Ureña, Arregui, Cazonatti: which of the three will be the best mixed midfielder in League 1 2024?

Almost a decade passed and although with marked differences, the organization of League 1 and the unanimity of the stands – including the one that suffered in the final – recognized the Chilean midfielder Rodrigo Ureña as the best footballer of the season. Ureña has, of course, much fewer goals – only 1 in 2023 – but such a decisive geographical ability to establish himself on the field that he seems to navigate it with Google Maps. And such a notable influence on the game of that ‘U’ of Fossati that, if we look at the games again, the Chilean could be a fourth center back when he was attacked and a third attacker when his team, which in the end was champion, took the lead. ball. That’s why he renewed for three more years. That is why the 2024 discussion opened on what to sign first, a footballer or a star.

To that man, and to that area, the ‘U’ has just added another midfielder – the jale bomb Jairo Concha – and is going for two more: Christofer Gonzales, who arrives this Wednesday and a foreign 10 – the Argentine Gonzalo Ríos is the name more popular, at the close of this note. A nod to how important it is today to sign mixed midfielders.

Made for a position that was a hallmark in Peru when José Velásquez ruled for a decade – from 75 to 85 –, Ureña’s year set off alarms in the classic rivals. And as happens in today’s world, where you pay 130 million for a Caicedo, or 110 for a Fernández – that is, for midfielders -, the first thing Alianza looked for was to bring a midfielder and signed the Argentine Adrián Arregui before Christmas, mixed 30 years old and captain in DIM and Temperley. What he played on Monday in La Noche Blanquiazul was his certainty of having chosen: a medium that inspires respect, goes to everyone and is physically intact. And Cristal was patient, he followed up, and he didn’t stop until he brought in Gustavo Cazonatti, top 3 in Brazil’s Serie B. They call him the ‘Pitbull’. A brief search of his biographies agrees that they both chew glass.

—The reinforcements 2024—

Arms of a bodybuilder, 30 years old and more than 20 tattoos, Adrián Arregui arrives at Matute preceded by a CV that has excited more than a Kevin Serna or a Cecilio Waterman: a leader landed in Matute, as Juan Carlos Osorio called him when the Argentine midfielder He was a starter in the DIM 2021. His arrival is a response to the new alliance policy, piloted by Néstor Bonillo and Bruno Marioni, both from the Sports Directorate: total renewal of a squad that after the two-time championship suffered what is perhaps the hardest setback of its history: losing the finals with the ‘U’ in Matute and not being a three-time champion. B allón separated, Míguez was fired and Concha was not renewed, in short, the summary of the relegation and glory that the intimates experienced in the last three years. That midfield was nullified by a single man a month ago, the Chilean Ureña, and it was a lesson. For that void, and now with a single historical reference like Barcos, Alianza signed Arregui. The week he left he was accelerated by another partner, also a midfielder, but more offensive: Sebastián Rodríguez, Uruguayan former Peñarol, 33 games and 9 goals in 2023.

In Glass The Brazilian school has made camp. Ignacio Da Silva, the best center back in the country in 2023, remained, and they hired Professor Enderson Moreira, perhaps with less CV than an Autuori before or a Nunes recently, but with enough wisdom to decide safely: the captain is still Yotún, The second with the ribbon is precisely Ignacio – in fairness – and instead of spending millions in the major leagues, he went to the roots that he knows so well: Gustavo Cazonatti, 27 years old, 1.79 meters tall, weighing 75 kg, midfielder with route and kick. What Távara could not have been until today, what Castillo took to Portugal.

Cazonatti does not come from the first in Brazil but from promotion, he scored three goals and gave an assist in the last season with Chapecoense. And he’s clearly a bet. If the light blues were missing something to give respite to the lungs of Yotún, whom he renewed until 2026 despite the rumors, it was someone to run for him: 71 finishes in the Brasileirao 2 Betano, according to official figures. Cazonatti seems to be.

Football is defined in the areas but is built in the middle. It’s not a secret, it’s a plan. There, the big three bet their most urgent resources and clone the Ureña 2023 case. The one who best adapts to the height, understands the referees and manages his kick, will be a figure.

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