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Canada v Guatemala pre-match news/tactics/etc


matthew

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I figured we could use a place for pre-match talk and news about player selection and what Guatemala are up to. This is really, really, really long sorry.

I just saw the second leg of the Guatemala v Surinam series. I knew that Guatemala had gifted forwards and had heard that their back line was pretty strong. The question seemed to be their depth and their midfield.

After an uneasy opening 10 minutes, Guatemala looked pretty comfortable on the ball and their midfield looked quite active. Despite being a goal away from tying or winning the series for 85 of the 90 minutes, Surinam never looked threatening. That being said they looked better than Belize. They weren’t as organized as Belize defensively and didn’t close players (and space) down as well, but they had better ball skill and more speed.

Guatemala lined up:

----------------------Ricardo Trigueño

------------Pablo Melgar----Gustavo Cabrera------------Dennis Chen

Néstor Martínez-------------Fredy Thompson

---------------Antonio Zacarías

------------------------------Guillermo Ramírez----------Mario Rodríguez

-----------------Dwight Pezzarossi------Carlos Ruiz

It was the same lineup that played the first leg except for three changes. Manuel Flores cost them the goal in the first leg and was replaced by Cabrera. Zacarias came in and Ruiz was back from injury. The Municpal duo of Gonzalo Romero and Mario Acevedo went out.

It was a really cock-eyed 4-4-2 best as I can figure. It was weird because Martinez really led the attack from the right back spot and they seemed to have no worry about him getting back. Melgar was their best defender and was able to cover things on the right pretty capably. Chen and Rodriguez interchanged well on the left and both got forward. Ramirez was the playmaker, but much of the attack (especially early) came directly from the flanks.

Thompson and Zacarias were pretty invisible and though they said Thompson was on the right pre-match it looked like he was more of a d-mid. Pezzarossi and Ruiz switched sides and interplayed well. The defence wasn’t challenged much to see how they reacted under pressure. Melgar seemed to snuff everything out. The best of the Surinam attack came when they just pinned their ears back and tried to run right by and through Guatemala. I couldn’t decided if a couple of the Surinamese were really fast or if the Guatemalan mids were slow or lazy. They didn’t get really far, but Surinam would have no possession and then Baino would race half the length of the pitch before being closed down.

Ahead 1-0 at 69’ they took Rodriguez off and brought on Figueroa who played right mid, but looked more like a forward. He was right up front and Martinez didn’t hang back at all either.

I don’t think I’ve seen Estadio Mateo Flores since 1988 and it’s not as scary as I remember. It’s bigger than I thought though. It seats 29,950.

Of course they may toss into Quezaltenango or Mazatenango. There’s a huge track and a big fence around the pitch so you’d need a pretty good arm to piss baggie us.

http://www.guate360.com/galeria/details.php?image_id=156

The stands were pretty full (at least I thought for Surinam, even if their World Cup dreams were on the line), but the crowd wasn’t overly loud. The pitch looked to be in nice shape.

The Guatemalans didn’t dive as much as I expected and though they went down easy — Rodriguez first and foremost and Ramirez as well — replays showed there was some contact far more often than not. Surinam however seemed really frustrated by this and it took them off their game. You’ve got to know if you clip a Guatemalan they’re going down hard. At least this time they didn’t stay down and the rolling around was pretty minimal. I was surprised at how frustrated Surinam got. I’ve seen more diving in the Champions League.

Ruiz got the first goal at 24 when he nodded a long ball down to Pezzarossi who then switched the ball wide to the right to Martinez. Martinez had all day and sent a nice cross Pezzarossi didn’t get to, but Ruiz attacked it nicely to head into the net (reminded me a bit of Ronaldo’s header in the FA Cup).

Second goal was a nice combination play with Ramirez coming down the left to Ruiz who flicked it on to Figueroa (a little behind him) who could only clumsily touch it on to an open Pezzarossi (the man marking Pezzarossi was trying to close down Figueroa) who half-volleyed a side footer with his left in the bottom corner at 75’.

Two minutes later Surinam struck. They were still showing replays of the Guatemala goal so I didn’t see the build up very well, but someone won the ball in the midfield (it looked like he got a long ball with his back to goal, turned and laid it off down the left/Guatemala’s right). Martinez was nowhere to be found so Melgar came up to challenge the mid who then sent it down the wing to Christoph. Melgar did a really nice job of closing the guy down (Christoph was running in stide and was behind Melgar when the ball was played, while Melgar had his back to goal), but Christoph still had space and time to lay a ball across the face of goal on the ground where Brandon tapped it in awkwardly on the six-yard line ahead of Cabrera and Chen. Cabrera started to cover for Melgar and lost his mark who got behind him and between the two defenders. Not surprised at all that the goal came from Surinam exploiting the space behind Martinez. Guatemala hadn’t been troubled there all game, but since I knew a goal was coming it seemed a logical place for it to come from.

