Group B Preview: Sugar, Spice and Everything…Sharks!

By: Lugo | May 21st, 2009

The sharks will try to bite hard on every game Group B seems to be set for a showdown of epic proportions between the Sugar Greens of Deportivo Cali and the Sharks of Junior. Nevertheless, the other two teams can’t be overlooked. One of them is the Warriors of Cucuta Deportivo, known internationally for beating Boca at home in 2006 but faltering tremendously at La Bombonera in the midst of…. mist. And making its debut in the postseason are the Oranges of Envigado which, much like Equidad in the other group, carries the hopes of Medellin and the Antioquia region after its most traditional teams, Nacional and DIM, had a season to forget.

Junior de Barranquilla

As of today, May the 21st, the sharks seem to have everything going on for them. Giovanni Hernandez is back at his maximum game making a strong claim for yet another chance with the yellow jersey. Always a controversial claim with him. But besides Giovanni, the goalscoring machine known as Teofilo Gutierrez has everybody in awe. Teofilo has shown that he’s ready for international football. He’s a clinical finisher with a lot going for him in regard to his passing and dribbling skills. I don’t have a problem in going as far as saying that he’s ready for European football because i really see him as no inferior than Hugo Rodallega or Wason Renteria. And with a supporting cast of Acuña, Ciciliano and Yanez, this team has no other choice but playing visually stunning football with lots of passing, lots of dribling and lots of flair. And I’m afraid it coud well be championship-winning football.

Deportivo Cali

If there is a team in these two groups that is used to finals and knows how to win big games that is the Sugar Greens of Deportivo Cali. They have the pedigree and certainly the squad to back up such claim this year. Their Argentine maestro Pablo Batalla is on a roll as of late. And what’s more interesting, he’s becoming a regular in front of the net which is not that usual for a number ten. Their holding mids Andres Perez and Mariano Herron have tons of experience at higher levels and this is evident in the field. What this trio has done this season is vital considering Cali no longer has the goalscoring supply of Fredy Montero. And Sergio Herrera hasn’t stepped up in a long time. A little more help in the wings would be appreciated as well. If they can continue with that midfield security and add more punch up front, they’ll certinly give the sharks and the others a run for their money.

Cucuta Deportivo

The warriors have demonstrated again what kind of team they are when they are leaded by their charismatic (sort of) coach Jorge Luis Pinto. One of the main tacticians in our game who despite showing he wasn’t the man for our NT, clearly knows what he does with this club. He makes them play a strong defensive ball based in counterattacks that their Paraguayan hunter Gamarra knows how to capitalize. Problem is there are many teams in these finals that know the same routine in these finals. So they’re going to have to come up with something else that is a bit of a problem for them: to create.

Envigado Fútbol Club

The team with nothing to lose. Envigado has (almost) no fans to answer to, no history bound to repeat and no utter obligations in these finals beyond those that the coach and the players have set up for themselves. Having that in mind, Envigado has the luxury of playing with two sensible caretakers of the ball with loads of experience like Neider Morentes and Fredy Grisales and behind them, an old “partner in crime” such as Juan Fernando Leal doing the holding. To complete this competent group of veterans Jorge Horacio Serna still delivers greatly in terms of scoring. And that lack of pressure that I was mentioning before really shows in their game. So everybody else should be wary of this team because they aren’t afraid of losing. That’s what happens when everybody expects you to do so.

For all you facebookers out there, we can now meet at The Offside Colombia group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=82986497706&ref=ts See you there!