Snak

Playoffs looking increasingly distant for misfiring Chivas

There is more than a hint of irony in Chivas having an overload of center forwards with proven goal-scoring records at different clubs, but yet they couldn´t buy a goal in the 0-0 tie Sunday against Toluca.

What´s more, 20-year-old loanee Erick "Cubo" Torres -- yes, he is still only 20 -- has more goals in his first seven games for Chivas USA in MLS than Chivas Guadalajara have in total over their first seven games of the season.

The player -- given the unfortunate and unfair label of "the new Chicharito" -- has regained his confidence and netted twice on Sunday again Vancouver Whitecaps to take his tally to six goals, while Chivas still struggle to get the balance right in the offense, with just five goals all season.

Rafa Marquez Lugo has been possibly the only Chivas player in 2013 who you could say has shown the required level and commitment you´d like to see from all the players, but even he had a poor day on Sunday against Toluca, striking a weak penalty that Alfredo Talavera saved with some ease.

Aside from the end product, it was an improved performance from Chivas, especially in defense, where the three center back system Juan Carlos Ortega has played since taking over as coach looked a lot better than the previous league game against Queretaro.

The downside was the injuries Hector Reynoso and Kristian Alvarez suffered, but the idea of playing the experienced Reynoso as the spare defender alongside two faster players worked well against a Toluca side that was averaging two goals a game.

Wingbacks Jesus Sanchez and Miguel Ponce also looked much-improved against Toluca, providing more attacking intent. In midfield, fielding Patricio Araujo and Jorge Enriquez together in the center gave the team a more solid look.

But it was further forward that Chivas didn´t create, with Carlos Fierro, Giovani Hernandez, Marquez Lugo and Aldo de Nigris not linking up in a way that their talent suggests they should.

The obvious solution is bringing a fully fit Marco Fabian into the starting mix on one of the wings, but the worry is that there is no natural width, with Hernandez, Fabian and Fierro players who are arguably better when cutting inside.

It´s the kind of problem that takes time to iron out, but the Apertura regular season is now close to being halfway through and the club has just five points and sits in 16th position.

Looking at the league table, Chivas realistically need a minimum of 20 points from its last 10 games to even have a chance of making the playoffs. That´s seven victories or the equivalent from a team with four wins from its last 27 league games and one win in its last 14.

And, to make things worse, Chivas have already played what would be considered some of the easier games of the tournament: Chiapas, Veracruz, Atlante, Puebla, Queretaro.

The last ten games are as follows: Tigres (a), Tijuana (h), Leon (a), Atlas (h), America (a), Pachuca (h), Morelia (a), Santos Laguna (h), Pumas (h) and Monterrey (a).

Getting 20 points from those games is a daunting task and one which makes the rest of this season look like preparation for next year´s Clausura.

It is a depressing reality for a club and its long-suffering fans, whose patience is already shot

H.H.2 – The Other Herrera

An autocratic manager of South American descent. A success in Spain, but enjoying his peak years at the sharp end of catenaccio-fuelled Serie A in the 1960s. Writings about the well documented life and times of Signor Herrera are not exactly thin on the ground, but in this particular article Helenio has only an unfamiliar supporting role.

This is actually the story of one of his main managerial contemporaries, the unrelated Paraguayan Heriberto Herrera – or H.H.2 as he was christened by the Italian press. He’s a manager who is barely recalled today, this despite a decent career that reads like a diluted and histrionic-free version of Helenio’s. Simple confusion probably plays a major part in the reason his legacy is forgotten, after all, when you share a very similar name and identical initials with the most famous manager in the world, it is perhaps little surprise your identity is compromised. Heriberto may not have amassed the prodigious trophy haul, nor the fawning media adulation of H.H, but he did joust gamely with ‘il mago’ and bloody his nose on several occasions.

The commonality between the men did not start and end with their names, initials and South American backgrounds. Both would spend most of their playing days and the entirety of their management careers in Europe. Both espoused pragmatism and defensive solidity as their core football philosophy, believed ardently in the value of the team collective and had highly divisive, authoritarian personalities. They were in a financial league of their own as well: at one stage they were the two highest paid managers in the world and both would shatter the world record transfer fee during their regular bouts of extravagant spending. They even looked alike: tall, dark and brooding, Heriberto resembling a younger version of Helenio as the 14-year age difference would suggest. With so much in common, it was little surprise that their managerial careers would be so closely linked.

In charge of Atlético Madrid, Helenio Herrera the manager had Heriberto Herrera the player recommended to him. The Paraguayan’s transfer to Spain was completed in 1952 and he would be a great success at centre-half until injury forced his early retiral at the age of 30. His ambitions to pursue a management career advanced quickly and within months he was coaching at Rayo Vallecano. Tenerife offered him his first full managerial post, a spell followed with Valladolid, promotion to the top flight with Español and an impressive fifth placed La Liga finish with little Elche in 1964.

European football was by then firmly in the iron grip of Helenio’s impregnable Internazionale side and a struggling Juventus sought a new coach with fresh ideas to challenge him. Impressed by his work at Elche, 38-year-old Heriberto would be their young and bold solution. The scene was set for a Serie A showdown: H.H. v H.H.2.

Heriberto was not expected to bridge the gulf to Inter overnight and this allowed him time and space to plan significant changes to how Juventus played. He wanted to follow the dominant Helenio orthodoxy; this meant adapting his side into a more disciplined and defensive team than the loose, open outfit he had inherited. His was a stark tactical vision: he advocated maintaining team shape at all times, preferring players to occupy fixed positions and perform fixed roles with limited scope for self-expression. Defenders with attacking tendencies were frowned upon; it made no sense to him, it just seemed a contradiction in purpose.

His bête noire was the maverick; the skilful but erratic individual who would produce something memorable every few games, but little in-between. Few fitted this profile better than the volatile Argentinian, Omar Sívori, and the pair quickly fell out. Sívori broke ribs and Heriberto took advantage of the situation to ruthlessly declare to the press: “He’s finished, he is no more use to us.” When fit, a furious Sívori was not restored to the first team squad and was sold on to Napoli at the end of the season. Heriberto started to find his feet at the club after weathering initial criticism of his stringent approach. Juventus finished well adrift of Inter in his first Serie A campaign, but he did record a notable coup with the defeat of the champions in the 1965 Coppa Italia Final. Heriberto had denied Helenio an historic treble.