Then minutes later (85) Ruiz scored again. The Guatemalans went to the corner twice to kill time (which surprised me) and on the ensuing corner Figueroa played it short to Pezzarossi who gave it back to Figueroa who made a crap cross. The defender was there and looked like he was fouled by Melgar (I was surprised they pushed Melgar forward for the corner). Replays showed Melgar dove in but didn’t make contact, the defender cleared to Figueroa at the end ball line, his cross was palmed by the keeper straight to Ruiz who slotted it in the empty net while five, yes five, Surinamese defenders held their hands in the air appealing for a foul.

Ricardo Trigueño (K, Aurora F.C.) — didn’t have much to do. Doesn’t seem overly popular with the fans. But stater Miguel Klee is out of favour with the manager. El Gato Estrada played the 1999 series and is getting some props to come back, but a lot of people say he’s way over the hill at 36. Trigueño looked decent in the air, he’s tall and very thin, he looked awkward on a non-threatening ball into the box and could have maybe tried to cut out the ball in the box for the goal, but looked all right.

Néstor Martínez (D, CSD Communicationes) — was maybe my man of the match. He just kept appearing down the right wind, sending in good crosses, beating guys off the dribble. Not blindingly fast, but great stamina and was constantly dangerous. Always seemed to get back with the back line, but never seemed to play defence.

Pablo Melgar (D, Aurora F.C.) — did what was needed defensively for the most part. Surinam rarely threatened, but he snuffed out what needed doing. Not bad in the air.

Gustavo Cabrera (D, CSD Communicationes) — really quiet. I kept thinking he must be the one breaking up an attack, but it seemed to be Melgar every time. He did, however have two 30-40 yard runs out of the back. Showed very nice pace in doing so, but I can’t imagine it’s something he’s going to do often. reminded me of DeVos improbably slaloming through Belize.

Dennis Chen (D, CSD Municipal)— another holdover from the 99 series. Quite small and quick, over-lapped well. Got into the attack in the first half and combined well with Rodriguez.

Fredy Thompson (M, CSD Communicationes) — most invisible guy on the pitch. Looked like he was a d-mid and Surinam didn’t hold much posession so maybe he just didn’t have anything to do.

Antonio Zacarías (M, Marquense) — got into the attack a little, but didn’t create much. With Ramirez and Martinez getting forward didn’t really need to get involved on the right.

Guillermo ‘pando’ Ramírez (M, CSD Municipal) — captain and got into the game more as it went on. Definite skill, but nothing sensational. When Guatemala started to turn on the style and Surinam started to push up a bit, he found some room and made some nice combinations with Ruiz and Pezzarossi.

Mario ‘loco’ Rodríguez (M, CSD Comunicaciones) — looked like the best player on the pitch for the first 15 minutes and then quieted down. Fast, skillful, shaggy blonde hair, they call him loco, he looked like a very talented player who was a little off on the day. His last touch was just missing. He was wrongly called off-side which should have produced a goal and barely didn’t keep a ball in that would have resulted in another great chance.

Dwight ‘tanco’ Pezzarossi (F, Bolton, England)— as advertised. He’s a big (6’2”), strong man. Great foil for Ruiz, he busies himself about, is good in the air and has a nice shot. He hit three strong shots to the bottom corner, one went in, one just missed and the other was well saved. I think DeVos can nutralize him, but he’s got a bit of pace (imagine if Kusch had a bit more pace and Latin ball skills) and could be dangerous. Never caught on with Bolton last year. Not sure if he’s still with Bolton.

Carlos ‘pescada’ Ruiz (F, Los Angeles, United States) — does what he does — finishes chances. He gets involved a little, but let the buildup come down the wings or took balls from Pezzarossi and Ramirez. He had three good chances. Two went in and the other went off the bar. He’s a scary, scary little man.

Carlos Figueroa (M, CSD Municipal) — 67’ sub was more talented than most of the starters, but looked like he was third best to Ruiz and Pezzarossi up front. Still a nice option off the bench. Not sure if he’s a mid or not, but Guatemala don’t really need a mid on the right anyway with Martinez unless they change their style for road qualifiers.

Alvaro Hurtarte (M, Antigua G.F.C.) — came in at 90’ and didn’t do much in his two minutes. Looked young.

