This Sunday Colo Colo opens for the 2023 National Championship, with the mission of revalidating the title obtained last year. The route to the two-time championship will begin against Deportes Copiapó at the Luis Hermosilla Valenzuela Stadium, a meeting where the whites will seek to shake off their loss to Magallanes for the Super Cup.
Facing this new tournament that is coming, a doubt of every year settles again and it is who will be the sub21 player in charge of accumulating the greatest number of youth minutes of the 1890 required by the regulation. There are many candidates in the first team, although it will be necessary to see how many options they will have with the arrival of the latest reinforcements.
Vincent Pizarro
The midfielder is the one who is best positioned in the consideration of Gustavo Quinteros. at 20 years old He knew how to take advantage of the opportunity that the void left by the injury of César Fuentes gave him to take over a position as a starter in the last tournament.
Unfortunately, he suffered a complicated injury in the friendly with River Plate last November that will not allow him to be considered until the first week of February. In addition, he will now have to deal with the competition that the new additions will bring, since if Carlos Palacios is confirmed as the 10th of the team, Leonardo Gil will once again dispute a position in the central zone.
In any case, his growth has been highly valued by the coach, who has not saved public praise for the professionalism he showed to break into as a starter.
Bruno Gutierrez
He was the only youth starter in the Super Cup and he did so playing as a right back, a zone that became vacant due to the departure of Óscar Opazo. However, he did not have the best presentation of him and he will have to continue working to convince Quinteros that he is an alternative.
In addition, he will have to battle with the possible arrival of Matías Catalán, whom the strategist wants yes or yes for the position. In any case, the youth player can also fight for a position as a central defender, which is where he performed best in the inferiors.
jeson rojas
It began as the youth most used by Gustavo Quinterosbut over time it has lost a lot of ground in consideration.
The departure of Óscar Opazo opens up a new opportunity for the 20-year-old defender, although he started last season in consideration with another youth player such as Bruno Gutiérrez, who won the fight to start the Super Cup.
His situation could become more complicated if the signing of Matías Catalán finally materializes. Although he can also take advantage of Emiliano Amor’s injury to break in as central defender, his natural position. Among its attributes, its good speed stands out despite its height and polyfunctionality.
alexander oroz
La Flecha was one of the youth players most used by Quinteros last season, although this year it seems difficult due to the large number of wingers on the squad, who were joined by Fabián Castillo.
In his favor it may be that there is still no absolute owner of the sides, although he will have to row a lot in a competition that also has protagonists Matías Moya, Marcos Bolados, Marco Rojas, Carlos Palacios and Agustín Bouzat. He will have to take advantage of his tremendous speed to show that he has to be considered.
Jordhy Thompson
El Niño Joya is one of the youth players who has captivated the fans the most with his ability and he showed character in the minutes he had during the Super Cup. Quinteros himself acknowledged being captivated by his audacity and made him debut in the First Division.
At just 18 years old, he has a lot of competition in the winger position, although he can also start to break in as the team’s starting midfielder. In any case, he does not shrink and warned that he is hungry for glory.
Daniel Gutierrez
The left-handed central defender is another project that has attracted attention with each break-in he has had in the First Division, but the good level shown by Maximiliano Falcón and Emiliano Amor did not allow him to continue adding. He has also been tested as a left back thanks to his good footing, but the truth is that it is not a position that suits him.
Your situation may be complicated considering the arrival of Ramiro González and that he must fight with other youngsters like Bruno Gutiérrez and Jeyson Rojas.
Felipe Yanez
He returned from his loan with Coquimbo Unido, a club where he played regularly, leaving good feelings despite his young age and poor performance of the pirate team. He will have to fight for the position with another newcomer in Erick Wiemberg, although he has the possibility of being his first relief in case he suffers an injury or suspension.
Special case: Joan Cruz
The talented left-footed midfielder is another one who has captivated the fans the most thanks to his excellent technique. For now he is with the Chilean sub20 team, so he will not be considered in the first dates.
However, his contractual situation is still uncertain. While from the club they assure that he met the requirements to be automatically renewed, his representatives maintain that the player is a free agent and seek to remove him from the Cacique so that he can have more regularity.
