América continues its preparation for the classic against Deportivo Cali, on Saturday in Palmaseca. This Friday there was attention to the media by the American team, in which Juan Carlos Osorio spoke about specific issues of the game, the absence of ‘Teo’, the possibility of last-minute reinforcements and the Copa Libertadores.
At the beginning, he commented on the calendar of the local tournament: “I think that we need, for the good of Colombian soccer and our athletes, to reconsider and reconsider the calendar. To the extent that we have so many games, obviously the days of preparation-training-planning for the next game are going to be reduced and if we add to that that the rotation is not well seen, then we are exposing our players to extreme rigor, because if physiological adaptation occurs in 4 or 5 days, it is impossible to play 3 games a week as we are doing at the moment”.
He mentioned the possibility of new reinforcements before the closing of transfers: “I understand that the club is in negotiations at the moment with a couple of players, but I think that to protect precisely that, the negotiations, to be cautious and to be pragmatic on this issue, I it seems we have to wait between today and tomorrow to have an absolute and real answer of what it was or not.
He was asked if the Quintana-Ramos duo will be able to be seen again: “We have and are considering it, it gave us very good results in the previous game, but as we always think, each game brings its own questions, tactical adjustments and we have worked on it in the week as a possible scenario, but we have not yet decided if it will be at the end of the game or at the beginning.
He highlighted his rival and his colleague Rafael Dudamel: “I reiterate my admiration for the team that we are going to have at the helm, the current champion of Colombian soccer with an excellent coach, who is experiencing a scenario similar to that of other men in Colombian soccer, that the The team is diminished in several areas, depending on the players who have taken him out, but that does not mean that he, as a soccer man, is better than he was three months ago, when he was Colombian soccer champion. It seems to me that it is a great opportunity for us to compete against a great team that is very well managed and trained, the last decisions will be made on the day of the game”.
He also had words about the absence of ‘sugar’ captain Teófilo Gutiérrez: “I sincerely regret it because I think that Teófilo brings to the game his technical wealth, creativity, malice and although sometimes I do not agree, I enjoy it, as I enjoy competing against Vázquez and the skillful, creative players against a great team like Deportivo Cali. The truth is it’s a shame not only for them but for the show, because of the game of not being able to count on the ‘cracks’ that make a big difference”.
He was also asked about the level of Colombian soccer and the eliminations of Millonarios and Nacional in the Copa Libertadores: “I prefer not to comment on the national team. It seems to me that millionaires deserve national recognition, including their great technician, Professor Gamero. I think he competed very dignified as a local and before Sosa’s expulsion, I think I always took the game in front of Fluminense and as a visitor he kept his proposal.
He then spoke about the people of Antioquia: “As a national I cannot give an opinion, you cannot watch any of the games, they are not broadcasting through the normal channels. So I don’t dare to give an opinion, but it is clear that we need to compete better at an international level and that the keys are a well-conducted process to be able to consolidate players and in a process there are two ways to do it. One is to invest a large amount of money like the Brazilian and Argentine teams do, and the other way is to consolidate a project with young players and do something similar to what Nacional did in 2012 with Santiago Escobar, which is hiring the best 10 or 12 Colombian players and start a process, and two, that arbitration improves and that we get used to competing as it is done at the South American level”.
Juan Andres Arias Arias
Correspondent Futbolred Cali
On Twitter: @AriasJuan_15