The DT “el Primitivo” Ramón Maradiaga suspended four players before the match including his starting keeper Miguel Angel Klée, plus defender Nelson Morales, winger Hetzon Pereira and striker Walter Estrada. Pereira came on as a sub against Haiti in a recent friendly. Don’t know much about the others. CONCACAF.com said all were starters, but there’s no way Estrada would start ahead of Ruiz or Pezzarossi though he was oen of the leading scorers in the Guatemalan league. Only Klée started in their last friendly before qualifying against Haiti. All four were with the Guatemalan champions Cobán Imperial and decided to miss training to attend the celebrations.

quote:El técnico de la selección guatemalteca, el hondureño Ramón ‘Primitivo’ Maradiaga explicó que los jugadores tenían que presentarse a la concentración el domingo a una hora determinada, y no lo hicieron. Los jugadores son el portero Miguel Angel Klee, el defensa Nelson Morales, el volante Hetzon Pereira y el delantero Walter Estrada.

Los integrantes del nuevo campeón de Liga guatemalteco decidieron viajar con sus compañeros a la ciudad norteña de Cobán para celebrar el primer título conseguido en la historia del club, y no asistieron a la llamada del seleccionador nacional. ”Sabemos que están con la euforia del campeonato, pero aquí estamos hablando de asumir una responsabilidad. Esto es algo serio”, dijo Maradiaga, quien se mantuvo firme en su decisión de apartar a los jugadores.

Según Maradiaga, esa falta de responsabilidad por no llegar a la concentración los dejó fuera de la selección, al menos para la eliminatoria con Surinam, cuyo partido de vuelta se disputará el 20 de junio en la capital guatemalteca. El partido de ida será el sábado en Paramaribo.

Klee considera “injusta” la decisión del técnico, pero dijo estar resignado a la decisión del seleccionador, mientras que Estrada manifestó a la prensa deportiva local que son conscientes de la falta que cometieron y que no les queda más remedio que aceptar la postura del entrenador.

The Guatemalans are also having troubles securing the release of their players before their World Cup qualifiers. Which is ironic because the clubs that are giving them grief are all Guatemalan. If I understand this article correctly (and my Spanish isn’t that great), the national team is asking for more than the five days FIFA allows and the clubs said they want to only release their players 72 hours before a match. With travel that doesn’t leave a lot of time to do much.

quote:José A. Corado/ elPeriódico

Los dirigentes de los equipos de fútbol de la Liga Nacional que tienen jugadores convocados para el proceso de selección que dirige Ramón Maradiaga, aceptaron la forma en la que se dispuso realizar el trabajo del combinado, previo a los duelos del cuadrangular semifinal de la Concacaf, rumbo al Mundial de Alemania 2006.

La única moción que no fue aceptada por los clubes , era la que pretendía que los jugadores fueran cedidos a la Selección con 10 días de anticipación a cada encuentro, y los cederán apenas 72 horas antes de los duelos oficiales.

El campamento previsto para realizarse en Oxnard, California, no sufrió ninguna alteración.

El calendario del Torneo Apertura se hará de acuerdo a los partidos del combinado, por lo que se podrían programar jornadas de miércoles.

No sign of vets Juan Carlos Plata or Fredy Garcia who are both with Municipal. Plata is 33 though.

cheers,

matthew

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I got a tape through a friend in US with Telemundo.

Thanks for the info on Pezzarossi LMS, I thought he'd been released, but I couldn't find out where he ended up (I had it in my head he was back at Racing de Ferrol in Spain). I couldn't find an article about Bolton axing him either.

Anyway. Height . . . Pezzarossi is 6'2 and easily the tallest player. It's tough to guage from the tape, esp since I have no idea how tall any of the Surinamese are. Luckily they get nice and close for goal celebrations. In the back line I'd say Martinez is 5'8", Melgar is 5'9", Cabrera 5'10" max and Chen is maybe 5'6" or 5'7". Melgar was pretty much the same height as Ruiz, so that's what I'm basing this on - Ruiz is 5'9" according to MLS, so I can go from there. Martinez was a little shorter than Ruiz and Cabrera is a little taller than Melgar. Trigueno is definitely six feet, but if the back line is that short, he really might not be much more than that. Ramirez has a little height he's close to 6'0" the rest of the mids are in the 5'9/10 area.

Manuel Flores might be tall though. He had five goals as a central defender in the Guatemalan league this year. So maybe you can infer he scored a lot off of corners? Or maybe not. The Surinamese forwards were bigger than Melgar, but he won a lot of balls in the air.

