“We never put Raúl Ruidíaz to cover the first post”: Five responses from the ‘responsible’ according to the fans of the first defeat in the Qualifiers

All voices have been heard on the matter and this Thursday the Seattle Sounders coach joined in, who assured that on his team, Raúl Ruidíaz does not defend the first post, as Juan Reynoso mentioned in the press conference after the match against Brazil .

Should Ruidíaz have gone to the near post?

The Peruvian team makes a man-for-man mark on set pieces, but the ‘9’ always goes to the near post to go freely to clear short balls. Thus, Paolo Guerrero had already cleared several centers in the duel against the Auriverdes. According to Sofascore, he has five clearances in the two games.

But in the fatal corner in the 89th minute, there was a change of plans and Raúl Ruidíaz took the marker at the near post and it was there that Marquinhos headed to anticipate it and score the Brazilian goal.

As we have explained in this CuadroxCuadro, the first responsibility for the Brazilian defender’s brand was Luis Abram, but he released the brand and left him free. Marquinhos made a move between two of his teammates to save himself and reached the near post freely to score.

In his marking work, Ruidíaz only had one ball intercepted and another recovered. He entered to try to block the Brazilian exit, but his contribution was also poor in that regard.

In his defense

The first to come out to defend what was seen on the field was Juan Reynoso himself. The coach of the Peruvian team explained that it was his decision to

“We had thought that ball would be for Raúl, as he does in his club and in Mexico, to go to the first post and Paolo to go to the penalty spot, because the most dangerous balls were being thrown between the first post and the penalty spot,” declared Juan Reynoso. .

However, there are two corners that Neymar took from the left corner that went to the near post, one looking for Danilo and another that reached Marquinhos.

Several players also came out to ‘shield’ their teammate. The first was Luis Abram, who assumed responsibility for him in leaving Marquinho’s mark, but assured that when the Brazilian hits the near post, whoever takes care of that area must take it. “The play doesn’t leave my mind. I have it, but it is a matter of communication, whoever is in the area should go with him and I should stay in the area,” he declared.

But he was clear in his reflection that no one should be singled out. “There is no need to look for blame, when we win, we all win, and if we lose, we all lose,” he said.

They contradict Reynoso

In the United States, the specific play of Brazil’s goal was echoed and Seattle Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer contradicted Juan Reynoso’s words.

In a video published by journalist Niko Moreno from Pulso Sports, the coach is heard ensuring that it is not Ruidíaz’s job to take care of the first post in dead balls.

“We never put Raúl to cover the space at the near post to defend any play. That will be my only comment. Raúl has many strengths, but Peru’s coach has the right to choose where he puts him. We don’t put it there,” said the coach.

According to Sofacore statistics, Ruidíaz’s defensive work is very little. In the 17 MLS games he has played (10 starts), Penalties averages one recovery per game and two clearances in the ten games. And according to the heat map, his presence in his own area is zero.

What is your production with the national team?

Nobody doubts the qualities of Raúl Ruidíaz and the good performances he usually has for the Seattle Sounders, which makes him worthy of being considered for the Peruvian team. However, the question is whether he is capable of fulfilling what is needed in the Bicolor.

Against Brazil he played twelve minutes and barely touched the ball five times, recovered one ball and intercepted another. According to Opta, he gave two passes and both went to Jesús Castillo, always playing backwards. Perhaps the moment of the game led him to take a defensive attitude, but in general, the fans criticize his lack of production in attack.

With the Bicolor, Ruidíaz has only four goals in 54 games. The curious thing is that three of those goals were scored in United States territory, in the friendlies against El Salvador (2016) and Iceland (2018), and against Brazil in the 2016 Copa América. The other two were against Venezuela in the Qualifiers, in 2016. That is, he hasn’t scored in five years and in that period he has played 26 games without celebrating.

He has played in the national team since his debut against Japan in a friendly in 2011 and has been part of four Qualifiers, with the current one, of the Copa América 2011, 2016 and 2019, and entered two matches at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Your return to University?

Universitario’s dream is to put together a ‘Dream Team’ for the year of its Centennial, in 2024 and achieving the return of Raúl Ruidíaz is one of its objectives. The creams already have Edison Flores and Andy Polo on their roster, two ‘repatriated’ players with whom they hope to win the title this year.

The creams dream of having Raúl Ruidíaz next year. Even the current administrator Jean Ferrari came out in defense of the attacker in the face of criticism for his entry against Brazil, and at the beginning of the year he was already talking about having him in the club. “Having players like Edison Flores or Raúl Ruidíaz would be impressive. I don’t want to get ahead of anything, but there are possibilities that could arise,” he told Gol Perú in March. In August he confirmed Flores’ return.

Raúl’s link with the ‘U’ is permanent. It is even known that he has made donations to the club for the purchase of sports materials.

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