Coach Mario Salas has had little time to prepare.

The much-anticipated South American Under-20 Championship kicks off on Wednesday. Followers of the South American leagues are afforded the chance to see if players they have earmarked for a glittering career live up to their billing, while new names can announce themselves as stars.

Many players will have already gained significant league and continental experience, with South American side courageous/desperate in throwing baby-faced talent into the heated atmospheres that the continent throws up.

The tournament is a hidden gem according to Tim Vickery, and with four teams qualifying for this year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup it is a tournament looked upon seriously by all competitors.

However, the importance of the tournament in the South American football calendar is not shared by those at FIFA, therefore club sides are not required to release their players. This ruling has annoyed those in Chile with the news that Ángelo Henríquez will not be at the tournament in Argentina – much to his dismay. Instead he has joined Wigan Athletic from Manchester United on loan until the end of the season; Sir Alex Ferguson with the notion that a loan spell would be better for his development.

That has not been the only problem for Chile in the build-up to the tournament. Mario Salas replaced Fernando Carvallo as the new coach of the side last month after Carvallo left his position due to his allegiance to Claudio Borghi, who was sacked after a tame defeat to Serbia in a friendly.

By the time Chile get their campaign under way against Argentina ex-Barnechea coach Salas will have had only 38 days to prepare for the tournament, where they have one aim: qualify for the Under-20 World Cup in Turkey to be held during June and July.

Yesterday (January 3) Salas announced his 22-man squad from a shortlist of 29. The biggest decision surrounded the goalkeepers, with a recent surprise call-up of Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux who has a Chilean father and Jamaican mother. One short appearance in a recent draw was enough for the rangy goalkeeper to be chosen as one of the three ‘keepers.

Chile contests a group with Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Paraguay. The top three progress to the hexagonal final.

The 22-man squad:

Goalkeepers

Daniel Melo (Palestino)
Bryan Cortés (D.Iquique)
Lawrence Vigouroux (Tottenham)

Defenders

Felipe Campos (Palestino)
Igor Lichnovsky (U. De Chile)
Válber Huerta (U. De Chile)
Manuel Bravo (Colo Colo)
Andrés Robles (S.Wanderers)
Alejandro Contreras (Palestino)
Mario Larenas (U.Española)

Midfielders
Ignacio Caroca (Colo Colo)
César Fuentes (O’Higgins)
Claudio Baeza (Colo Colo)
Sebastián Martínez (U. De Chile)
Franco Ragusa (Everton)
Bryan Rabello (Sevilla)
Diego Rojas (U. Católica)
Cristian Cuevas (O’Higgins)
Nicolás Maturana (U. De Chile)

Strikers
Nicolás Castillo (U. Católica)
Felipe Mora (Audax Italiano)
Diego Rubio (Sporting Lisbon)

Plagiarising Ralph Hannah’s preview of the Paraguay squad for the tournament here is the player to look out for in each position.

Igor Lichnovsky 18 Centre Back Universidad de Chile

This name may be familiar to those that do not watch the Primera División regularly. That is because he has recently appeared on In Bed With Maradona’s wonderful   ‘The 100′ – a selection of the 100 most promising world football talents to look out for in 2013. Although it may have been a surprise to some (including myself) that Lichnovsky was chosen ahead of Sebastián Martínez and Ángelo Henríquez there is no doubt that Chile could potentially have one of the world’s finest centre backs amongst their ranks.

He, like so many of the young players that make their way into Universidad de Chile’s team, has a calmness in possession; imperative for a defender playing in the defence of La U’s. He has attracted reported interest from both Internazionale and Juventus and it is easy to see why. For such a young head he is composed and mature on the field, strong and steady. But it has not been all plain sailing. After making a number of appearances early on in the 2012 Clausura he faded and was removed from the team by Sampaoli, featuring intermittently in the later months. He will be expected to lead the defence and a strong tournament could set him up for a strong year with a new man at the helm of La U – Darío Franco.

Sebastían Martínez 19 Central Midfielder Universidad de Chile

The choice could quite easily have been the exciting Bryan Rabello who has had recent game time in the first team of Sevilla since his summer move from Colo Colo. Instead I have opted for the player that new Chile boss Sampaoli labelled as the long-term heir to La U’s former midfield maestro Marcelo Díaz. After Díaz’s move to Basel in the summer Martínez was ushered in to play an important role in La U’s midfield after summer signings faltered.

Originally the changing between defence and midfield seemed to restrict his output, but a continued run as the deepest midfielder as the season progressed seemed to galvanise the player. He is comfortable playing in a midfield four and midfield five and in front of a defensive three and four. Long-term, a place at the base of a diamond in front of a back four may see the best of Martínez as he’d be able to drop between centre backs forming a back three and instigating moves from deep. He does not quite possess the range of passing Díaz had and perhaps the dynamism that allows him to occasionally support the defence. But, similar to Lichnovsky, he is a calm and measured presence in midfield, and one that can battle and fight when the game gets physical. Likely to be captain others will look to him to provide influence with and without the ball.

Nicolás Castillo 19 Striker Universidad Católica

Again, a player plying his trade abroad could have been chosen but the decision was made to single out Castillo ahead of Sporting Lisbon’s Diego Rubio, who incidentally featured in In Bed With Maradona’s 2012 list. The decision was based on Castillo’s excellent form in Universidad Católica’s run to the semi-finals of the 2012 Copa Sudamericana.

The striker was in and out of the team under Mario Lepe and often ignored in the early stages of Martín Lasarte’s reign. However, a good performance against Brazilian’s Atlético GO in the last-16 of the Copa Sudamericana signalled a run of 10 games until the end of the season, in which he scored seven.

At times under Lepe Castillo would look cumbersome but in the second half of the year he seemed to be supplementing his physical attributes with technical quality, none more so than on the continental stage, leading the line on his own in tough away games on occasions. What marks the three players mentioned out is there maturity at such a young age and that was in evidence in games against quality opposition in the Copa Sudamericana. Castillo provided self-less and intelligent running in attack, hard work and a directness with the ball that frighteneded opponents. He is not a clinical finisher like Henríquez but he is strong and fast and has a left foot that will get goals for Chile and Católica.

For those that watch the Primera División regularly the choices may seem a bit obvious. There are a number of less obvious players that could have been chosen but I wanted to choose players that I had seen regularly. Diego Rubio and Bryan Rabello have been mentioned, but other players I am looking forward to seeing having caught glimpses or read promising reviews: Valber Huerta, Manuel Bravo, César Fuentes, Diego Rojas and Cristián Cuevas.

São Paulo are all that stand in the way of Católica making the final, with all to play for after a 1-1 draw in the semi-final first-leg.

The Brazilians came into the match on the back of dispatching Universidad de Chile 7-0 over two legs, while UC had failed to make the play-offs, finishing in ninth. And for the first hour it showed; Católica unable to produce anything in the form of a meaningful chance as São Paulo constantly threatened with the pace of Lucas Moura and the movement of Jadson and Osvaldo behind Luis Fabiano.

Jadson almost had them ahead early on with a shot from distance that thundered off the inside of the post, Cristopher Toselli beaten all ends up. The goal came not long after when Rafael Toloi leisurely met a cross unmarked eight yards to head the away side in front.

It then became the Cristopher Toselli show as he continued to thwart and repel São Paulo, Osvaldo more than most getting frustrated with his inability to beat ‘Hulk’ – named so due to his familiarity to Lou Ferrigno before he turned into the green machine.

As the Brazilians started to go down the gears UC revved their engine and started to pose a threat, rewarded when Nicolás Castillo squeezed a shot past Rogerio Ceni after great work from Alfonso Parot down the left.

Five observations:

The midfield – a second defensive four

Never has ‘two banks of four’ been more apt than on Thursday night. UC have been playing a very reactive system for the last couple of months, ceding position and looking to attack on the break with pace and directness.

Martín Lasarte took it to the next level against the Brazilians; the midfield four, consisting of three central midfielders and a hardworking wide midfielder, sat on top of the back four, leaving little room between the two sets of four and behind the defence; Lasarte had clearly learned from Universidad de Chile’s two legs.

The problem came when Los Cruzados won the ball and the transition from defence to attack. There was a much bigger gap between midfield and attack than normal; Castillo and Francisco Pizarro were marooned.

