The Venezuelan Tour: One up, one down and no Gio.

After its inaugural 4-2 loss to Maracaibo and its yesterday 1-0 victory at Trujillanos, Junior continues it’s Venezuelan tour heading now to Merida. Coach Sachi Escobar is still assembling the squad and while star signing Giovanni Hernandez has yet to feature even from the bench, Escobar has given the chance to several youngsters. And it paid off yesterday as Santa Marta native Luis Carlos Ruiz scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute.

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.

Category: Team News

Tags: Acuña, Banguero, Del Castillo, Estudiantes, Giovanni Hernandez, Junior, Maracaibo, Merida, Tachira, Trujillanos, Uncategorized, Valera, Venezuela

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