For Juventus fans who had enjoyed the flood of goals the prolific Charles and Sivori partnership had brought, Heriberto’s rigid obsession with defensive parsimony was quite a culture shock. It was signposted clearly enough in the opening weeks of the 1965/66 season – their first four games yielding just a single goal, though at least it was Juventus that scored it. No-one is more famous than Helenio Herrera for ruthless pursuit of clean sheets, yet in the four seasons the pair competed head-to-head at Juventus and Inter, Heriberto’s teams had the better defensive record every year. Unsurprisingly, scoring goals proved more difficult. Juventus remained adrift of Helenio’s Inter in 1966, but at least the gap was narrowing.

The 1966/67 season was make or break for Heriberto’s Juventus career and encouragement came as the championship quickly developed into a two-horse race between the Milan and Turin giants. Inter remained the best side in the country, but Juventus were consistent and managed to methodically track them and remain in contention. Inter stumbled towards the end of the season and the teams went into the final round of matches with Juventus just a point behind. At half time on that fraught last day, both Inter’s match at Mantova and Juventus’s home game against Lazio remained goalless. Juventus scored twice in the second half and then enjoyed a stroke of great fortune when Inter keeper Sarti fumbled a harmless shot from Mantova’s Di Giacomo into his own net. Inter could not recover from that goal and Juventus leapfrogged them to lead the table for the first time all season. It was the most dramatic and unexpected title in their history.

Helenio’s fall from grace was compounded by Inter’s shock defeat to Celtic in the European Cup Final and suddenly his managerial stock had been eclipsed by his Paraguayan rival. Some in the Italian press even mischievously suggested that H.H.2 had now earned the right to ownership of the H.H. title. With Inter a fading force, Heriberto’s Juventus were expected to step up and dominate Serie A. Goals continued to confound them though. Their title was surrendered to Milan the following season and there was no redemption in Europe; Heriberto’s solitary European Cup campaign ending in semi-final defeat to Benfica.

A major shake-up followed. The club spent hugely to address their goal scoring problems and in came the experienced West German Helmut Haller and the young Mantova prodigy Pietro Anastasi. The combined fee was nearly £700,000, an eye-watering amount, even in the overheated financial environment of Italian football at the time.

The newcomers settled well and Juventus were enjoying a strong 1968/69 campaign until their season crashed, suddenly and chaotically, off the rails. The damage was done in a home fixture against a Roma side now managed by, who else, Helenio Herrera. He had controversially decamped there after leaving Inter and was struggling to turn his new charges into a competitive side. They were tame in Turin for most of that Sunday afternoon too as Juventus gently cruised towards a simple 2-0 win. Yet there would be a sting in the tail. Roma scored late in the game and then equalised at the death from a contentious and highly disputed penalty award.

The whistle blew seconds later and a full-scale riot broke out with dozens hurt in the confusion. A Juventus supporter was arrested for waving a loaded gun at Roma’s players and Helenio Herrera, never popular in Turin, was punched in the face on the Roma team bus by home fans. Juventus received a heavy fine and the match was initially awarded to Roma, although this decision would be overturned on appeal. Heriberto’s team got their point back, but never their momentum and Fiorentina overhauled them to become champions.

Arguments over transfers saw Heriberto’s five-year reign at Juventus end in the summer of 1969, but he didn’t have to wait long for a new position. Within a matter of weeks he was appointed as Inter’s new head coach on a lucrative contract that made him the second highest paid manager in the world. Second to Helenio at Roma of course.

Inter’s talented squad had drifted apathetically since its halcyon era and someone was needed to whip them into shape again. Inter’s new President, Ivanoe Fraizzoli, was struggling badly to find his feet in his new role and he wanted a disciplinarian in charge to try to emulate the model of the Moratti – Helenio days. Heriberto was a sensible choice. His training methods were rigorous with players drilled to attain very high levels of fitness. He led by example and lived up to his ‘iron sergeant’ nickname, starting his own pre-season training routine several weeks before his players and participating fully in his own sessions. Obsessed with health and diet, players were banned from eating a wide range of foodstuffs and anyone caught smoking would be fined on the spot.

Innovative and creative when it came to the mechanics of the game, Heriberto would create high momentum passing routines in small areas as part of what he called his ‘parallel matrix technique’. Rather than risk shouted messages being misheard in noisy stadiums, he developed a gesture system to convey a range of high-level instructions to his players. The parallels between his and Helenio’s clear and focused approach to management were uncanny, as was the nature of the relationships they had with similar Inter players – both loved Luis Suarez for his consummate professionalism and both were driven to distraction by the languid and inconsistent Mario Corso.

Heriberto’s only full season in charge of Inter was underwhelming. Whilst finishing runners-up to Cagliari was an improvement on the previous year, the club were never really in serious title contention despite the world record acquisition of forward Roberto Boninsegna. A chaotic close season ensued: Fraizzoli ignored his manager’s wishes by selling Suarez and keeping Corso; meanwhile morale was further undermined by a player strike caused by the President’s unilateral reduction of agreed bonuses. The 1970/71 season kick-off brought little respite. Still never a manager to freely liberate attacking talent, Heriberto controversially deployed new forward Sergio Pellizzaro as a deep-lying right-winger to little discernible effect. A 3-0 derby defeat to Milan left Inter second bottom of Serie A after five games and Heriberto was sacked, harshly perhaps in hindsight, the same players would recover sufficiently under youth coach Giovanni Invernizzi to win the title.

Heriberto teamed up again with Luis Suarez at Sampdoria and then had a spell with Atalanta. Back in Spain after 11 years away, he would take charge at Las Palmas, Valencia and Español. His style remained obdurate and he proved more adept at steadying listing clubs than advancing ambitious ones. The strong-minded Dutchman Johnny Rep did not appreciate Heriberto’s autocratic manner and their fall-out cost Herrera his Valencia position – this despite the club occupying third place in the table at the time.