Speed - they all looked quite quick. Melgar was in good position mostly, but he made up ground quick on the goal. As soon as Guatemala got the ball Martinez was way down field. Their first goal's a good example - a long ball out of the back, nodded down and then send square to Martinez who was probably 35 yards down field from where the long ball was sent. I thought Cabrera was the quickest, but that was only going forward. Chen was quick, but not fast. When baino went racing forward he ghosted past Chen once. But I don't know if we have anyone with that kind of pace. He's quick on the ball though. he's a little guy.

Tough to say anything about their anticipation. They didn't close people down real quick and didn't need to. Things will be tighter in Vancouver for sure. You could receieve the ball and turn. Both teams could. There wasn't the same frantic pressure I'm used to seeing in the European game. The defence was only stretched once. Surinam had some good posession early, but didn't commit many numbers forward.

Couple things I forgot. Ramirez took three of their four free kicks in dangerous areas. Ruiz took the other. All four were placed well, not too much power though. Ramirez took the left side corners and two of the three were played short. Rodriguez took the ones on the right and he hit three good inswingers and sent another one short. Their short-corrner play was the same in all cases.

I also forgot that CSD Municipal was the team that lit up Onstad in his Quakes debut. San Jose were down 4-0 early in Guatemala but got two late goals. That was the beginning of the Quakes fans love/hate relationship with Pat. They were up 2-0 in the second leg at home before giving up a late goal and losing on aggregate. So Yallop will know some of these Guatemalans and will be very familiar with Ruiz and Fredy Garcia on the off chance he gets called. DeRosario was injured when SJ played CSD Municipal.

cheers,

matthew

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  • 4 weeks later...

It looks like the return trip we'll be going to hell. From futbol de guatemala.com:

Miercoles 17-Noviembre-2004:

Guatemala - Canada

Estadio "Carlos Salazar", Mazatenango

A few words from the U.S. about Mazatenango where they played their 2000 qualifier:

It's no secret that Guatemala switched the site of this Sunday's World Cup qualifier against the U.S. from Guatemala City to tiny Mazatenango to inflict the area's heat, humidity and mosquitoes on the visiting Americans. But there's more to Mazatenango than just those minor discomforts.

To wit, American goalkeeper Kasey Keller remembers playing in Mazatenango in 1988 with the U.S. under-20 team. What sticks out in his mind? One of his teammates woke up one night with a scorpion in his bed.

According to one U.S. embassy staffer in Guatemala City, Mazatenango is "the only region of Guatemala that doesn't have a home population. They're all nomads and peasants. But they're hot-blooded peasants who love their soccer." In other words, expect the usual urine-filled bags, batteries, etc. to be flying out of the stands at the U.S. players on gameday.

The 'home population' thing explains why teams can't/don't stay in Mazatenango before games and have to take a long road through the jungle into town.

Looks like we're saving the best for last.

cheers,

matthew

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quote:Originally posted by matthew

It looks like the return trip we'll be going to hell. From futbol de guatemala.com:

It's no secret that Guatemala switched the site of this Sunday's World Cup qualifier against the U.S. from Guatemala City to tiny Mazatenango to inflict the area's heat, humidity and mosquitoes on the visiting Americans. But there's more to Mazatenango than just those minor discomforts.

From what I know of mosquitoes, they wont discrimintate ( who they bite) based on nationality. Then again, I seem to recall, from the many fishing trips that I've been to, that they are attracted to red clothing. Besides the home red and away white, Do we have third jerseys :D

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Here are a couple of articles about the setting and the match when the U.S. were in town. They played in July, while we'll be there in November.

Tranquil town prepares for World Cup

http://espn.go.com/soccer/news/2000/0714/633380.html

U.S. blows late lead, ties Guatemala 1-1

www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/sosfs24.htm

'I've been hit by every type of object'

http://www.eagletribune.com/news/stories/20000716/SP_005.htm

Guatemala plans to host U.S. qualifier in distant location

http://www.soccertimes.com/usteams/2000/jul02a.htm

(sorry, getting a bit off-topic. This thread was meant for the home leg!)

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Here are a couple of articles about the setting and the match when the U.S. were in town. They played in July, while we'll be there in November.

Tranquil town prepares for World Cup

http://espn.go.com/soccer/news/2000/0714/633380.html

U.S. blows late lead, ties Guatemala 1-1

www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/sosfs24.htm

'I've been hit by every type of object'

http://www.eagletribune.com/news/stories/20000716/SP_005.htm

Guatemala plans to host U.S. qualifier in distant location

http://www.soccertimes.com/usteams/2000/jul02a.htm

(sorry, getting a bit off-topic. This thread was meant for the home leg!)

