Martín Demichelis’ explanation after River’s worst defeat in Copa Libertadores history

The day of historical victory and that of triplet by German Cano will also be the night of unusual changes From Martin Demichelis. Just like the coach played a full session in the match against Sporting Cristal in the last round, in marcana He missed it by a large margin and complicated the team’s stay in the cup.

He will have to learn to play the Libertadores Demichelis. After all, she’s just taking her first steps as a DT. What he did this Tuesday in Brazil can only be explained by inexperience.

River’s complement had started well, better than in the initial phase. He was dominating and in the rival field. The sensations were good. Without deserving it, he conceded the second goal in an isolated play thanks to Ganso’s talent and Cano’s eye for goal. He shouldn’t touch Demichelis too much despite so much. The match required only one substitution: Borja or Rondón for Nacho Fernández to put together a 4-4-2. At worst, even a 2-1 down isn’t a bad result.

But he kicked the board Micho: he sent José Paradela and Pablo Solari (two players who don’t stand out for their tactical intelligence) for Mammana and De la Cruz, the best of the middle ones. He played with 3 defenders, with fullbacks Marcelo Herrera and Milton Casco, who usually have problems closing down and who stand out more in attack than in defense. Furthermore, he eliminated Mammana and released González Pirez, who was booked and sent off after 22 minutes. Then came the gale, those 5 goals which became the team’s worst win in the history of Conmebol and which River will have to overcome in the next matches. Because one possibility is that they’ll tie for second place against The Strongest or Sporting Cristal. And there the goals conceded will count. Those that Demichelis did not contemplate.

What did Demichelis feel? Putting together a 3-4-3, with Paradela and Solari on the wings, with Pérez and Aliendro in the center plus Nacho Fernández and Barco to accompany Beltrán. A move that favored the Flamengo forwards, who found space on all sides. And much more: River lost possession and looked puzzling, much more so after González Pirez’s dismissal.

“Sometimes the changes come out and sometimes they don’t. I said that last week, in a good way. I take the lead. I decided for Mammana because I had waited until the last moment due to an issue. And I chose to leave González Pirez because he had a problem, a great performance and he has experience, beyond the fact that he knew he was booked”Demichelis explained. And I add: “If I got to speculating, I would definitely lose. I’ve seen Fluminense lose the last 15 games and the teams that have defended themselves. They are dominant, they have a hierarchy. It is true that five goals is a lot, but matches are defined by actions. It is stayed with me So, 11 against 11, we compete against the best of Brazil”.

“We had a great first half. We started the second half very well and they scored for us when we were at our best. With Leandro sent off it was difficult for us to match them. I took away a central marker from him to put pressure on him with 6 in the rival camp”followed the coach’s explanation.

It didn’t take long for Marcelo Gallardo’s name to appear on social networks, of course. The sentiment of the fans was unanimous: with the Doll what happened in marcana. And there may be some truth in thinking because the former coach has always repeated that goal difference was fundamental in the Cup.

The night of the historic victory will also be that of Demichelis’ unusual substitutions. Just 4 days after the Superclásico against Boca. “We have to move on as quickly as possible. We have to accept the pain and all the bad things that have been done in the last 20 minutes. Our people will fill the stadium and we will dedicate a good game to them”closed the bus.