The entwined lives of Heriberto and Helenio gently wound down in tandem as both retired in 1982. Helenio would spend his last years in Venice, Heriberto returned to live out a quiet retirement in Asunción. The Paraguayan passed away in 1996 and Helenio would follow in 1997. He outlived Heriberto by a matter of months and while his legacy lives on as strongly as ever today, the memory of Heriberto, perhaps his biggest managerial nemesis, grows fainter and fainter.

Didi’s Revolution In Peru – Part One

Peruvian football has always been willing to look abroad for inspiration and the helpful promptings of three nations in particular have played a major role in its development. The English came first: sailors introduced the game to Peru in the late nineteenth century, then Lima’s ex-pat residents helped drive its popularity by paying for the construction of a national stadium in Lima thirty years later.

The next major advance came courtesy of Hungary who, thanks to coach György Orth, properly organised the way Peru actually played the game for the first time. Orth had been an outstanding footballer in his day and had led a long and peripatetic management career before pitching up as the nation’s head coach in 1957. Before his arrival players of great natural talent had emerged, but rank amateurism in coaching and administration had kept Peru muddling along for decades on the periphery of the South American game.

Orth introduced Hungarian-style methods and his initiatives helped the emergence of a rich seam of playing talent. Players like Óscar Gómez Sánchez, Vides Mosquera, Miguel Loyaza, Guillermo Delgado, Victor Benitez and the brilliant left-winger Juan Seminario put Peru firmly on the map for the first time and attracted covetous glances from top sides in Spain and Italy. This group also featured as part of a fine national side that ran Brazil very close in qualification for the 1958 World Cup; yet still Peru remained a nearly nation that had to go back to the inaugural 1930 tournament for its first – and only – participation on the world stage.

And so, finally, the Peruvian game would look towards the influence of Brazil to nudge them that final step forward towards the World Cup and international respect. The man they turned to was Waldyr Pereira, or Didi, as he was more commonly known. Didi had been a double World Cup winner and one of the greatest players in the world during the 1950s and early 60s: an outstanding midfielder of grace and precision whose awareness of play, mastery of game management and quiet, assured leadership qualities marked him out for a future in management. He took coaching courses with Botafogo when his playing days ended and even in those formative years, it quickly became apparent that he had well-formed and quite distinct views on how the game should be played.

After a short and unsatisfying spell with Botafogo, Didi realised his ambitions lay in different areas from most other coaches. What he sought was less a conventional manager role and more of a project – a blank canvas for him to project his ideas on. With his weighty playing reputation opening doors all over the continent, many were surprised when he eventually accepted a role with the unfashionable Peruvian club Sporting Crystal in 1962. In what became a recurring theme throughout his managerial career; rather than personal, financial enrichment, Didi’s primary motivation was gaining control of all the aspects of a club he felt he needed to be able to realise his vision.

This ambitious approach entailed a remit loftier than merely improving his new Sporting charges and their results. Didi’s project involved nothing less than a revolution in the whole way the game was approached, played and run in Peru. The country’s football fraternity was mesmerised by him. As if having an all-time great of the game like Didi working within their borders wasn’t enough, here was a man of integrity and belief who seemed to genuinely care about improving the nation’s footballing landscape. When he made a strong case for provincial champions participating in top division national football to strengthen competition, people listened and the Federation was happy to approve his proposed changes.

Although Sporting finished League runners-up on both occasions, Didi’s initial two-year spell with the club was considered a success. His growing reputation drew offers back home but his return was a misjudged one. In Brazil, club Presidents barely allowed coaches to even pick teams without interference, yet alone get their hands on any of the other levers of power. Didi must have known there was no chance he would be given the degree of control he had enjoyed in Peru. It would be a period of disillusionment for him, finally broken when the call came from Sporting asking him to return in 1967. Didi picked up where he left off, Sporting became Peruvian champions the following year and the Brazilian had his first managerial honour.

With the 1970 World Cup looming, the Peruvian Federation was determined to build on the growing confidence in the domestic game and make a serious qualifying attempt. While it was decided that an experienced foreign manager was necessary, the sticking point was the Federations’s ambitious plan to contract a heavyweight coach with only featherweight wages on offer. Their preferred choice had been Adolfo Pedernera, but negotiations broke down as soon as the Argentinian outlined his £1,500 monthly salary expectations.

Didi’s still-limited command of Spanish had been seen as a barrier to him being a contender for the post, but with Pedernera out of the picture attention turned back in his direction. The Brazilian was interested in the role but his involvement would come, as ever, with plenty of conditions. Reasoning that qualification would be impossible under the present set-up, he demanded numerous reforms that would allow him to prepare as he felt necessary. A canny operator; in order to make his candidacy more compelling, Didi was smart enough to sugar coat his demands by offering to do the job in tandem with his Sporting Crystal role for no extra recompense, beyond a bonus if he secured qualification. The Peruvian Federation agreed and had its heavyweight manager on the cheap. Didi had his new project, on his own terms and now he could go to work imposing his philosophy on the best players in the country.

This footballing philosophy was one shaped by what he learnt as a player in Brazil and Spain. Going against the tactical conventions of the age held no fears for him and, true to his Brazilian roots, he insisted on a positive, attacking approach for his teams. His Spanish sojourn at Real Madrid and the observation of Alfredo Di Stefano’s perpetual motion had taught him about the importance of physical fitness, continual movement and physical strength; qualities traditionally not especially prized in Latin American football.

Didi’s fascination with aspects of Italian football culture was harder to pin down. He had no playing affinity with a country whose main legacy to the game – the defensive straitjacket of catenaccio – was an anathema to his attacking convictions. It transpired that the Brazilian had taken great interest in the role that psychological conditioning had played in the success of Helenio Herrera’s Inter teams. The mind had been a little explored area in football and there was limited appreciation of how confidence and morale impacted drastically on player performances. Didi wanted to master this science to counter what he perceived as the in-built inferiority complex of the typical Peruvian footballer.

Another Italian-inspired method that helped define his regime was the dreaded in ritiro – the practice of teams spending extended periods in isolated locations, away from friends and family, to improve focus and relationships between teammates. With player wages and bonuses to be paid in full by the Federation, Didi pushed through an agreement allowing him to take his national players into retreat in advance of all major games. Italian-style iron discipline was key to Didi’s approach too. The unspoken contract between club and player in Italy was a complex one: Serie A clubs paid lavish salaries but in return demanded an unprecedented level of control over the lives of their players. Concerned about the naturally lackadaisical manner of Peruvian footballers, Didi’s autocratic approach was, to his mind, the only way he could hope to drill them into the sort of disciplined unit he associated with European national teams.