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If I were Yallop I'd try using the deplorable conditions as a way of motivating the players. Something like: "Let's show those cheating scumbags what Canadian boys are made of." I know when I played hockey we often had to go into very unfriendly opposing arenas. I usually was able to work up a good dislike for the opposing fans, and it helped me get psyched up. Wonder whether that sort of thing would work with the MNT?

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If I were Yallop I'd try using the deplorable conditions as a way of motivating the players. Something like: "Let's show those cheating scumbags what Canadian boys are made of." I know when I played hockey we often had to go into very unfriendly opposing arenas. I usually was able to work up a good dislike for the opposing fans, and it helped me get psyched up. Wonder whether that sort of thing would work with the MNT?

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I hadn't noticed that Guatemala played Surinam in the first round of CONCACAF qualifying, which is very much in South America.

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/south_america_pol98.jpg

Are there any other countries that do something like this?

(BTW, Surinam used to be a Dutch colony. apparently "Davids, Seedorf, Winter, Kluivert, Reiziger, Jerrel Floyd Hasselbank and Mario Melcherts" could all have played for Surinam.)

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I hadn't noticed that Guatemala played Surinam in the first round of CONCACAF qualifying, which is very much in South America.

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/south_america_pol98.jpg

Are there any other countries that do something like this?

(BTW, Surinam used to be a Dutch colony. apparently "Davids, Seedorf, Winter, Kluivert, Reiziger, Jerrel Floyd Hasselbank and Mario Melcherts" could all have played for Surinam.)

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quote:Originally posted by sstackho

I hadn't noticed that Guatemala played Surinam in the first round of CONCACAF qualifying, which is very much in South America.

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/south_america_pol98.jpg

Are there any other countries that do something like this?

(BTW, Surinam used to be a Dutch colony. apparently "Davids, Seedorf, Winter, Kluivert, Reiziger, Jerrel Floyd Hasselbank and Mario Melcherts" could all have played for Surinam.)

Suriname and Guyana, while are both physically in South America, are members of CONCACAF rather than CONMEBOL. This is not peculiar to soccer - virtually all of the regional organizations that Suriname and Guyana are members (in areas like trade and commerce) are Caribbean organizations rather than South American.

This makes sense because both of these countries are very much oriented toward the Caribbean, rather than South America. The bulk of their populations are concentrated on on near their Caribbean coasts and their key cultural, economic and linguistic ties are all with their Caribbean neighbours.

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quote:Originally posted by sstackho

I hadn't noticed that Guatemala played Surinam in the first round of CONCACAF qualifying, which is very much in South America.

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/south_america_pol98.jpg

Are there any other countries that do something like this?

(BTW, Surinam used to be a Dutch colony. apparently "Davids, Seedorf, Winter, Kluivert, Reiziger, Jerrel Floyd Hasselbank and Mario Melcherts" could all have played for Surinam.)

Suriname and Guyana, while are both physically in South America, are members of CONCACAF rather than CONMEBOL. This is not peculiar to soccer - virtually all of the regional organizations that Suriname and Guyana are members (in areas like trade and commerce) are Caribbean organizations rather than South American.

This makes sense because both of these countries are very much oriented toward the Caribbean, rather than South America. The bulk of their populations are concentrated on on near their Caribbean coasts and their key cultural, economic and linguistic ties are all with their Caribbean neighbours.

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From what I´ve heard down here, Guatemala home games will be at their home stadium (Mateo Flores, named after a Guatemalan who won the Boston Marathon (wearing someone else´s shoes no less, if I´m getting the story right). However if it comes down to it, I guess they could always change stadiums, although FIFA rules may make it more difficult than it used to be...)

Haven´t read about the row between club teams and national team yet, but from what I understand, they are to head to USA early in August and have two warm ups, one vs. Bolivia in D.C. and another versus Atlas of Mexico in LA, prior to heading to VAncouver.

I doubt we´ll see Ruiz in any game prior to the Canada game.

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quote:Originally posted by Dave

If I were Yallop I'd try using the deplorable conditions as a way of motivating the players. Something like: "Let's show those cheating scumbags what Canadian boys are made of."

Bah.

Send the B side.

We'll be home and dry by then! ;)

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Ruud,

Can I ask who you're hearing from, or where you're based? Looks like there's no official announcement yet about the site of the Guatemala match, and there doesn't have to be until mid-September. But I've found two forum posts referring to Mazatenango.

http://www.pontaza.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1884

"Canada to Mazatenango

Meanwhile, the Canadian Selection will be faced in the stage Carlos Salazar son of Mazatenango. For that decision it was taken into account that the level of the sea can be a separate enemy for Canada, in addition to the intense heat of the region. "

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