Normally UC play with two wide men who can either carry the ball forward (Michael Ríos, Fernando Meneses) or a wide player that is adept at supporting the front two, acting as a link between midfield and attack (Fernando Cordero). Only Ríos was playing and he was ineffective.

Francisco Silva – a central midfielder playing wide – and Pizarro tried to act as a link; the former coming infield, the latter dropping off attack. But as much as they tried the link often broke down; players too far away from each other or passing that went askew.

Francisco Silva – a central midfielder

In UC’s previous Copa Sudamericana encounter at home to Independiente a second-half substitution by Martín Lasarte saw Francisco Silva pushed out to the right of midfield. The experiment lasted 10 minutes before he was shifted again, uncomfortable in the wide position.

So it was surprising to see Silva start from the left of midfield against São Paulo. Understandably Lasarte was looking for a compact midfield to sit deep and protect the defence as mentioned above.

However Silva’s position is a deep-lying midfielder who will, in tandem with Tomás Costa, look to break play up before looking to move the ball forward – a diagonal pass over the full-back is a favourite of his – or occasionally break free and shoot from range.

Nominated for the Copa Sudamericana team of the year, Silva is a good player and he can play football. But he is not a wide midfielder. Naturally he wants to drift infield to influence play and is not mobile enough to get back out quick enough to protect the full-back, let alone carry the ball up and down the flank.

You can see that he knows that as well, often getting frustrated when he fails to produce that yard of pace to take him away from an opposition player when he breaks forward.

Second half changes – UC open up

The 1-0 half-time lead that São Paulo held prompted Lasarte to change not only two players but also his game plan, knowing that winning in Brazil would be very difficult. Off came Pizarro and Claudio Sepúlveda to be replaced by Roberto Ovelar and Fernando Meneses. Silva moved into the middle and Meneses went right. These changes made the team more direct and injected pace on the right-wing.

However their impact failed to materialise straight away. A Lucas shot that curled just wide proved the catalyst for UC to increase their attacking endeavour. Despite not having his best game Ovelar acted as a focal point in attack, able to hold the ball up even if a bit clumsy at times.

Fernando Meneses was positive on the right-wing, and the full-backs reacted to the positivity in the team to push themselves further up the pitch, eventually resulting in the equaliser; Alfonso Parot providing the cross which Castillo dispatched.

The change in the game surprised São Paulo and they struggled to reverse the flow of the game. Sixto Peralta was introduced, putting in one of his better performances since joining Los Cruzados; his greater dynamism off-putting for the Brazilian midfielders.

UC defence – Individual errors

Lasarte is slowly improving the defensive situation at UC. He has not been helped by numerous injuries to key defenders since taking over but as a unit they are performing well. Alfonso Parot is making the left-back slot his own; Cristián Álvarez has shown his importance when fit; Hans Martínez has grown in stature as the Sudamericana has progressed and should be a Chile squad regular and even Enzo Andía has looked solid.

But there are still individual errors costing the team. The defence will need to be at their very best to have any chance of reaching the final. With the pace, power and movement of the Brazilian’s attacking players Álvarez will need to keep his defence marshalled, while Cristopher Toselli will need to be on the top of his game . . . again.

Sao Paulo – Champions in waiting

It is a momentous ask for Católica to win or record a score draw tonight. It was not just Lasarte’s changes that let UC get back into the game but São Paulo drifted out the game, thinking they had done enough to record a positive result to take back to Brazil.

But before hand they were excellent. Lucas is going to be a star in Europe. He moves with the ball like Sebastian Vettel going through the gears of his Red Bull Formula 1 car. He is legally unstoppable as he drives through midfields and defences. He is key to the speed of transitions as the Brazilians go from defence to attack.

But every where you look there is quality, a mix of sheer power and pace and technical excellence, craft and flair. The defenders appear to be midfielders playing in defence the way they move the ball out of defence and into midfield; their full-backs play like auxiliary wingers.

There is no shame to be put out by this side. But if Católica are in the final come Wednesday evening then the result could arguably be put up alongside Universidad de Chile’s thumping of Flamengo last year. And maybe then UC will get some recognition from the wider South American and world footballing public.

Ninety torrid minutes later and Borghi had departed, or has he told the media sacked. Ninety insipid minutes; the match clock not acting as a timer for the game but a countdown until La Roja were Borghi-less, something which fans up and down the Chilean peninsula were eager to see.

The players constantly told any media outlet that would listen about their admiration and respect for Borghi; they insisted they wanted him to stay; they wanted to play for him. During those ninety woeful minutes there were no signs that signified those claims.

Sergio Jadue and the ANFP remained positive in their support for the coach. Well, at least in public. There were rumours that a poor performance would be the end of him. And so it proved.

I wrote a piece on the situation last month and was of the understanding that he’d be given until March when the next batch of qualifiers would be played.

Many of the points still stand; from his strained relationship with the media to indiscipline to tactics and player choice that appeared in Switzerland against Serbia.

As we will soon discover the players themselves have to take a share of the blame as Alexis Sánchez would say after the sacking. Many are playing at top clubs in Europe or South America but all too often deliver uninspiring performances.

So in Borghi’s final stand what did we learn?

Slow and Disjointed

One of the most distinctive changes from Marcelo Bielsa to Claudio Borghi has been the speed of attacks. Under Bielsa Chile were open at the back but teams struggled to exploit this weakness due to the ferocity of pressure and pressing La Roja exerted.

Borghi reigned in the organised chaos, giving more importance to a number 10 or ‘enganche’ as they are called in his native Argentina. There is more patience in the play but also less ball pressure when the opposition have possession and the team did not look like a unit, more like three different entities.

The first 25-30 minutes was as bad as Chile have been under Borghi. They pressed goal kicks so Serbia went long. But it worked to their advantage as if they didn’t win the header they’d win the second ball and Chile failed to apply suitable pressure. Radoslav Petrovic had acres of space in front of the defence to ignite attacks and Alexandr Kolarov as always pushed forward from left-back. Manuel Iturra was the right-side midfielder in the 3-4-1-2. Normally a conservative central midfielder he struggled to track Kolarov’s runs.

La Roja were lucky to only be trailing 1-0.

The performance picked up towards the end of the half as Chile moved the ball quicker; pass; one touch then pass; two touch then pass. There was no holding on to the ball for too long, looking to take on the Serbians independently. It was helped with Ángelo Henríquez replacing the injured Alexis Sánchez; the Manchester United striker a player who keeps the ball moving as he looks for space in the attacking third.

Before, the ball was moved with little purpose, intelligence or incision, allowing the Serbian midfield to retreat into a five-man midfield wall goal side of possession. Serbia struggled with quick passing that forced them to turn.

But an early second half goal and Chile unravelled.

Big players, small performances

As stated earlier in the article Chile’s players have to take responsibility. For too long under Borghi ‘big’ players have delivered small performances; none more so of late than Arturo Vidal, dubbed Mr Jekyll when playing for Juventus and Mr Hyde when in the red of Chile by a section of the Italian media.

Vidal is not the dynamic player you see tear up Serie A; winning tackles, advancing into the penalty box unseen and scoring goals. Similar to his performance against Serbia he has often been passive, lost or confused since returning from the ban for an off the field discretion. His recent travails with Chile were summed up by his horrific challenge on Petrovic.

For Gary Medel. Read Arturo Vidal. Another nondescript performance from the Sevilla pitbull.

Moving further forward and Matiás Fernández, a lovely player too watch, seems to have shrunk under added creative responsibility. Since the infamous defeat to Argentina at the start of the qualifiers when he started alongside Jorge Valdivia behind TWO strikers, Fernández has been the first choice number 10.

Easily one of the most gifted players in the squad – remember he is a former South American player of the year – his penchant for effortless creativity, making the game seem as easy, while those around him charge about at a hundred mile an hour trying to keep with him, has been replaced by ineffectiveness. In Wednesday’s game, like recent games before, when he received the ball there was no urge to rise from your seat because something special was about to occur. His performance was mundane. Vanilla. With Fernández that should not be.