It was a bold and groundbreaking approach that no other coach had ever attempted in Peru. All smoking was banned in camp and the coach – a renowned chain-smoker himself – led by personal example and refrained too. His new, tougher and more professional approach to preparation wasn’t popular, but certainly appeared to inspire a greater esprit de corps in the squad. Subtle tactical changes were brought in too in order to compensate for weaknesses: Peru’s defence was collectively slack at marking and poor in the air, so Didi made the inspired move to shift from a 433 to a 4123 formation and adapt midfielder Ramón Mifflin to play as a Beckenbauer-style sweeper.

Competition for the single Mexico ’70 qualification place came from Bolivia and more ominously Argentina, the firm favourites to advance despite a complacent team bereft of much attacking threat. The altitude of La Paz confounded opponents then as it does now and Bolivia defeated both Argentina and Peru, only to lose both returns as was traditional. Peru sprung a shock with a 1-0 win in Lima over a bad-tempered, ten-man Argentine side and now needed only a draw in the Buenos Aires return to qualify.

Didi’s team selection for this crucial game was affected by suspensions resulting from the two dismissals in the contentious defeat in La Paz. With the crucial Mifflin unavailable, Didi boldly switched to a 424 formation and took the game to Argentina. It was a gamble that paid off handsomely as the pace and width of the Peruvian attack constantly unsettled the home side and silenced the 70,000 crowd. Peru twice led through Oswaldo Ramirez goals, though twice Argentina levelled. The second equaliser came in the last-minute but didn’t unnerve the visitors who held out for the few remaining seconds to deservedly earn their point and their World Cup qualification.

Didi’s Revolution In Peru – Part Two


Here’s the second part of our story about the revolution in Peruvian football inspired by the Brazilian coach, Didi. If you missed the first part you can read it here.

Granted honorary Peruvian citizenship and decorated with sports laurels by the country’s President Alvarado; Didi’s success in having led Peru to their first World Cup qualification in 40 years had made him a national hero and vindicated his demanding methods. Beneath the surface, things were not quite as idyllic as they might have seemed though as cracks formed in the relationship between coach and Federation. A request to travel to Europe to watch potential World Cup opponents was dismissed by the Federation PeruPresident, Gustavo Escudero: ‘There’s seven months to go, we can’t afford it and it’s no use watching teams now which may change radically by the time they play in Mexico,’ he told the media. Angry at being denied this most basic of requests, Didi became embroiled in a war of words with Escudero and his irritation grew when it was suggested the main motivation for his trip was to take a touring holiday at the Federation’s expense. Officials further flexed their muscles and cancelled plans for the team’s scheduled European friendlies, meaning all warm up matches would have to be played at home instead.

Lengthy and acrimonious arguments about Didi’s salary and bonuses dragged on for months too. The penny-pinching Federation had become used to having a coach work for nothing and were reluctant to have to now pay something approaching the going rate. Didi finally negotiated a £10,000 bonus, but even that would only be paid if Peru reached the World Cup Quarter Finals – progress that few people expected of them.

Despite the tangible success that Didi had brought, there was disillusionment within elements of the squad too about the coach’s militaristic approach to training. Regular trips to high-altitude villages like Huachachino where players were subjected to gruelling, commando-style training were detested. Perico León was one of the more rebellious squad members and he would regularly slip out of camp at night to go drinking. Didi wanted to jettison him from the squad but Leon’s popularity with the other players forced him to reluctantly back down.

No other 1970 World Cup participant played as many as the 18 warm-up games Peru undertook against a mix of eastern European clubs and national sides – all at home of course. The unremarkable results in these games actually worked in Didi’s favour: the combination of modest scores with a squad that was entirely domestic based and little known abroad meant few took Peru’s chances seriously as the tournament approached. But in place was actually a well-honed squad that had improved rapidly thanks to its intensive coaching and heavy warm-up programme. The world just didn’t know it yet.

Peru’s star men were still the ones who led from the front. The powerful build of Perico León gave the attack a strong focal point and he dovetailed well with the extravagant skills of young Hugo Sotil, a forward who would later play to great effect alongside Cruyff at Barcelona. Dynamic support came from inside-forward Teófilo Cubillas: all dazzling footwork, squat power, changes of pace and thumping early shots that confounded keepers. Julio Baylon’s unlikely swerves and feints made him Peru’s right-wing take on Garrincha, while the graceful and elegant Alberto Gallardo on the other flank showed the sort of consistent quality that had attracted Milan to sign him some years earlier.

The unavailability of enough top class defensive players threw up a team less convincing the further back you looked. Although talented, Mifflin and Roberto Challe were perhaps too attack-minded to play wholly effectively as halves. A similar appraisal could be levelled at Héctor Chumpitaz, another naturally gifted player too fond of showing off his dribbling skills for a central defender. Didi lacked much confidence in any of the unremarkable goalkeeping options he had available, so Luis Rubinos became the incumbent keeper by default as the best of a modest bunch.

On the opening day of the tournament a massive earthquake struck Peru near the coastal town of Chimbote and 70,000 people were killed in the terrible landslides that resulted. After initially considering withdrawing from the competition, Peru’s squad was persuaded to continue by the government and Didi and his players vowed to do their utmost to bring some joy to a devastated country. True to their word, Peru’s scintillating contribution would be one of the high points of a fine tournament.

Both Bulgaria and Morocco were defeated as they struggled to cope with Peru’s pace, movement and sheer attacking verve. Didi’s team duly advanced from the group stages behind West Germany and, although Brazil prevailed in their Quarter Final clash, even the eventual winners were set on the back foot at times by their South American neighbours. Much of the value Didi had brought to this team was demonstrated in the manner they recovered from a two-goal deficit to beat Bulgaria in that opening group game. Even taking into account Peru’s greater familiarity with the challenges of the climate, their superior level of fitness was telling in the second half. The battling qualities displayed in coming from behind was indicative too of a sort of newfound mental strength that had never been a trademark of the national team in the past.

