University and why the defeat in the classic leaves Compagnucci with a terrible statistic

Carlos Compagnucci stays. The coach is part of the plan towards the club’s Centenary. We will bring new players. Three sentences with which academic The 2022 season ended and it was already projected towards the following year. What happened? 14 new players arrived on the squad. From Martín Pérez Güedes, who was the first to sign, to Yuriel Celi, the last to join a preseason that was coming to an end. The issue with Roberto Siucho is still on hold, it would be reinforcement number 15. Even so, 2023 started in the worst possible way: one win and two losses in the short Apertura Tournament. It must be added, now, that one of those falls has the unbearable emotional weight of losing the classic against the intimate.

When the coach of a team directs 23 games and in 8 of them he fails to come back from a score against during the 90 minutes of play, one cannot only talk about doubts but we are facing evidence: Carlos Compagnucci has a hard time rethinking from the Universitario de Deportes bench.

Sunday’s clásico only added to this questionable statistic. Just with the momentary 0-2 against, he decided to move the bench and send Urruti and Succar for Pérez Güedez and Rivera, respectively (62′). The discount arrived at 68 ‘. Later, Quispe (Ancajima), Herrera (Valera) and Guivin (Calcaterra) entered, but the tie never appeared.

Since he landed in Campomar in June of last year to live his second experience in the student club, Compagnucci has seen firsthand how the ‘U’ suffers that the rival gets ahead on the scoreboard nine times. How many times did he tie? On two occasions. It was in the 2-2 visit against Alianza Atlético with goals from Quintero and Corzo, and against Melgar (1-1) at home also with the presence of the Panamanian, today in Cienciano.

Why did the ‘U’ lose the classic?

In the preview, they talked about the importance of Horacio Calcaterra in the cream midfield seconded by Rodrigo Ureña and protecting Martín Pérez Güedes. On the blue and white bench they knew how to read the cream intentions on time and gave the order for Ballón, Lavandeira and Concha to cut all the circuits that ‘Calca’ tried to connect.

After this ‘blackout’ in the middle, everything was more complicated for Universitario. He had control of the ball (he reached up to 65% possession, according to GOLPERÚ), he was the first to reach the rival goal with a dangerous play by José Rivera, but as the clock ticked on he was forced to throw balls from defense to through Piero Guzmán and Matías Di Benedetto.

After Pablo Sabbag’s 1-0 draw, with great responsibility from Nelson Cabanillas for not going out towards the mark of the assistant Gino Peruzzi and Di Benedetto for not chasing the Colombian on the way to the goal, the cream team did not find the ways to immediate reaction. At Calcaterra’s feet, perhaps, the tie could have come quickly, but his rushed shot hit the side net of Franco Saravia’s goal.

A powerful header from Rivera, Valera’s shot from outside the area… We can count every intention that the ‘U’ had and that did not end in a goal. The Blue and Whites, on the other hand, finished the game with four shots at the Merengue goal and twice beat José Carvallo. In the 0-2 play, Gabriel Costa revealed Guzmán’s inexperience for these high-calibre matches. Paraguayan Willian Riveros stayed on the bench, noted for the defeat against Unión Comercio last date.

This is how the effectiveness can be summarized. When the ‘U’ signed Emanuel Herrera, he did so out of nostalgia for his best years at Rímac (70 goals in 93 games). When he was able to convince Valera to return, in the same way, he looked at the statistics of his passing through Ate (25 scores in 49 duels). Today both are not the goal solution in the team. The Peruvian scored against Cantolao 4-0 on date 1, and then missed many occasions against Unión Comercio and in the classic. On his side, in the few minutes he plays, Herrera is just the shadow of the scorer he was years ago in League 1.

Of the signings it is still hasty to analyze in depth. First signs. Ancajima took the place from Corzo and excites every time he gallops close to the rival area, and Rivera is another enthusiast who with shooting will gain more weight in the offense. But Ureña promised that he was a ‘pit bull’ and we still haven’t seen a bark, or Pérez Güedes, who is leaving evidence that he is not as important as he was in Melgar last year. There could be the hierarchy that the compadre showed to take the three points from Ate.

The ‘U’ bills too little of all the times it reaches the opposite goal. It was a sensation that the mini-tour through Chile left behind, and it was finally confirmed against the blue and whites. Is the year lost? No. Is there still a lot to play for? Yes. Are changes needed? Urgently, thoroughly, right now.