Lastly, Alexis Sánchez. Poor for Barcelona, poor for Chile. Granted he was asked to furrow all alone in Ecuador as the main striker but in the main he has flattered to deceive; his performances resembling those that Udinese fans witnessed when he first arrived in Europe. It’s as if he feels that he should be doing it all by himself because he plays for Barcelona. Too often he’ll dribble in field or back out to the wing but taking Chile nowhere, finishing with a side way pass when it would have sufficed 30 seconds earlier.

These players should feel remorse simply because they played nowhere near their potential or current club form. Yet, as a team Chile have lacked cohesion. Individuals, not eleven brothers in arms. That is where Borghi should be criticised.

Mediocre players, mediocre performances

At least with the players mentioned you know they possess talent. But for others you wonder why they are in the squad; namely Jean Beausejour and Gonzalo Jara.

The defence as a whole failed to work together as a unit but in Jara they had the games worst performer. And that is saying a lot. He didn’t just contribute to a poor performance; he took it to a new level of incompetence.

La Roja were vulnerable down the left throughout and it is no surprise that Jara was the left of the three-man backline and Beausejour the left-midfielder. Beausejour does not contribute offensively or defensively and Jara’s performance was summed up when he tried to pass the ball infield, found a Serbian player and they went through on goal but somehow failed to go ahead.

Ángelo and Felipe

It is not all doom and gloom. There were positives to take from such an inept performance. It was two substitutes that provided them. First up: the already mentioned Ángelo Henríquez. He has been performing well in the youth and reserve sides of Manchester United, but he should be playing first team football somewhere. His ability was again evident against Serbia. He combines hard-work and team play with ruthlessness in and around the box.

It is refreshing and encouraging to see a player so young work so hard in both offensive and defensive phases of play. Out of possession he buzzes about the pitch, the ball always on his mind. At times he is almost too eager to help out leading him to drop far too deep and leave the team without an attacking focal point. But when his team have the ball he is always on the move looking for space, if not to receive the ball then open up gaps for team mates. When he’s passed the ball he’ll do one of two things: look towards goal and score or keep the ball moving and then try to get in an even better position to get it again. Then there is his goal scoring prowess, an eclectic mix of goals; the one against Serbia a simple header.

Henríquez showed a promising understanding with another sub, Felipe Gutiérrez. Gutiérrez is still only 23-years-old and currently playing with Twente in the Netherlands, epitomising the quality in the duo that even at such young ages they can form an attacking partnership in such a short time while experienced team mates trundled along.

A very different type of player to Henríquez, Gutiérrez is an artisan. He combines an old school number 10 with dynamic qualities that will help him succeed in Europe. He came on and made an instant impression flashing a shot past the far post. A noticeable quality his is thought process on the ball. Everything is quick and precise. If he holds onto the ball for a longer period of time you know he’ll have something planned.

Where now?

The names linked to the post are an idealists dream; Jorge Sampaoli, Gerardo Martino, Marcelo Bielsa and Pep Guardiola.

You can score-out two of those names from the offset as Sampaoli seems like the frontrunner after the marvellous job he has carried out at Universidad de Chile. But if not Sampaoli then whoever the new incumbent will be – likely to be announced in December – has a few things to sort out before March and the meetings with Peru and Uruguay.

La Roja need to be reconnected with the identity given to them by Bielsa. There best performances have been when they play at ferocious pace, teams struggle to live with him. The defence is the main weakness. They could shut up shop and protect it with a deep and compact midfield, but do they possess the players to do so? Instead, attack teams with the attitude ‘we will score more than you’.

The cohesion between defence and midfield and midfield and attack needs to return. Recently there have been three separate factions in one team. Borghi was always known as a laid-back coach; the funny uncle rather than the strict dad.

Time needs to be spent on the training ground instilling a better shape to the team, allowing them to attack from a variety of positions and a better defesnive structure when possession is ceded, rather than giving players days off before crucial qualifying matches.

The players could do their part as well. Starting by cutting out the stupidity on and off the field.

Now we wait . . .

Serbia 3-1 Chile

Uni-Uni take the plunge (img: unionsanfelipe.com)

Seasons were saved and jobs hung in the balance as the final week of the Clausura reached its conclusion before the play-offs commence. For eight teams the chance of glory continues; for two a chance of redemption; for the bottom two, Primera B hell.

To highlight the competitiveness of the short tournaments in Chile the majority of the clubs had something to play for; everything from play-off placing to relegation survival. And due to the rearranged Universidad de Chile-Universidad de Concepción the tension was creaked up another notch as five games took place at the weekend and a further five on Wednesday. If Sky was broadcasting the last five games it would have been ‘Wild Wednesday’ or some other nonsense.

So instead of spoiling what happens in the introduction we’ll just jump right in, starting with the weekend’s action . . .

While the football got underway on Saturday the first moments of real drama came on the Sunday. Universidad Católica returned from qualifying for the Copa Sudamericana semi-final to league business where they essentially knew they had to win at home to Universidad de Concepción to reach the play-offs. Concepción themselves were looking for salvation at the bottom end of the annual table.

There has been consternation that Primera games still kick-off so early (12pm) in the Chilean summer with temperatures not conducive to running about at high tempo for 90 minutes. It is a ‘rule’ that is likely to change but in the baking heat in Santiago Concecpión took the lead through ex-Universidad de Chile striker Gabriel Vargas, chipping over Cristopher Toselli after ‘springing’ the offside trap and running through on goal. The goal came after a break in play where the players could refuel and get liquid on board.

Martín Lasarte had made changes to the team that played Independiente and it clearly didn’t work; UC looked disjointed. Two changes were made at half-time and Nicolás Castillo had Católica level two minutes after the interval.

Twenty minutes later UC were ahead; Castillo running onto a Roberto Ovelar cross from the left and powering a header into the net unopposed.

Los Cruzados were heading for one of the best weeks under Lasarte, only for disaster to strike in the remaining minutes as Vargas pounced to grab his second of the game and of the Clausura season.

While not getting the required three points that would seem them move out of the bottom four places they moved a point closer to survival with a game against a weakened Universidad de Chile side to come.

UC’s inability to qualify for the play-offs has been labelled an embarrassment by many around the club. Lasarte admitted that perhaps the team is not strong enough to play in continental competition and do well in the league. He also confessed that he has made mistakes. It is not unrealistic to suggest that the run to the Copa Sudamericana semi-finals has saved the Uruguayan his job. But if he is still in charge for the 2013 Apertura significant improvements are expected.

UC were still in with a slim chance of making the final play-off spot, but had to wait for results elsewhere, starting with Cobreloa’s trip to the Estadio Santa Laura to face Unión Española; a win for either team would take them into the play-offs at the expense of Católica.

La Furia Roja started positively and controlled possession . . . and the game. But a familiar problem emerged: turning that possession into regular clear cut chances. Emiliano Vecchio produced the best chance in the first half, rounding José Acevedo on one of his infamous ‘mazy runs’ but hitting the post.

The sucker punch was dealt by Cobreloa’s Cristian Suarez, heading in from a corner. Some Española fans headed for the exit, but they were about to miss football’s ability to surprise. Cristian Canío snuck in behind Eduardo Lobos but could only shoot straight at Nicolas Berardo who was standing on the goal line when a second goal would have taken Javier Torrente’s side into the last-eight.

Gattas takes Union Espanola into the play-offs

Substitute Patricio Rubio netted an equaliser two minutes from time before, amazingly, youngster Rodrigo Gattas, who has scored 13 goals in 23 matches for Unión Española II this season, slid in Berardo’s centre, provoking wild scenes of jubilation in the terraces.

Cobreloa lost the head – Sebastián Roco was red carded for being overly angry – while Española headed into the play-offs.

Javier Torrente has already stated that he’ll be surprised if he keeps his job after failing to reach the required target of the play-offs.

Going back 24 hours . . .

Not only did Universidad de Chile get back to scoring ways in the first of their two Primera División games , they chucked in a comprehensive win at Huachipato to boot. All three of the goals were scored in the first half. Jhonny Herrera made a smart reflex save to keep out Claudio Muñoz early on but from then on in it was all La U. Juan Ignacio Duma found the bottom corner having been set-up by some smart play from Gustavo Lorenzetti. Sebastián Ubilla added a quick second – Charles Aránguiz proving he has the capability to split defences with his passing – and Muñoz put through his own net to finish the game 10 minutes from half-time.