Ever the perfectionist, there was still much about his team’s performances that frustrated Didi. While losing 4-2 to a vibrant Brazil was, on paper, no disgrace; the Brazilian was angry that his players had been guilty of too many defensive lapses and the sort of tactical naivety he had worked so hard to eradicate. Héctor Chumpitaz’s performances encapsulated everything that was good and bad about this Peruvian side. This was a player who was quick and powerful and although not tall for a central defender, he could often leap and win crosses against much taller opponents. But not even Didi’s best efforts could cure his rushes of blood to the head and too often he would sprint 20 yards out of defence to try to win a tackle, leaving huge gaps in an already none too stable defence behind him.

Rubinos turned out to be the goalkeeping liability his coach had feared and cost Peru several avoidable goals. “We had three shaky goalkeepers and defenders who attacked too much. If we could have found a reliable keeper and another dedicated defender then we could have beaten Brazil,” Didi told journalist Gregory Tesser after the tournament.

Disciplinary lapses remained a thorny issue for the coach too after incidents with the defender, La Torre, who had verbally abused him and winger, Julio Baylon, who put on weight after ignoring dietary instructions. Didi insisted on a special disciplinary committee after the tournament and threatened to resign if findings were not made public. The Peruvian Federation Council was not enthusiastic about disciplining players who had, after all, brought pride to a country in desperate need of something to cheer. Didi did finally get his way, as he usually did, but it was a pyrrhic victory: his special relationship with Peruvian football had turned sour after one too many disagreements. He left Peru weeks later and only ever returned briefly, 16 years later, when persuaded out of retirement to take temporary charge at Alianza.

A new project in a new country had attracted him. Coaching the Buenos Aires giants River Plate was a sizeable enough responsibility in its own right, but Didi saw it as a broader opportunity. To his mind he would be a zealous missionary in a foreign land, ridding the Argentine game of its violence and ultra-defensiveness and restoring the nation’s lost tradition of attacking and entertaining football. River Plate’s president, Julio W.Kent, welcomed him: ‘The lowering of the standard of play in Argentina during recent years requires a change of mentality, systems and tactics. My club is trying to achieve this by the signing of Didi.’

A style revolution it might have been, but Didi would quickly discover that Argentine fans were never going to be willing to trade hard-won points for an easier-on-the-eye aesthetic. For a decade River Plate had repeatedly fallen short when success was within their grasp and Didi’s latest revolution made no impact on this fragile mindset. His authoritarian manner set him quickly at odds with too many senior players who were not dazzled by his reputation in the way the Peruvians had been. Unsurprisingly the River Plate project didn’t even last a full season.

The management career of Waldir ‘Didi’ Pereira demonstrates a thoughtful and curious coach, one who adapted his extensive playing experience into a well-constructed vision of all aspects of game preparation and execution. It’s indisputable that he had a natural flair for the art of management and yet, groundbreaking success with Peru and a couple of Turkish titles later with Fenerbahce apart, his career never really hit the heights it could have.

Progress was certainly stymied by absolutism: his was an inflexible, one-size fits all approach that made little accommodation for individual personalities or the intricacies of different football cultures. To put his style into a modern context, think Didi as part Arrigo Sacchi and part Louis Van Gaal. In common with the Italian, Didi achieved early success thanks to a very singular vision of how the game should be played. The difficulties arose later when an unwillingness, or inability, to compromise and adapt those ideals with different players and teams made that success hard to replicate.

Didi and Van Gaal shared something of a dictatorial approach better suited to ego-free youngsters who were more likely to conform without question. It was probably no coincidence that Didi achieved his best run of results at River Plate when forced to field his entire youth team during a player strike. Peruvian players had been impressionable and ready to conform in the early days, although that mindset gradually changed over time. The clever promptings of the coach turned these players into stars meaning, as their status and confidence grew, so too did their willingness to question those very same methods that had made them stars. Didi never quite developed the faculties to relate and manage different players in different ways, a skill his compatriot Mario Zagalo was particularly adept at.

We judge success in a rather monochromatic way with the numerical certainty of a manager’s trophy haul tending to trump all other considerations. Using that benchmark then Didi’s managerial career doesn’t compare favourably with the likes of Zagalo, Herrera, Ferguson or Paisley. He does however belong on a different and in many ways more exclusive list alongside managers like Sepp Piontek and Jupp Derwall. Through talent, vision and hard work, each was the primary driving force in establishing an entire nation as a respected international football force for the first time. What Piontek and Derwall did for Denmark and Turkey respectively, so Didi had already achieved with Peru and this feat will ensure his continuing legacy as a legendary and revolutionary figure in Peru’s long footballing history.

Soccer roundup: Católica cruising, Colo Colo in crisis

Home loss to Unión Española places Colo Colo second from bottom, Universidad Católica crushes Cobresal and Cobreloa keeps up the pace in Chile’s top division.

Universidad Católica 3-0 Cobresal

Católica maintained its spot two points clear at the top of the table after a convincing win over Cobresal on Saturday. The visitors defended valiantly in the first 45, though the strain proved too great and three second half goals from the league leader settled the match.

The home side applied constant pressure throughout the first half, and Cobresal’s Sebastián Cuerdo was possibly the best player on the pitch. Were it not for the goalkeeper’s continued efforts — notably two diving saves to twice deny midfielder Michael Ríos — the scoreline could have been far more damning.

Midfielder José Muñoz had been on the pitch for four minutes when he tapped in his team’s first in the 50th, courtesy of a goalmouth scramble after a corner kick. Ismael Sosa is in the form of his life, and his sublime low drive from range in the 68th minute was all the more accomplished as fans now seem to expect that kind of play from the forward.

Four minutes later, striker Nicolás Castillo was too quick for his marker as he raced on to a floated cross from deep in midfield and coolly side-footed in his second goal of the Apertura.

Other high-flying teams failed to punish Católica for dropping points in consecutive matches in the third and fourth week. With current form at nine goals in two games, such slip-ups may be a rare thing going forward.

Cobresal remains on eight points and sits ninth in the table on goal difference.

