Morales, Tarragona and Sosa, experience and imbalance for the Wolf of Chirola/instagram
Gymnastics began to go through a new stage. No doubts. The honesty of the football budget and the impossibility of incorporating players opened the door to a semester of transition, with a revaluation of their own, with sports bets from the youth of the club and with more moderate objectives, apart from participation in the Copa Sudamericana.
In addition to the dismissal of Néstor Gorosito, the team lost four starting players, three of them part of the backbone: Rodrigo Rey, Agustín Cardozo and Brahian Alemán were among the most important performances of the year, along with Leonardo Morales and Cristian Tarragona, absent. due to injury in the second half of 2022.
Precisely from these two names the new Wolf begins to be assembled, beyond the fact that “Tarra” has not yet signed the new contract. Both are 31 years old and appear as experienced men to support the younger ones. The level displayed and the leadership both on and off the field make them inescapable references, the beacons of a team and a squad with a low average age.
A couple of facts explain reality by themselves. Nicolás Colazo, 32 years old, is the “greatest” of the squad. And after Morales and Tarragona, Maximiliano Comba (who turns 29 next week) and Franco Soldano (28) appear.
Obviously, at this point in the 21st century, football is not played with ID. Soccer changed. However, it is always healthy for the players who make their first weapons to appear in armed teams, in solid structures, in healthy contexts without enormous pressure that not everyone can bear. The appearances of Leandro Cufré, Mariano Messera and “Chirola” Romero himself at the hands of Timoteo will always be easier than the debuts of “Nacho” Fernández, Fernando Monetti, Matías García or Alan Ruíz with the sword of Damocles from the descent on the head.
Of course, regardless of age, there are football leaders. In this budding formation, one of those who can set the pace for his teammates is the Paraguayan Ramón Sosa. And another, Benjamín Domínguez, who possibly has more offensive liberties led by the coach he dazzled when he appeared on reserve. Both unbalance on the sides and may be more strikers than midfielders in Sebastián Romero’s team idea.
Precisely “Chirola” appears as the guarantee of tripera identity, of that recognition between peers that is generated back and forth between the board and the green grass. Being born in the club is an added value that goes beyond “let’s go, let’s go, the kids”. It has to do with understanding needs and feelings, without sounding like a romanticization of faults. Matías Melluso, already 24 years old and surely the owner of the left back, is the one who best represents that love for the club that is always so necessary. More, in times of crisis like the current one.
Hand in hand with these group, mental, spiritual and football leaders, those players who had many minutes in a team that provided assurances must finish growing, at least until the end of the tournament. Tomás Muro, Alexis Steimbach, Gonzalo González, Alan Lecano, even Guillermo Enrique -starting for almost the entire championship- have the chance to play a lot, to become starters or vital replacements in a game that demands increasingly long squads and relay benches that provide solutions.
Not to mention that Tomás Durso and Ignacio Miramón appear as the club’s bets when it comes to assessing their own. Durso, 23 years old and with just two games in the top team, will have the chance to fight for that goal that Rodrigo Rey left free and that today measures more than 7.32 by 2.44. As for Miramón (19 years old, from Bolívar), he will have the great challenge of ensuring that the fans do not long for Agustín Cardozo, a great step through Gymnastics.
While the squad completed its first week of double-header training, “Chirola’s” tactical idea is still unknown. Will you maintain the intention of leading the way from the 4-3-3 that you had in reserve or will you be forced to change due to player characteristics? Full forward (in addition to Benja y Sosa, Ramírez, Soldano, Contín and the wait for Tarragona), doubts arise in the middle, where Muro-Miramón-Lescano could be the starting midfield line. Missing, but a new Lobo is on the march.
The men with the most experience to support the youngsters are Leo Morales and Tarragona