Colo Colo topped the Clausura to qualify for the Copa Sudamericana; the first time they have reached continental football since 2011’s Copa Libertadores.

They ended their regular season in thrilling fashion, beating Audax Italiano 5-1. They lead 4-0 at half-time with Felipe Flores, who was called up to the recent Chile squad with the friendly against Serbia, netting twice.

Worryingly for Audax Italiano, if results go their way for them to reach the play-offs they’ll face Colo Colo . . .

Deportes La Serena completed their woeful Clausura campaign with a respectable draw Primera with a respectable draw with third-place Palestino.

Wednesday

Now for a quick-fire round-up of five games that swung this way and that as teams hovered, dropped and moved out and back in to the relegation and relegation play-off places. The permutations can be read here.

Chile is similar to Scotland in that the live matches are dominated by a select group of teams. In Chile’s case it is three teams: Colo Colo, Universidad de Chile and Universidad Católica.

With one and three not playing it meant La U’s game with Universidad de Concepción was the chosen match. And La U did not fail to put on a show as Gustavo Lorenzetti, backed up by the incisive passing from deep of Ezequiel Videla, inspired La U to a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Universidad de Concepción; Concepción never looking likely to record anything other than a defeat.

Sampaoli’s side finished second but the defeat for Concepción – Lorenzetti’s former club – meant they would definitely be in the relegation play-offs.

Unión San Felipe were the most interesting team on the last day. A win could not only save Uni-Uni Primera B purgatory but also propel them into the Clausura play-offs, with victory against Deportes Iquique – already qualified for the play-offs.

Michael López’s red card just before the half hour mark made it an uphill struggle for San Felipe. And that hill got even steeper still as Rodrigo Díaz converted the resultant penalty. Uni-Uni’s star man of late, Miguel Ángel González, had them back on level terms before the referee blew for half-time. But Cristian Bogado scored what proved to be a decisive goal, not just in the complex of the game but the relegation picture as a whole.

From possible Championship contenders in the play-offs to at least a year in Primera B, San Felipe were consigned to the second tier as Cobresal defeated a strong O’Higgins side.

Patricio Gutierrez and Juan Galeano were the heroes, scoring either side of Boris Sagredo’s strike for O’Higgins, as the Mineros live to fight another day in the relegation play-offs.

Antofagasta joined Rangers for another season in the Primera as the two teams shared four goals. Rangers can be especially proud of their efforts with a fifth-place finish in the Clausura and eight in the annual table.

Santiago Wanderers made sure that they weren’t dragged into any relegation issues with a straight forward win over Unión La Calera, who could only end up in the bottom four places with a miracle induced set of results.

Craziness from Cellerino

Under Ivo Basay El Decano finished the Clausura with a five game unbeaten record. But in the aftermath everyone was talking about La Calera’s Gaston Cellerino’s moment of madness. Actually that doesn’t do the incident justice. Replace ‘madness’ with ‘sheer insanity’.

Mauricio Prieto and Luis Salmerón’s first half goals ended the match as a contest but approaching the end of the game Cellerino was shown a second yellow card. As the Argentine striker made his way off the pitch something happened with Wanderers’ goalkeeper, Mauricio Viana. Before you knew it Viana was lying prone on the ground. Replays showed there was a confrontation between the pair and as Cellerino was ushered away he broke free and flew at Viana with a flying, kung-fu kick to the ‘keeper’s chest. The ‘number one super guy’, Hong Kong Phooey, would have been proud of the technique.

But in all seriousness Cellerino was arrested the following day and could face up to three years in prison, highlighting the seriousness of the matter.

He told the media that Viana had insulted his wife and mother, but apologised to anyone who was offended.

A crazy way to end a crazy Clausura. But don’t worry there is still more to come.

The play-offs to decide the Clausura champion commence on Tuesday 20^th November with the first-leg encounters. The four ties are:

Audax Italiano v Colo Colo

Unión Española v Universidad de Chile

Huachipato v Palestino

Rangers v Deportes Iquique.

Relegation play-off matches (the winners of each match play in the Primera next season):

Barnechea v Cobresal

Everton v Universidad de Concepción

There will be a preview likely to go up on the site over the weekend previewing Clausura play-offs.

You can find the final standings at the ANFP website.

The goals can be found at La Tercera.

Arica, a city in the far north of Chile has had a twenty-seven year wait for its football club to win promotion back to the top flight of Chilean football. I have followed San Marcos de Arica  since moving here in April 2011 by attending nearly every home match in that time.  Under the scorching hot midday sun on Sunday 4^th November 2012 San Marcos ended their barren spell. Below is 

First we had to queue up for an hour or two just to get a ticket earlier in the week. Then when the day arrived we had to wait hours outside the stadium before we gained access inside. It was a year in which San Marcos de Arica led for the majority of the season and they headed into the last game just needing a point to gain promotion, they could even afford to lose if Barnechea failed to win against Nublense.

San Marcos de Arica are a well-supported club by Chilean standards, regularly attracting 5,000 fans even in the bad times but many Chileans even if they support their local club will also feel like they have to support one of the big Santiago clubs as well. The impressive performance of the team this season has helped in attracting many new fans to the stadium. There seems to be a lot more pride in supporting their local side, the sky blue shirts becoming an ever increasing sight in the city as the season progressed. In June they had already won the Apertura (Opening season) title which meant they would have two more chances in the play-offs if they didn’t make it automatically by winning the Annual season. Attendances have been on the up with more than 10,000 fans turning up as the promotion race heated up towards the end of the Clausura (Closing) and Annual season.

The day started with joining a queue that snaked it’s way through the streets of the city for around half a mile joining the hundreds of fans that had queued overnight to secure their favourite spot on the terrace. Most of these loyal fans that had been through the heartbreak of a play-off final defeat on penalties to Palestino in 2010 and were praying for no such heart-break this time.

There was no doubt San Marcos de Arica had the wobbles as the finishing line neared. Two  home defeats on consecutive Saturday’s including one to promotion rivals Barnechea had  created some tension between those dedicated fans who go every week and ‘hinchas de carton’ (plastic fans) who had started to turn up but added a noticeable negative atmosphere when things didn’t go to plan. Shouts of yetas (jinxes) rang around the terraces when hundreds of fans headed for the turnstiles in the last few minutes of the penultimate home game of the season. It was clear from some of the comments around me that some of these fans hadn’t been much in recent months perhaps preferring the comfort out their living room on the late Saturday nights San Marcos de Arica usually contest their home matches. Due to cultural and climate factors games usually kick off at 22:00 in the far north of Chile.

CDF, the Chilean cable television station dedicated to football that shows numerous Primera A matches every week and 1 live Primera B game most Sundays were also in Arica. They screened the game on their premium channel which Chileans need to pay to see. CDF monopolise live domestic football in Chile, no game from Primera A or Primera B is on national free to view TV and all are shown on CDF Premium. Inexplicably this was the first time San Marcos de Arica had a home game shown live this year despite being the best team in the division. Arica is a long way from Santiago and there is quite a bitter feeling as to how CDF covered the Primera B season, many claimed it was clear they preferred the Santiago based Barnechea.

Once the game was underway the tension at times was unbearable inside Estadio Carlos Dittborn, the nerves appeared to have transferred onto the pitch where the home side struggled to find their find rhythm. Deportes Concepcion looked a bit livelier going forward and just before half time they managed to silence the partisan crowd by taking the lead after an error in the San Marcos defence.

Regular updates came through on radios and mobiles from Chillán more than 2000km south where Barnechea had to beat Nublense to secure automatic promotion ahead of Arica. Nublense themselves had been in the title race for much of the season and at one point were favourites having gone unbeaten for 19 games. Despite going behind early promotion rivals Barnechea were leading 3-2 heading into the final minutes of the game and looked set to spoil the Arica party.