Cobreloa 2-1 Rangers

Cobreloa bounced back from last week’s Copa Sudamericana disappointment with a slim victory over Rangers on Sunday. The win puts the northern club on 12 points, maintaining the heat behind league-leading Católica.

Rangers got off to a terrible start. A deft back-heel released Cobreloa’s Hugo Droguett into the box, only for the forward to be brought down illegally by Nicolás Peric. The goalkeeper was handed a straight red, and Jonathan Cháves netted the resultant penalty in the 23rd minute.

The visitors rallied however, and tied the game up six minutes later via a header from Argentine striker Pablo Vegetti.

After the break, Cobreloa went hunting, heaping personnel in the final third, and the winner finally came in the 73rd minute. Substitute keeper Sebastián Vargas came off his line to claim a cross though badly timed his leap, allowing midfielder Gastón Lezcano to collect the ball and fire into an empty net.

Rangers loss sees the side drop to 11th place.

Colo Colo 0-2 Unión Española

Having suffered its worst start to the league in 17 years, fortunes have turned for the titleholder Unión Española, which registered its second-consecutive win of the season at the home of Colo Colo on Sunday. In contrast, Chile’s most successful team in history now sits second from bottom with a dismal five points from six games, having already crashed out of this year’s Copa Sudamericana.

As has so often been the case this season, Colo Colo looked dangerous from the offset, though sloppy finishing in the final third was compounded by errors in the back line. For the second game running, clumsy play from Cristián Vilches led to a goal. The defender passed the ball directly to the opposition in midfield and a quick counter was finished off by forward Patricio Vidal.

After a poor start to the Apertura, last season’s strike sensation Gustavo Canales netted his second goal in as many names, capitalizing on Colo Colo’s failure to clear a corner in the 55th minute.

Tensions in the Colo Colo camp reached a fever pitch in the dressing room after the game — players Sebastián Toro and Javier Toledo exchanged blows and had to be pulled off one another.

Unión Española sits above Colo Colo on six points.

Universidad de Chile 2-2 Santiago Wanderers

Four goals in a rip-roaring second half saw “La U” share the spoils at home with Santiago Wanderers on Sunday. The result sees the Copa Chile holder claim third in the league, and Wanderers go to 10th.

“La U” took firm control of the first 45, though could not find a way past Mauricio Viana. However, ten minutes into the second half, the goalkeeper could do nothing to prevent Charles Aránguiz’s powerful penalty from going in after fellow midfielder Gustavo Lorenzetti was brought down in the box.

New acquisition Marcos Sebastián Pol continues to prove his worth to Wanderers. His third goal of the Apertura — a thunderous volley on 62 minutes — tied up the game.

Exciting young midfield prospect Rubén Farfán looked to have won it for “La U” with a goal in the 84th, though striker Matías Donoso saved Wanderers a point with an incredible leap and powerful header two minutes from time.

O’Higgins 0-1 Palestino

After a bright start to the current campaign, O’Higgins has now failed to win in four games, and a home loss to Palestino on Saturday counts as the team’s lowest point of the season thus far.

The visitors were the better side in the first 45, and netted early through midfielder Sergio Daniel López. O’Higgins came to life in the second half, though fine keeping and a goal-line clearance gave Palestino its second win of the season to go seventh in the table.

Antofagasta 2-0 Everton

After suffering a 5-0 hammering at the hands of “La U” last week, Antofagasta bounced back with a victory over Everton on Friday.

“Los Pumas” got off to a perfect start, going ahead through a strike from forward Javier Aníbal Elizondo in the third minute, and midfielder Luis Cabrera Figueroa extended the lead in the 61st.

Antofagasta is now 13th in the league with seven points, just behind Everton on goal difference.

Universidad de Concepción 2-2 Ñublense

Ñublense came agonizingly close to registering its first win of the season against newly promoted Universidad de Concepión on Saturday, only to concede a goal with seconds left to play.

A keeping howler led to a goal by Concepción defender Felipe Muñoz in the 33rd minute, though the score was levelled by an Adán Vergara header just before the half. Ñublense then went ahead on the hour mark through striker Sebastián Varas, and the team looked nailed on to win until forward José Luis Jiménez volleyed home in the fourth minute of injury time.

Ñublense remains at the bottom of the league while Concepción is sixth.

Unión La Calera 1-1 Audax Italiano

Unión La Calera played out a dull draw with Audax Italiano on Saturday. The home team went down to ten men midway through the match after attacking midfielder Matías Grandis clattered into the opposition goalkeeper, and things got worse for La Calera minutes later when Omar Zalazar opened the scoring for Italiano.

The home team quickly got one back through Maximiliano Bajter, though neither side could muster a winning goal.

Italiano is fifth and La Calera sits at 14th.

Iquique 1-1 Huachipato

Huachipato left Iquique with a point after both teams went down to ten men in a tough tackling draw Sunday.

Striking veteran Manuel Villalobos got the scoring underway with a lovely diving header to put Iquique ahead just before the half, and further disadvantage was heaped on Huachipato in the 50th when the team lost its keeper to a red card.

The tide turned eight minutes later when Iquique’s Cristián Bogado received a second yellow, and the visitors levelled in the 67th minute through playmaker Daniel González’s volley.

Iquique is eighth with Huachipato below at 15th.

Apertura upcoming fixtures:

Sep. 13, 8 p.m: Audax Italiano vs. Antofagasta
Sep. 14, 12:30 p.m: Palestino vs. Unión La Calera
Sep. 14, 3:30 p.m: Rangers vs. Colo Colo
Sep. 14, 4 p.m: Santiago Wanderers vs. Iquique
Sep. 14, 6 p.m: Unión Española vs. Cobreloa
Sep. 14, 8:30 p.m: O’Higgins vs. Ñublense
Sep. 15, 3:30 p.m: Everton vs. Universidad de Chile
Sep. 15, 4 p.m: Cobresal vs. Universidad de Concepción
Sep. 15, 6 p.m: Huachipato vs. Universidad Católica

Costa Rica selects a roster of 24 for WCQs

SAN RAFAEL DE ALAJUELA, Costa Rica – Costa Rica announced on Friday a 24-player roster for World Cup qualifiers against the visiting United States on September 6 and at Jamaica four days later.

