) its first pre-season friendly away against UA Maracaibo from Venezuela and according to Junior’s website the projected lineups are:

UNION ATLETICO MARACAIBO

Tulio Hernández; Julio Machado, Gregory Lancken, Claudio Muñoz; Pedro Fernández, Gabriel Urdaneta, Jorge Rojas, Víctor Villarreal, Guillermo Beraza; Armando Maita, Víctor Guazá.

JUNIOR

Didier Muñoz; Haider Palacio, Marcelo Méndez (John Valencia), Hilario Cuenú, César Fawcett; Dumar Rueda, Alexander Del Castillo, Emerson Acuña (Andrés Casañas), Giovanni Hernández; Jorge “La Babilla” Díaz, Edwards Jiménez.

From the rival, former Venezuelan NT star Gabriel Urdaneta should be watched out as he is coming back home after a successful spell in Switzerland and also winger Jorge Rojas who was with America de Cali last year and has a splendid crossing skills. Victor Guazá Lucumí is a Colombian youngster who had tried his luck in Colombia with Atletico Huila without much success.

But for Junior, Haider Palacio and Marcelo Mendez are making their comeback debuts and the 3 players will also debut in the midfield (Rueda, Del Castillo and Gio) and one more up front (Jiménez). So hopefully this team will start showing glimpses of what a Colombian league title favourite. Winning against Venezuelan opposition is always a must (no matter how hard or easy it might be) but we shouldn’t get carried away by an eventual goal glut in Junior’s favor. It’s just preseason after all.

Latest transfer news include the arrival of Roller Cambindo to complete stregthening the defense because the Piccoli deal collapsed but there’s still no final word on Pepe Moreno.

Keep in touch.

The much heralded Gio, who was even announced by the new mayor Alex Char whose family owns the team, remains in the center of a tug-of-war between Colo-Colo and the player’s manager because the Chilean team claims they gave Gio a 4-year deal and he’s only done one. I won’t get into the rest of the story because it has nothing to do with Junior but the important part is that Junior gave a week for this whole mess to be cleared up or Gio will not be suiting at the Metropolitano.

But even if he does indeed come to Barranquilla, the team still has gaps to fill if coach Santiago Escobar (big brother to the late Andrés) wants to build a successful challenge for the Copa Mustang title, a league so enigmatic that small teams are often playing the finals like it happened with La Equidad this year.

So let’s review the status of the squad:

-On goal, Junior has a decent netter in Didier Muñoz whom this year was able to take over from decaying Prono Velázquez but whose failure in Bogotá when keeping for Millonarios still hangs over his head. Back-up Carlos Perez has been a longstanding promise but it seems the Junior jersey is a little too heavy for him. However, if he manages to sit down Muñoz he will prove himself as a competent keeper.

-The right back position welcomes back one of the beloved children of Barranquilla in Hayder Palacio. Although his stint at Deportivo Cali was considered a failure by many, I’m sure he still has some of that offensive exuberance that pumped him up for the NT when Rueda was the coach. He will be battling for a place with his former understudy (and almost name-sake) Jaider Romero but he is expected to start.

-The central defending couple is the first big void of the squad. Seasoned veteran Hilario Cuenú is not enough warranty especially since he will be surrounded by youngsters Gabriel Martinez, John Valencia et al. It would be a different story if Junior hadn’t miss out to Santa Fe in getting Venezuelan Leonel Vielma. But I believe “El Sachi” is still looking for a pair of defenders -one of them a foreigner- and he really needs them.
-On the left side Cesar Fawcett will have yet another season to prove he is the real deal and has what it takes to start at Junior and even competing for the NT. The advantage that Fawcett has is that his position is pretty much undisputed. Not because he’s the best Junior can get but because it’s quite a daunting task to try to find an acceptable left back in Colombian soccer.

-As I said before, the D-mid is now the most solid part of Junior. Alongside Rueda and Del Castillo, Casañas and Nico Torres are two vital complements and the youngster Florez continues on the rise.

-Sans Gio, the team’s creative efforts will lie upon the shoulders of Emerson “Piojo” Acuña, a player adored by the Metropolitano faithful but that has probably been too pampered and spoiled thus not producing accordingly. But Acuña is not a number 10, his preferred role is as a supporting striker so besides youngster Diego Causado, who hasn’t played much minutes under previous administrations and may not be ready yet to step up and wear the number 10 jersey. Leiner Rolong could also have a chance, but he already knows, as everybody else, that he will never be the team’s number 10. So failure to bring Gio or another highly-reputed fantasista (Whether Colombian or not) will result in not only in a huge disappointment among the crowd, but the team’s overall offensive potential to be thwarted.

- Up front, Junior has developed a healthy habit of keeping several options and this year will not be the exception with Acuña himself, “Babilla” (Gator) Díaz, Edwards Jiménez, Herly Alcazar, Alfredo Padilla, Teófilo Gutierrez, a foreign striker and provably even another Colombian striker. The good part about this is that you have to find at least one among these who will score consistently. And you will be well covered for injuries and bookings. The bad part is that those who won’t play will start making funny faces, and egos may clash in the dressing room. Luckily for Junior this year they have a no-nonsense coach who won’t take crap from anybody. Sachi Escobar rather left Once Caldas than bowing down to that team’s main Primma Donna: Dayro Moreno. That’s the king of coach that Junior needs.