In Arica it felt like the clock was ticking quicker than ever as time begun to run out for the home side, they hit the bar with 20 minutes remaining but they hadn´t created much apart from that as the pressure looked like it had got the better of them. They kept pushing on but the Deportes Concepcion defence stood firm, the away side knew they had to win to keep their play-off hopes alive. Countless free kicks inside the opposition half were hacked away, The Arica DT (manager) Luis Marcoleta looked on with his hands on his head in ever increasing disbelief and made a couple of changes that seemed to re-energise the team. The home side knew they just needed an equaliser and then with just 4 minutes remaining the ball fell kindly for rising star Renato Gonzalez, he chipped it to Pablo Frances in the area, the Argentine drilled it across the six yard box, Estay missed his kick but Maurico Segovia didn’t! The big lanky defender  swept the ball home into the roof of the net to spark an explosion of colour and noise inside the famous old stadium. In the midst of the celebrations was Joel Estay who finished as Arica’s top scorer in this glorious campaign. The bulky number 21 stood with just the match ball for company and seemed totally lost in the moment and thanked the heavens. Meanwhile the unlikely hero Segovia was brought the floor by an avalanche of San Marcos players and coaching staff with many a Tardelli celebration on show.

The stadium was now bouncing with jubilant locals, a Deportes Concepcion free kick came to nothing and Arica then broke on the counter, sub Piña was brought down and the ref played advantage, Estay took a wild shot but the ref controversially decided to bring the play back and give Arica a free kick. Piña stepped up and saw his free kick take a big deflection and bounce into the corner of the net to spark wild celebrations around the city. Moments later the referee blew his whistle and with that ended almost three complete decades of hurt for the San Marcos de Arica supporters.

The  local radio station describes those two goals in this video…

Hundreds of fans poured onto the pitch from all sides of the terrace to carry their heroes on their shoulders, Pedro Carrizo, the captain, goalkeeper and strong candidate for player of the season held aloft the trophy amongst a sea of young San Marcos fans and then led a lap of honour around the track of the stadium. The celebrations carried on for around an hour inside the stadium. The party wasn´t finished there as the players were soon off to the city centre to parade the trophy whilst packing into an open freight on the back of a lorry. Fans danced, drank and sang in the street for hours, it was a real carnival atmosphere.

San Marcos de Arica will join a host of clubs from the north of Chile in Primera A next season including their fierce rivals Deportes Iquique (promoted in 2010) who have just qualified for the Copa Libertadores. The transition between the two divisions has been bridged successfully by many sides in recent years. San Marcos with the potential to get crowds over 10,000 on a regular basis could well be the next club to thrive in the top division.

Barnechea meanwhile conceded a late equaliser which means they will face Nublense again in a 2 legged play-off. The two late goals from Segovia and Piña cost Deportes Concepcion a play-off place and it will be Everton Vina Del Mar who will contest a play-off match against a side from near the bottom of Primera A. At the other end of the table, Puerto Montt, the team furthest south geographically in the division were relegated on the same day the team furthest north were promoted funnily enough.

That Nublense equaliser in Chillán also meant that San Marcos de Arica added the Clausura to their Apertura and Annual titles. The Primera B treble in 2012 is an emphatic way to end the drought after 27 years. The club and the city is now set to compete with the elite of Chilean football again.

This article originally appeared at Caniggia Scores. Be sure to check it out and also give Adam a follow on Twitter @caniggiascores.

Rios sends UC skyward

Universidad Católica reached the semi-final stage of the Copa Sudamericana for the first time in seven years with a thoroughly deserved two-legged victory over the ‘King of Cups’ Independiente; a result that may just trigger a steep upturn in the fortunes of Los Cruzados.

Only two weeks ago Martín Lasarte was receiving criticism from his own fans as UC hang perilously close to dropping out of the play-off spots in the Clausura. However salvation has come in the Sudamericana, and with each positive result in the competition the more they are looking a settled and confident outfit.

Católica were unfortunate that they only brought a 2-2 draw back to Santiago from the first-leg after outplaying the Argentines in Avellaneda, especially in a first half where they could have scored four goals.

Knowing a 0-0 draw would take them through Católica stuck to a game plan which has served them well of late – a game plan that the players seem comfortable with. They went ahead through a Michael Ríos penalty and should have doubled their lead when Fernando Cordero had time and space in the box. Independiente equalised but before the game could settle UC were back in front through another Ríos penalty – in fact his third after he was re-ordered to take it for encroachment.

Católica now await the outcome of the Gremio-Millonarios match to find out their semi-final opposition. If Gremio qualify UC will play Tigre of Argentina. If the Colombians are the victors then UC will have the daunting task of trying to succeed where La U failed, beating São Paulo.

Game plan – I mentioned in the report on the ‘Clásico Universitario’ that it was proactive v reactive. Católica set up in a similar way against Independiente. They didn’t look to control possession. The Argentines had five in midfield against UC’s four so were always likely to edge the midfield battle.

But in winning possession they would move the ball quickly up field through quick combinations and look to play passes in behind Independiente’s high (and slow) defensive line.

Both of Católica’s goals came from the penalty spot with little tactical intrigue surrounding them. It was their best chances in open play that were created by played the ball behind the defence quickly. Firstly, Tomás Costa, who was superb throughout, drove forward from midfield exchanged passes with Francisco Pizarro on the half-way and was set through on goal. By seeing the finish you could see Costa was uncomfortable in that position, sliding the ball wide of the far post.

The second chance was even more simplistic: Hans Martínez flung a long ball down the right channel for Nicolás Castillo to chase and then cut back for Fernando Cordero. The ex-Unión Española player should have scored with the time and space he had inside the box but was denied by Diego Rodríguez.

Meanwhile Independiente’s goal came through the movement of their midfield three stationed behind the lone striker. Paulo Rosales was the central player of the three but moved wide to create overloads down each side or triangles with the advancing full-backs. Rosales shifted left and created space to curl in a cross which was eventually converted by Jonathan Santana.

On the right of the midfield attacking three was Lucas Villafáñez; the Argentine’s outside to in movement caused problems for Alfonso Parot.

Cato antithesis of La U – Both teams looks to move the ball quickly but in contrasting ways. Católica are quite British in the way they play – well before British sides tried to modernise their style. Lasarte has them lined up in a basic 4-4-2 shape.

There is no building from the back and they don’t ‘value’ sideway passes like many do. If under pressure in the defensive third the ball goes long while passes through midfield are direct.

There is nothing flashy about the two central midfielders; they’re there to provide energy and protection to the defence. The creativity comes from the wide positions. On the right there is the hard-working Ríos who is disciplined but a smart attacker shown by the number of goals he has scored in supporting the attack. Fernando Cordero is on the left. He is not winger but a creative number 10 playing wide. He provides variety by being able to go down the line and whip delicious crosses into the box or drift inside and try and find space to create.

In attack it’s the old strike partnership where one drops and one stretches the game. They have a promising and talented striker in Nicolás Castillo but Lasarte seems unsure on his ideal partner. Francisco Pizarro has been used of late to decent effect.

The simplicity of the formation is beginning to provide results for UC and at times they play it to perfection; opposition teams struggling to get a around a well drilled and disciplined side. But other times they look distinctly average in that they struggle to hold onto the ball at time, lacking that bit of star dust that takes teams onto another level.

Red card – The second half saw one of the most bizarre red card decisions you are likely to see. Fernando Cordero jumped for a header but bumped into an opponent. Said opponent feigned injury and Cordero was shown a straight red card. Not only wasn’t it a red card it wasn’t even a foul.

Lasarte tried to be brave as he kept two forwards in attack, moved Ríos over to the left and left UC’s right-hand side unprotected. But it was instantly noticeable that UC were playing with fire and Sixto Peralta was brought on with Francisco Silva moving to the right. Silva is a central midfielder, that’s it. He drifted narrow and when the ball was shifted to Independiente’s left he was too slow to get out and offer Claudio Sepúlveda protection.

Rosales, Villafáñez, Federico Mancuello and Osmar Ferreyra all had opportunities to send in cross from the left. Thankfully for Católica Toselli was only forced into the one save.

Credit to Lasarte for recognising the danger and used his third sub to bring on Enzo Andía which allowed the excellent Cristián Álvarez to move to right-back.

Defensive Spirit – Continuing with the British theme Lasarte praised his side’s determination and spirit; qualities that are cherished in the British Isles.