With 11 points from six games, the Ticos currently occupy second place in the CONCACAF Hexagonal – the region’s final round of qualifying for Brazil 2014 – two behind the table-topping Americans.

Highlighting head coach Jorge Luis Pinto’s selection was the inclusion of an impressive offensive trio – Alvaro Saborio, Joel Campbell and Bryan Ruiz. Saborio is the only player to appear in all 12 of Costa Rica’s qualifying games and is the team’s leading scorer with seven goals; no other player has more than two.

Midfielder Celso Borges, who netted two goals in a 4-0 friendly win at the Dominican Republic on August 14, is in the squad, as is Oscar Duarte. The Club Brugge defender, 24, scored against Poland’s Slask Wroclaw in a 3-3 UEFA League draw on August 8, but has yet to feature in the Ticos’ qualifying campaign.

Costa Rica is unbeaten in eight home matches this year with seven wins and a draw. It hosted and won the 2013 UNCAF Copa Centroamericana at the Estadio Nacional, site of the match against the United States.

COSTA RICA ROSTER

(World Cup Qualifying – September 6, 2013, home v USA; September 10, 2013, away v Jamaica)

GOALKEEPERS: Keylor Navas (Levante, Spain), Patrick Pemberton (Alajuelense)

DEFENDERS: Johnny Acosta (Alajuelense), Junior Díaz (Mainz/Germany), Oscar Duarte (Club Brugge/Belgium), Cristian Gamboa (Rosenborg/Norway), Giancarlo Gonzalez (Valerenga/Norway), Bryan Oviedo (Everton/England), Jose Salvatierra (Alajuelense), Michael Umaña (Saprissa)

MIDFIELDERS: Michael Barrantes (Aalesunds/Norway), Cristian Bolaños (FC Copenhagen/Denmark), Celso Borges (AIK/Sweden), Diego Calvo (Valerenga/Norway), Mauricio Castillo (Saprissa), José Miguel Cubero (Herediano), Oscar Esteban Granados (Herediano), Yeltsin Tejeda (Saprissa)

FORWARDS: Randall Brenes (Cartagines), Joel Campbell (Olympiakos/Greece), Víctor Núñez (Herediano), Bryan Ruiz (Fulham/England), Yendrick Ruiz (Herediano), Alvaro Saborío (Real Salt Lake/USA)

U.S. names 23 players for upcoming WCQs

CHICAGO – United States men’s head coach Jurgen Klinsmann called in 23 players on Thursday for a pair of World Cup qualifiers next month against Costa Rica and Mexico.

Highlighting the roster is the return of Landon Donovan, the Golden Ball winner at July’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, which the U.S won for a fifth time by defeating Panama 1-0 in the final. The LA Galaxy star, who is the national team’s all-time leading scorer with 56 goals, has not played in a qualifier since the Americans drew 1-1 at Guatemala on June 12, 2012, a span of 10 games.

Squad members are expected to start gathering in Miami on Sunday, before the team departs for Costa Rica on September 3, three days before its top-of-the-table clash with the Ticos.

The U.S. leads the Hexagonal standings with 13 points after six games (two more than Costa Rica), but has never won a World Cup qualifier at the current Central American champion.

“The Costa Rica game in San Jose is the biggest game in 2013 for all of us because we want to win there,” said Klinsmann. “We want to qualify as soon as possible for the World Cup in Brazil. We want to get the first ever three points in World Cup qualifying in Costa Rica.”

Clint Dempsey is set to earn his 100th cap against Costa Rica in his first game for the U.S. since transferring from Tottenham Hotspur to the Seattle Sounders. The 30-year-old’s seven goals in this qualifying cycle is a team high and he is the only American to appear in all 12 matches in the competition.

The U.S. has won a team-record 12 consecutive matches, a streak that began June 2 with a 4-3 victory against Germany in a friendly.

Following the match against Costa Rica, Klinsmann’s team returns to the United States, where it will face rival Mexico on September 10 in Columbus, Ohio.

“The mindset is clearly, first things first, meaning Costa Rica,” Klinsmann commented. “We want three points in Costa Rica. That is all that matters. So those 5-6 days leading into the game at San Jose will mean a lot to us, and I don’t want anyone spending any time or energy thinking about Mexico.”

UNITED STATES ROSTER

(World Cup Qualifying – September 6, 2013 away v Costa Rica; September 10, 2013, home v Mexico)

GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa/England), Tim Howard (Everton/England), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS: DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla/Mexico), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City) John Brooks (Hertha Berlin/Germany), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/England), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana/Mexico), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Michael Orozco Fiscal (Puebla/Mexico)

MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes/France), Michael Bradley (Roma/Italy), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg/Norway), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim/Germany), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04/Germany), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (Sunderland/England), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar/Holland), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders)

Escober believes Honduras can conquer Azteca hurdle

SUNRISE, Florida – Only once in World Cup Qualifying history has Mexico lost at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. That momentous day came on June 16, 2001, courtesy of an 86th minute goal by Hernan Medford, giving Costa Rica an improbable 2-1 come-from-behind victory.

Even though the Mexicans have not lost at the Azteca in the final round of qualifying for Brazil 2014, they have drawn three straight games, all of them finishing at 0-0.

That fact, combined with a confidence in its own ability, gives Honduras faith that it can be the next side to register a qualifying win at one of the world’s most famous stadiums, when it meets El Tri in the CONCACAF Hexagonal on Friday.

It is, undoubtedly, a great challenge for the fourth-place Catrachos (7 points), who have lost each of their seven all-time qualifiers at third place-Mexico (8 points) and trail the CONCACAF power by one point in the standings. Four years ago, they came close to obtaining that point, but Cuahtemoc Blanco’s penalty kick with 14 minutes left in regulation lifted the home side to another triumph.

To prepare for the pivotal encounter, Honduras is training in Sunrise, Florida, and goalkeeper Donis Escober believes a strong mental approach will be essential.

“There are a lot of experts who are going against us, but with a team fully focused, there are no obstacles,” said Escober. “There is nothing impossible. It can be against the fans, the altitude, or that they are strong at home, there is nothing easy. But the mindset that we have is that we come into this game mentally strong and we’ll take the field 100 percent sure that things are going to go well.”

