Without Alemán in the center of the scene, Gymnastics looks for his team profile / file
The hardest stage of the preseason has ended and the moment of truth is approaching for this 2023 model gymnastics, with Sebastián Romero as coach, with a commitment to the youth (and not so much) of the institution and still with some important issue to be defined , but with only one certainty: there will be no reinforcements.
With lights and shadows, with virtues and defects, this will be the Gymnastics squad. And while Chirola looks for a team and a tactical system, he tries to commit the players to an idea of the game, with a good footing, imbalance on the outside and a lot of intensity to recover the ball.
So far, Romero and his team have been able to see all the players in action. Some undisputed starters, others with minimal chances, all had their minutes and the chance to fight for a place in the next squad. It is clear that in football, nobody starts from scratch. Even so, some players who may still have a destiny outside of Lobo were able to show themselves and Chirola draw their own conclusions.
The first starting team of the year tied 0-0 with Instituto. He formed with Tomás Durso; Guillermo Enrique, Leonardo Morales, Diego Mastrangelo, Matías Melluso; Tomás Muro, Ignacio Miramon, Alan Lescano; Ramón Sosa, Franco Soldano and Benjamin Dominguez.
From the result, the substitutes did better with the “Gloria”, since it was a tripero victory 3 to 1 with goals from Eric Ramírez, Alan Lescano and the central defender Felipe Sánchez. They started Nelson Insfran; Bautista Barros Schelotto, Bruno Palazzo, Felipe Sánchez, Nicolás Colazo; Alexis Steimbach, Agustin Bolivar, Leandro Mamut; Eric Ramírez, Nicolás Contín and Maximiliano Comba.
Finally, on Saturday those who run from further back added minutes along with some youths that are highly regarded by the coaching staff and had a good performance by defeating Villa San Carlos 3-1. Ivo Mammini billed twice and Franco Torres scored the remaining goal. Nahuel Manganelli, Gonzalo González, Valentín Peñalva, Rodrigo Gallo, Matías Bazzi played; Franco Torres, Nicolás Sánchez, Alan Sosa, Zago Zegarra; Rodrigo Castillo and Ivo Mammini.
In the three games the coach’s search was clear, beyond playing 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 with referential forwards. He is looking for interns (the old “8” and “10”) with good ball handling but with mobility and aims to have a lot of one-on-one on the flanks. It is clear that “Chirola” does not want players standing on the field and the youth of the squad will help to see a very dynamic, hard-working and intense team to recover and play.
In addition, the “greats” of the squad are not so many and they adapted well to what the coach is asking for and to be the ones who mark the path to be followed by the youth players. With Leo Morales as the flag on and off the field, the most experienced players are well involved in the project.
Of course you have to play and Gymnastics lost three key players in 2022: Rodrigo Rey, Agustín Cardozo and Brahian Alemán. Oddly enough after his great year, “Pitín seems to be the easiest to replace. On the one hand, due to the enormous expectations that Ignacio Miramón generates from the reserve and because in the game against the Cordoba he was the best on the pitch. Little by little and without putting pressure on him, he seems called to be the owner of the central circle.
In the goal, Tomás Durso appears as a starter. At 23 years old and only 2 games in the first division, any comparison with Rey, who had a great time with Lobo and set the bar very high, will be unfair. Durso, with a past in youth teams, has before him the chance he deserves and has waited all this time. He is a sober goalkeeper, with a saver profile, who will have to make his own way. It depends only on him.
Beyond often being the bad guy in the movie because of his attitudes, no one can deny that Brahian Alemán is a good player. Paradoxically, he is perhaps the most difficult to replace and at the same time the one with the most suitors for his place in leading and generating the team’s game.
Tomás Muro, skilful and with a good footprint; Alan Lescano, less intense and more cerebral; and Leandro Mamut, a very good project with just turned 19 years old, are the candidates. And Alan Sosa has been honking from the reserve. None have the experience of the Uruguayan. Perhaps, the self-confidence to play will ensure the place for one of them.
In just 11 days, the truth will be known on the green grass.
A very young squad helps the idea of DT: dynamics, effort and intensity to recover and play