There is now a toughness and doggedness around the Católica defence that has been missing of late. The return of captain Cristián Álvarez from a testicular injury is boost that can not be quantified. Bypassing the ‘leadership’ and ‘experience’ he brings to the defence he is a good defender, whether at right or centre back. Then there is Hans Martínez who, despite wearing the number 11, has been a stand-out performer of late. Like his captain Martínez is a committed defender who can play football. There should also be a mention for Enzo Andía. The youngster came under criticism earlier on in the year – I include myself – when he was making basic errors. But he is beginning to show why he is held in high regard by Claudio Borghi.

Fabiano finishes exquisitely

Just over 12 months ago La U travelled to Brazil to put in arguably their most devastating performance under Jorge Sampaoli as they obliterated a Flamengo team including Ronaldinho 4-0; prompting headlines in Brazil comparing Los Azules to Barcelona.

On Wednesday night La U were back in Brazil in the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana and in act of symmetry, if that’s the correct word, La U were handed their worst night since Sampaoli took over – if not their worst then certainly their most embarrassing.

From start to finish São Paulo, ruthless and efficient, stormed through La U to devastating effect; Jadson opening and then closing the scoring (there’s that symmetry again) as the Brazilians stuck five past Jhonny Herrera.

La U knew they had to win and Sampaoli set out his team to do just that. And then apologised after for doing so, solely taking the blame.

São Paulo’s pace and precision on the counter-attack was out of this world. Lucas, who moves to France in the new year, scored and put on a show as if to say I’m worth (the reported) £35m, while Luis Fabiano netted the goal of the game, reminiscent to the one Hernan Crespo scored against Liverpool in that Champions League final. Even centre-back Rafael Toloi got in on the act, thundering in a free-kick from 30 yards.

Formation – The club’s official twitter page announced the line-up with Paulo Magalhaes in the team. However Sampaoli made a late change and included Francisco Castro at the expense of Magalhaes. As you can see from the picture it resulted in an unbalance in La U’s formation.

Enzo Gutiérrez a ‘No. 9’ striker was fielded in central midfield and Gustavo Lorenzetti in the centre of attack. Lorenzetti naturally drops deeper which resulted in a diamond midfield with Matías Rodríguez playing wide right and neither wide forward filling the space vacated by Lorenzetti’s movements.

The defensive three were stretched wide, leaving gaps for the explosive play of Luis Fabiano and Lucas to take advantage of.

Gustavo Lorenzetti – It is fair to say Wednesday was an off-night for Lorenzetti. He lost possession for the second goal and could have done better in closing down for the third goal. But this is not the blame game. The opposite in fact.

The little Argentine has been one of, if not, La U’s most influential players since July, especially in terms of attacking play. The vast majority of La U’s good play goes through him. Previously he, along with Marcelo Díaz, had been the architect behind the goals and forward play of Gustavo Canales, Junior Fernandez, Eduardo Vargas and Ángelo Henríquez. Now with the five players gone Lorenzetti is playing alongside lesser players and he now has more responsibility to the point where there is almost an over-alliance on his creative talents.

The way La U set up in midfield, they tried to outnumber São Paulo in central areas but with Lorenzetti dropping deeper and deeper the play was cramped. He had to do this because his midfielders were unable to pass the ball with the necessary pace and quality to find him in the space between defence and midfield.

Sebastián Martínez – These two games against the Brazilians have been a compelling and vital experience for the 19-year-old midfielder. When Marcelo Díaz left for Switzerland Sampaoli mentioned Martínez as the long-term replacement but insisted that he wasn’t quite ready, resulting in the purchase of Ezequiel Videla. Yet it is Martínez who has had more minutes – plus a call-up to the Chile squad.

However he is not a metronome like Díaz was. Players like Díaz are always commanding the ball, getting as many touches as possible, controlling the tempo of the game to suit their own needs as well as the teams. Martínez is nowhere near the required intelligence or technical quality needed just yet.

I mentioned above about the midfield battle. Martínez was lost among the bodies and the ferocity at which São Paulo moved the ball and shut down the passing options and angles available to La U. In Denilson, Wellington, Jadson plus the two full-backs who played as auxiliary wide midfielders São Paulo had a combination of energy, stamina, movement, intelligence and quality to over power, out fight and out play La U.

Martínez has the tendency to switch off and let the game pass him by. He is an imposing figure and is strong at protecting the defence – he’s played at the back himself – albeit often conceding fouls, but he needs to work harder to find possession. A lesson like the one served last night should be taken as a step in his development.

São Paulo – Simply put the Brazilians were infinitely better than La U over the two legs and have to be placed as favourites to lift the Copa Sudamericana. Sudamericana success brings qualification for the Copa Libertadores. However it will be a different team that takes part with the departure of Lucas and with Ganso in the squad.

So do yourself a favour, watch this São Paulo team while you have the chance. They have everything a football team should have: pace, power, relentless energy but more importantly the technical qualities in the centre of midfield that can dominate the best of sides and a wonderful array of attacking talents.

La U and UC look to set up a Clasico Universitario semi-final

The Copa Sudamericana quarter-final second-leg’s kick-off tonight as Universidad de Chile travel to Brazil in an attempt to overturn a 2-0 first-leg loss to Sao Paulo. So what exactly happened in the first-leg’s? Better late than never, I will quickly run through some of the taking points with the addition of highlights of each match and a brief preview on this week’s games.

Universidad de Chile 0-2 Sao Paulo

After the game Universidad de Chile captain José Rojas told the media that “for this group nothing is impossible”. However after a torrid first 45 minutes where Sao Paulo battered La U with controlled passing, relentless attacking and solid defending, overturning the two goal deficit looks improbable as La U slumped to their first home defeat in Continental competition since August 2010.

The same failings - La U struggle to defend counter-attacks. At the height of their game under Sampaoli i.e. the Copa Sudamericana win opposition teams were scared to attack La U due the arsenal of attacking talents Los Azules possessed. Now they do not have the same force in attack and teams can take risks by committing more players forward in the transition between defence and attack. If the ball is moved quickly to the space in behind and to the side of La U’s back three chances will be created.

It was the second goal that exemplified this counter-attacking problem. Eugenio Mena, as he always does and usually to great effect, strode forward and sent in a cross. The cross was cleared to Wellington who seeing the gap in front of him carried the ball in La U’s half before laying it off to his right for Lucas to speed away unchallenged down the flank and eventually cut-back for Willian to net his second.

The third incident of the first half all but finished the game as a contest as La U were once again caught high up the pitch with little coverage in defensive areas, resulting in Eugenio Mena tangling and bringing down Willian as he ran through on goal.

The midfield - La U were dominated in the midfield area, especially in the first 20 minutes where the Brazilians squeezed the three La U central midfielders tight, allowing them no options sideways or forwards. The trio of Denilson, Jadson and Wellington were supported by full-backs Cortez and Douglas while Lucas often drifted in from the right. There was no room for La U as São Paulo often had seven or eight players in the Chilean’s half.

Coupled with the fact Gustavo Lorenzetti is better further forward in central areas La U were heavily outgunned.

Can Mati be left out? - Defensive solidity was clearly in Sampaoli’s thoughts when leaving Matías Rodríguez on the bench. It’s often been mused that Rodríguez has given the right-side centre back less and less protection in the last 12 months or so. Despite receiving call-ups to Argentina squads he has even admitted himself that he has had a dip in form. But in the last few weeks he has looked like getting back to his old self.

At right-back in a back four Albert Acevedo is a safer and more conservative option. However in possession he is poor as can be seen with a number of attempted and failed long passes.

Rodríguez arose from the bench at half-time and was a crucial part of the second half as La U gained a foothold in the game and looked the more likely team to score, especially through Mati with his height for set-pieces and directness open play.

Rodríguez is not only a physically imposing player but a very good footballer to boot. It is essential that players of his quality play in games of this magnitude. He is bound to be back in the starting eleven for the return-leg and the ‘Clásico Universitario’.

Indepndiente 2-2 Universidad Católica

With the Argentines struggling in the Primera Divisón they sent out a weakened side to play inconsistent Católica. UC did not slip into complacency, taking the lead early on in the match and playing arguably their best football since Martín Lasarte took over. It was a surprise to all those watching that they went into the break on level terms; UC could easily have been three or four goals to the good. A final score line of 2-2 was, in the end, a positive result and one they expect to build on in San Carlos.

