Demichelis sees the glass as half full: he saved River’s attitude in Bolivia and is already thinking about Hurricane

River returned from Bolivia and already puts his head in a duel with Hurricane on Sunday at Professional league, in which he is the leader. The excursion to La Paz left a bad taste in my mouth, but Martín Demichelis chose to look at the full glass. The fact is that the coach was satisfied with the attitude shown by his team, beyond the specific errors.

“I’m leaving dissatisfied with the result, but not with what the 90 minutes were and the delivery of the team, who did everything to go and look for an equalizer. We generated a large number of scoring chances but sadly we weren’t able to be strong,” said the manager after the 3-1 defeat against The Strongest. And this is the message that has reached the campus.

Demichelis was pleased with what his team showed throughout the match and regretted, of course, the situations River missed, especially in the early and final attack, when they could have been within equalizer range if they had header or if the rival goalkeeper did not have a great night.

“I think we played very well for 70 minutesWe also dominated the last half hour, when teams not used to the altitude tend to suffer,” Micho analysed. And he added: “We have always been protagonists”.

With the established result, and the way the rival goals arrived, perhaps the intention to be the protagonist at all times, especially in adverse contexts such as playing at an altitude of 3,600 meters, should perhaps be reversed, without implying sacrilege.

In any case, since the analysis is about height, it is relativized. Indeed, Lucas Beltrán, for example, admitted that he played “dizzyingly” throughout the match. So the difficulty exists and it is great.

It also happened to River de Gallardo in his debut cup bearer when they fell 2-0 with San José de Oruro, in what is a new coincidence between the two cycles: they played the first game of the Libertadores and lost it by a difference of two goals at altitude, one in Oruro , in 2015, after almost 4,000 meters above sea level and the other, this Tuesday, in La Paz, at 3,600 meters.

Now the River will try to digest the defeat quickly, without despairing of specific situations, such as inaccuracies or the fact that the team has left spaces that have been exploited by The Strongest.

It is believed that on the flats River will once again demonstrate the good individual levels and structural chemistry they displayed during the month of March, which led them to five consecutive wins – four in the league and one in the Cup of Argentina -, to which no goals were scored as leaders of the tournament.

Sunday, at the Palacio Ducó, will be an important test to confirm the leadership, against an opponent who is trying to become strong at home and can be a tough obstacle.

Facing that match, Casco and Nacho Fernández will definitely return to the title. And perhaps also Leandro González Pirez, as he is currently River’s best-performing centre-back. At the climax, Mammana and Paulo Díaz offered no guarantees. And the evolution of Nicolás De La Cruz is expected, who once again has problems with his right knee. If he doesn’t arrive, Santiago Simón, who has trained well with Hernando Siles de La Paz, could have his chance. And if not, Esequiel Barco is another footballer who signs up from the start.