Honduras qualified for the 2010 World Cup with 16 points, nipping Costa Rica on goal difference for CONCACAF’s last automatic spot in South Africa. During that campaign, it had only one draw in 10 games. It already has one in six this time around, but a point in Mexico will still be valuable.

“Apart from the points that we have to get at home, winning or earning a point away is important,” continued Escober. “To take a point or three points on that field is worth a lot. The mindset is that we have is if we can achieve and earn four points (from the next two qualifiers), that would put us on the doorstep of qualifying.”

A win at the Azteca may put the Hondurans one step across the threshold.

Caruso valoró el punto en Sarandí

BUENOS AIRES -- El entrenador de Argentinos Juniors, Ricardo Caruso Lombardi, admitió que no le sentó mal el empate 0-0 con Arsenal pese a privarlo de alcanzar la punta en soledad del Torneo Inicial, porque el objetivo que persigue su equipo es escalar en la zona baja de los promedios.

"Uno quiere ganar, pero estas son canchas difíciles y para nosotros es importantísimo sumar para salir de la zona de descenso", aceptó el entrenador del conjunto de La Paternal, nuevo escolta de Newell´s Old Boys junto a Gimnasia y Esgrima la Plata y Colón de Santa Fe.

En esa dirección, agregó: "Con la cantidad de puntos que tenemos que sacar debemos pelear el campeonato por lógica, así que esperamos sacarlo adelante a partir de la próxima rueda o que en la 8ª o 9ª fecha de este torneo podamos estar más tranquilos".

Por último, realizó una evaluación acerca del encuentro ante Arsenal: "Fue un partido complicado, tienen un juego aéreo muy fuerte".

"Fue un partido parejo y en el segundo tiempo podríamos haber hecho algún gol. Fue difícil, pero son partidos bravos que no hay que perderlos y sacarlos adelante", completó.

Så blev der sgu godt nok fyldt op med UB-40´s.....

Morgan, Cummings fresh faces in Boyz World Cup chase

Europe-based Boyz home for do-or-die WCup qualifiers

LEICESTER City defender Wes Morgan, and Shaun Cummings, of Reading FC, are the newcomers in a 27-man squad released yesterday by new head coach Winfried Schafer for Jamaica´s World Cup Qualifying encounters away to Panama on Friday, and at home to Costa Rica next Tuesday.

Also returning to the Reggae Boyz fold are Marlon King and Chris Humphrey, who were banned from the national team for breaches of the team´s disciplinary code of conduct.

Meanwhile, midfielder Jobi McAnuff, captain of Reading FC, and striker Luton Shelton, both of whom were absent from Jamaica´s last three World Cup Qualifiers for varying reasons, are back. McAnuff missed the games for personal reasons, while Shelton was surprisingly dropped from the team.

Five local-based players have been named in the squad, including goalkeeper Gariece McPherson of Cavalier Soccer Club; defender Adrian Reid of Portmore United, who is no stranger to the Reggae Boyz squad, having been in and out of the set-up over the past few years; midfielder Wolry Wolfe, of Humble Lion, who like Reid, has been in and out of the set-up for a number of years from junior level; defender Kemar Lawrence of Harbour View gets a first-time call up, while striker Jermaine ´Tuffy´ Anderson is the lone local-based forward among the seven named in the squad, which also included three goalkeepers, 10 defenders and seven midfielders.

"We must go to Panama confident, with power," German coach Schafer told the media prior to releasing the list of 27 players at the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) headquarters yesterday.

He indicated that the squad will be reduced to 24 at the end of Wednesday´s training session at the National Stadium East field, following late evening sessions yesterday, today and tomorrow.

The head coach also noted that before arriving at the list of players, he had researched them on the Internet, as well as spoken with each of them. He said each player believed that the group of players had it within them to turn the team´s fortunes.

"I want players who have heart for Jamaica," he stressed. "If they don´t have heart, I don´t want them," he added.

"We have to be a team, not 11 players, but a team, with a strong bench, strong 11 on the field. We must give the players confidence, and we must trust the players, and the players must fight for each other."

Outstanding central defender Adrian Mariappa, who signed for English Premiership outfit Crystal Palace from Reading FC yesterday, has also been included, though he remains ineligible for Friday´s game against Panama, having received a red card in Jamaica´s last game against Honduras on June 11.

The 29-year-old Morgan is the captain of Leicester City, and is connected to Jamaica through his grandparents. He´s looking forward to the challenge of turning around this faltering campaign.

"It is time to get some wins under our belts, obviously," he said yesterday, shortly after arriving at the Norman Manley International Airport.

"I was approached after they looked at the position in the team, which probably needs strengthening, and they must have felt I fit the bill, so I am here to try and improve that.

"We still have every chance, we still have four games and we just have to go out there and do the job on the pitch and get some points. We have plenty of time to train together and get to know how each other play, and hopefully when it comes to the game we can get it right."

He added that his job is to "keep the goals from going in and keep clean sheets", while "giving the strikers the opportunities to score some goals and win some games".

Cummings, 24, said that he is happy to be here and "hopefully to get some good results".

The wing back added that his job is to "go up and down, keep the ball, that´s the main thing and get crosses in".

"I know a lot of the Boyz, so it´s all about the bonding over the few days and we could find those results that we need to qualify."

Meanwhile, JFF president Captain Horace Burrell once again called for support for the special charter flight, which is scheduled to leave at about 10:00 am on Thursday and return early Saturday morning, and Digicel´s Tahnida Nunes revealed that her company is "100 per cent behind" the Reggae Boyz.

Full training squad: Goalkeepers — Donovan Ricketts, Dwayne Miller, Gariece McPherson; Defenders — Wes Morgan, Lloyd Doyley, Daniel Gordon, Alvas Powell, Shaun Cummings, Jermaine Taylor, O´Brian Woodbine, Adrian Mariappa, Adrian Reid, Kemar Lawrence; Midfielders Rudolph Austin, Marvin Elliott, Jermaine Johnson, Joel McAnuff, Garath McCleary, Chris Humphrey, Wolry Wolfe; Forwards — Theo Robinson, Luton Shelton, Jermaine Beckford, Darren Mattocks, Ryan Johnson, Marlon King and Jermaine Anderson.