Organisation – Under Lasarte UC play a pretty basic 4-4-2. Full-backs are encouraged to support attack, the central midfield duo provide a solid base which allows the two wide men to play high up the park when in possession. The strike partnership always consists of one player stretching the game and the other dropping off.

The game plan was carried out exceptionally by the players, especially in the first half. Out of possession the midfield four worked as a unit, cutting off the space between defence and midfield. The wide men protected their full-back if play was on their side of the play while they would tuck in if it was over the other side of the pitch. Francisco Silva and Tomas Costa screened and patrolled the middle of misfield to great affect.

An incident in the 41st minute highlighted their defensive discipline. On noticing Michael Rios was too far forward and out of position, Nicolas Castillo dropped into Rios’ wide-right position to keep UC’s shape.

Attacks – It may sound like this was a defensive performance by Los Cruzados however it was anything but. Catolica were superb in the transition between defence and attack. The ball would be moved at lighting pace. In the first half an hour Francisco Pizarro, Fernando Cordero and Castillo all had chances with the latter passing up two presentable chances.

UC were direct and quick, whether it was a passing move or an individual dribbling with the ball. Similar to La U Independiente left space in behind their back four, and they did not have any pace to recover. If UC were more clinical, not only the game but the tie would be over.

Nicolas Castillo – I have likened the player to former Manchester City player Ishmael Miller in the past. He is a similar build to Miller with a lovely looking left foot and plenty of power. However, after a run of successive games the comparison seems very unjust.

The 19-year-old has increased his consistently immeasurably. He has been superb at running in behind defences while he has improved his link-up play and you only have to look further up this page to see his intelligence in recognising situations that evolve during the game. If there can be one complaint of him is that he is not a natural finisher, despite his regular goals for the Chilean youth teams. He did get on the score sheet to earn UC a significant draw.

In Angelo Henriquez and Castillo there is a promising strike partnership blossoming for Chile. Catolica however would like to hold onto the striker for longer than La U held onto their heralded young striker.

Preview

La U miss Eugenio Mena for the game in Sao Paulo but otherwise will be full-strength and back to their 3-4-3/3-4-1-2 formation that served them so well in the past. They will now have to summon a performance similar to the one against Flamengo that brought about the comparisons to Barcelona on their way to picking up the 2011 edition of the Copa Sudamericana.

There has been talk about Sampaoli’s future at the club but if he can turn around the two goal deficit it will surely go down as one of the club’s greatest results under the Argentine and strengthen the coach’s position at the club.

They will have to beat a Brazilian side who  have lost only one of their last 13 and who welcome back Luis Fabiano.

Independiente’s coach, Americo Gallego, has announced he’ll be setting his team out to snatch a 1-0 win that would take them into the semi-final of the competition. But Catolica come into the game on the back of another positive result in the ‘Clasico Universitario’ and are gaining in confidence.

If they can begin to convert the chances they are creating they will have few problems in reaching the last-four in the competition and the last-eight in the Clausura.

The 0-0 isn’t the most popular score line in Chile’s Primera División, but thanks to some wonderful goalkeeping from Paulo Garcés and Cristopher Toselli, coupled with poor finishing the ‘Clásicoo Universitario’ between Universidad de Chile and Universidad Católica served up a goal less draw. The result leaves Católica seeking qualification to the play-offs going into the final week.

The game can be filed into the ‘exciting 0-0’ category as two sides with contrasting styles of play came together at a sun-baked Estadio Nacional; proactive v reactive.  La U looked to pass their way through UC with invention and speed and Los Cruzados settled for a direct approach on the counter-attack.

A lot was being made of the importance of the ‘Clásico Universitario’ in the build-up up to Sunday’s encounter with the match sandwiched between Copa Sudamericana quarter-final ties involving both sides. La U boss Jorge Sampaoli stoked the fire by stating he would rest players against Católica but would not do so against Colo Colo.

Read the  rest of the match report at SouthAmericanFootball.co.uk

Round-up:

While the ‘Clásico Universitario’ was the ‘big’ game of the weekend there was plenty going on down at the bottom of the table as teams fight, scrap and any other adjectives you can come up with to for survival. Before we get into it let me explain the relegation procedure once again:

The clubs finishing 17^th and 18^th in the Annual table are automatically relegated.

The clubs finishing 15^th and 16^th enter a relegation play-off with two teams from the Primera B.

Going into the weekend there were realistically six teams involved with a seventh team, Unión La Calera, on the periphery. What transpired was exciting, surprising and dramatic . . .

Deportes La Serena has had what can only be described as an unmitigated disaster in the Clausura. Since Miguel Ponce was relieved of his duties La Serena has dropped faster than Felix Baumgartner falling from space. However as the clocked hit the 86^th minute mark in El Salvador on Saturday they looked to have given themselves a fighting chance going into the final weekend. They led fellow relegation rivals Cobresal 2-0 thanks to a double from Guatemalan Minor Lopez; a scoreline that would have taken them off the foot of the table. Agustín Vuletich scored with three minutes remaining and the inevitable was going to happen. Strong teams with strong players would hold on, but Cobresal knowing they couldn’t afford to lose threw everything forward. With the kitchen sink came goalkeeper Ezequiel Medrán. Surely not. Not a Jimmy Glass moment.

It happened. Of course it happened. As La Serena goalkeeper Rainer Wirth got nowhere near a cross for the second time Medrán headed in among ruck of bodies.

And with results going against them La Serena were relegated. Just like that.

Universidad de Concepción started the weekend of surprise results with a 1-0 victory over Rangers on Friday night. Despite having a game in hand Concepción required a positive result with their remaining fixtures against Universidad de Chile and Universidad Católica who still haven’t confirmed a play-off place.

On Saturday night it was the turn of Unión San Felipe who looked doomed as early as August. But a run of six wins in 12 has been enough to give them not just a glimmer of hope but a full ray of sunshine of hope. Their escape continued away to Palestino who led the league going into the weekend. The quality of Miguel Ángel González was again imperative for San Felipe, converting a penalty and providing a creative presence that many teams lack.

24 hours later and Santiago Wanderers were getting in on the act away at play-off chasing Cobreloa. While eyes were fixed on Santiago and the ‘Clásico Universitario’ Wanderers were handing out a thumping in Calama as they went into a three goal lead. The importance of the wide players and their contribution in providing the strikers was again evident as both strikers were on target as well as Boris Sandoval and Rodrigo Toloza as they ran out 4-2 winners.

Antofagasta, who for the last few weeks must have felt safe, have been dragged back into relegation trouble due to the trio of Concepción, San Felipe and Wanderers all winning. They can not fall into the automatic places but after their 2-1 defeat to Colo Colo they are now only a point ahead of Concepción and two in front of San Felipe, the two teams that occupy the relegation play-off spots.

Meanwhile Colo Colo reached the summit of the Clausura; the first time they have led the league the nearly two years.

Colo Colo is one of six teams who have confirmed their place in the Clausura play-offs. The others being Palestino, Rangers, Deportes Iquique, Universidad de Chile and Huachipato who made sure with a 2-0 away win against Unión La Calera.

This leaves seven teams trying to fill two spots. The current incumbents are Audax Italiano and Universidad Católica. Audax continued their imperious form with a 5-1 thrashing of O’Higgins as Sebastián Saez kept up his fine goal scoring record, netting his fifth in four games. It is now 13 points from their last 15 for Audax, giving them a two point buffer from those out with the play-off places. As we have mentioned Católica are in eighth place with a one point lead.

The chasing pack includes O’Higgins, Antofagasta, Cobreloa, Unión San Felipe and Unión Española.

It looked improbable that Española would reach the play-offs after falling to Universidad de Concepción only two weeks ago. But consecutive wins has given them a fighting chance. They visited Deportes Iquique, falling behind in the opening minutes. However anyone that has ever asked me which Chilean team I follow is always met with the same answer: ‘no one but I really enjoy watching Unión Española’. They stormed back with three goals in six first half minutes, contributing to a 4-2 win.

The final week’s fixtures have had to be arranged due to the Universidad de Concepción’s games in hand against Universidad de Chile. This means they will play Universidad Católica on Sunday then La U on Tuesday evening. Due to this rearrangement the rest of the teams involved in the relegation picture will also play on the Tuesday. The other matches are spread over Saturday and Sunday. The full fixture list can be found here.

And as always the league standings can be viewed at the official side of the ANFP and the goal at La Tercera.

Jorge Ormeno celebrates scoring Santiago Wanderers’ winner (img: charlatecnica.cl)

Week 15 took on an unusual look due to local elections in Chile, meaning no games on Sunday. So instead we had games spread over four three days; Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Monday (I’ll get to that at the end). However it did not detract from the importance of the third last round of fixtures with relegation, relegation play-off and play-off places all still up in the air; a feature of the Primera División, with only 17 games in each tournament the league table always remains close.

There were a number of surprises as the top three were all defeated, including Colo Colo, allowing Palestino to nip in and overtake the aforementioned Colo Colo, Deportes Iquique and Rangers to the top of the table.

In the middle of the Clausura, in the scrap for a play-off place, little changed in the way of position but in terms of closeness the competition for places is at boiling point with nine teams separated by four points with three places realistically up for grabs.

At the bottom it is tight but with only five teams realistically involved; four points separating the five teams.

Santiago Wanderers 2-1 Deportes Iquique

As Universidad Católica struggled to an away goals victory in Brazil against Atlético GO in the Copa Sudamericana the first game of week 15 was kicking of in Valparaiso; bottom of the table Santiago Wanderers welcomed second place Deportes Iquique.

In the build-up to the game officials and players at Wanderers were threatened with an internet message basically encouraging them to win or bad things would happening. Whether it was the message that spurred them on or their gradual improvement under Ivo Basay they got the required victory.

The three goals came in an exciting yet controversial first half. Ariel Colzera put Wanderers in front with a superb side-foot volley; watching the ball come into his path, under pressure, just inside the box he opened his right foot and guided the ball into the corner – magnificent technique.

Then came the moment of controversy which held the game up for over five minutes. Iquique had a period of pressure in the Wanderers box, the ball eventually headed towards goal. The header looked like being a comfortable save for Mauricio Viana in the Wanderers goal only for Sebastián Méndez to inexplicably dive in front of his goalkeeper and push the ball away from goal. Everything happened so fast that the officials spotted the penalty, but between them they could not decide who it was that committed the offence, therefore no one was sent-off.

After much deliberation Rodrigo Díaz eventually took the spot-kick and sent Viana the wrong way.

A key aspect of Wanderers’ play under Basay is the use of the wings to supply the two strikers, Pablo Calandria and Salmerón. Colzera on the right and Rodrigo Toloza, supported by Boris Sandoval, provide good delivery from wide areas. Although it can lead to el Decano being slightly predictable it worked against Iquique as a good move was finished by Jorge Ormeño zipping home the shot from 25 yards after a centre from Toloza was only cleared to Wanderers’ captain.

Wanderers are now out of the relegation play-off places with the win but have played a game more than Universidad de Concepción who are a point and a place below them.

Despite the defeat Iquiuqe will be playing Copa Libertadores football next year after accumulating the most points behind Universidad de Chile in the annual table. But with La U having already qualified through winning the Apertura Iquique will be one of the three Chilean representatives.

San Felipe 2-1 Colo Colo                                                  

Eleven games unbeaten, including a win in el supercláico, Colo Colo were looked upon as a favourite to win the Clausura and get back into Continental competition. The run was bound to continue against Unión San Felipe who were bottom of the annual table going into the game, wasn’t it?

It certainly looked that way when Gonzalo Fierro rifled in a free-kick from 30 yards plus past the outstretched arms of the diving Diego Sánchez.

Prior to the goal, which Sánchez – on looking back – possibly could have done better with, Fierro whipped a volley past the far post while Miguel Ángel González, formerly of Colo Colo, saw a shot of his own flash past the post.

It was a good start to the game and San Felipe’s play went through González; an excellent footballer who likes like he should be working as a bouncer at some dingy club rather than providing magic on the football field – his nickname is ‘El Mago’.

But if he was chucking out some students who couldn’t hold down a few Blue Wkds then he would not have produced a moment that lived up to his moniker. Picking up the ball inside the Colo Colo half he set off on a meander, taking two defenders out of the game with a drop of the shoulder and burst of acceleration that belies his stature before firing past stand-in goalkeeper Ignacio González.

Los Albos took control of the second half, asserting the dominance that we have become accustomed to in the last two months. Both Fierro, again, and Mathias Vidangossy went close with long range efforts; Fierro’s bouncing just wide while Sánchez acrobatically kept Vidangossy at bay as he cut onto his right.

But they could not get back in front as a long pass from San Felipe’s Jorge Acuña was flicked on by González for Javier Grbec to run onto and clip over Colo Colo’s González; a simple but effective goal.

From then on it was San Felipe who sat back and defended well, disrupting the play of Colo Colo while maintaining a threat on the counter-attack.

It’s a ploy that has worked well for Colo Colo in the second half of matches but they could do very little to combat it; Sebastián Páez going closest to extending San Felipe’s lead with a header from close range.

It has been a difficult time for San Felipe after Marco Antonio Figueroa abandoned ship, leaving Nelson Soto to steer his players to safety and a possible place in the Clausura play-offs if they can win their remaining two games.

Huachipato 1 – 1 Audax Italiano

This was a meeting between two teams with play-off aspirations and both came into the match on the back of three successive wins. A win for Huachipato would have put the Los Acereros in a commanding position with two games remaining and set out to do so with an attacking line-up.

However it was Los Tanos who went ahead with an early goal through centre-back Sebastián Silva, glancing in a corner at the front post. And the lead could have been doubled when top goal scorerer Sebastián Saez sent a shot just past the post after collecting a knock down from his strike partner and fellow Argentine Gabriel Rodríguez.

Audax’s front two were often left secluded high up the pitch as the midfield was forced back to defend against a fluid attacking trio behind striker Braian (yes, two a’s) Rodríguez. The tricky Manuel Villalobos volleyed narrowly wide after latching onto Rodríguez’s lay-off.

The same two combined for the equaliser, this time changing roles; Villalobos spotting the run of Rodríguez between Francisco Gaete and right-back Christian Jelves, clipped a ball into the striker’s path and the Uruguayan lifted the ball brilliantly over Alejandro Sánchez for his seventh of the Clausura and fourth in four games.

If one team were likely to collect the three points it was Huachipato. Cesar Cortés twice went close before half-time; first he saw a shot deflected wide before a superb solo run concluded with a shot into the side netting.

Round-up

O’Higgins recorded only their second win in ten leagues games to go level with 8^th placed Cobreloa on 20 points. Ramón Fernández and Boris Sagredo scored in the first minute of the first and second half respectively in Talca against high-flying Rangers. Andres Oroz scored a late consolation as Rangers slipped to second and their first defeat in eight league game at the same time.

Palestino took advantage of Rangers’ defeat to go top of the table after a tight 2-1 against Cobreloa at La Cisterna in Santiago. Jason Silva and Alejandro Carrasco put Palestino in a commanding first half lead but Juan Barros’ goal half-way through the second 45 minutes set up a tense finale.

Universidad Católica continued their indifferent form away to Cobresal, twice coming from behind to register a point that keeps them in the play-offs. Despite Miguel Ángel Cuellar’s double Cobresal slip into the automatic relegation places. It was the perfect match for Los Mineros to collect three points as Martín Lasarte rested players ahead of UC’s Copa Sudamericana tie against Independiente.

Cobresal are still ahead of Deportes La Serena in the annual table; the Granates are in a perilous position as Unión La Calera walked away from the Estadio La Porta with all three points thanks to Gaston Cellerino’s penalty.

Unión Española won their first Primera División game after a run of six without a win, giving José Luis Sierra’s men a chance of reaching the end of season play-offs. La Furia Roja joined opponents Antofagasta on 18 points thanks to a stoppage time Rafael Olarra goal to make it 2-1.

Monday night was meant to see Universidad de Chile welcome Universidad de Concepción to Santiago, but due to their upcoming Copa Sudamericana match with Sao Paulo the game was postponed until November 14.

The Clausura and Annual table can be viewed here.

The weekend’s goal can be seen here.