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When a team gains the identity of its commander, it is often said that the coach’s face has changed. Vasco is far from being the mirror of Ricardo Sá Pinto in technical and tactical terms, but against Caracas he gave little evidence that he can beat like the “lion’s heart” of the Portuguese.
The 1-0 victory in the first leg match between the teams for the second phase of the Sudamericana, played on Wednesday in São Januário, was not accompanied by a good performance. Vasco oscillated negatively, compared to the defeat to Corinthians, a week ago by the Brazilian, especially in offensive production.
It was a poor team that succumbed to the defensive proposal of the Venezuelan rival, weakened by five absences. Besides the goal, he created only two other occasions: a penalty missed by Carlinhos and a header by Ribamar. But he won alternatives until now forgotten, such as Guilherme Parede and Tiago Reis, given the irregularity of Ribamar and Vinícius.
Ricardo Sá Pinto guides the Basque players – Photo: Staff Images / CONMEBOL
Even so, he managed to recover from the bad moment. The game and the season. Tiago Reis’s goal, after a good play by Guilherme Parede on the right, ended a sequence of nine games without a win, including Brasileirão and Copa do Brasil. And it changed the story of the wasted penalty and the child expulsion of Ygor Catatau for the return of confidence.
– At this point, it was important to win so that they realized that we are on the right track. Now we have a lot of work ahead of us. And we have a lot of room for individual and collective evolution. It is very important to win to believe in the process and the work. It is not easy to do what we did: a goal after a missed penalty and a sending off in a nine-match winless scenario. We play a very smart game, with a lot of organization and strategy. We had ambition and improvement and that is why we won the game – Sá Pinto analyzed.
Carlinhos regrets loss of penalty against Caracas – Photo: Staff Images / CONMEBOL
Ball possession (66% to 34%), submissions (12 to 4) and goal possibility (3 to 0) … If the statistics showed a wide dominance of Vasco, the confrontation with Caracas was balanced. It remained to transform superiority into offensive production. Without Benítez, Carlinhos had to articulate. Talles, especially in the second half, acted more centrally and helped. But it was little.
Athletes still make a lot of wrong decisions. Something normal in a troubled time and starting to work: Sá Pinto commanded only two games. However, there are interesting points:
- Ball out with three: Andrey between the defenders.
- Defending forwards, when the team attacks, to pressure the opponent and quickly recover the ball.
- Skewers, but not very productive.
- Sizes with more freedom and more participation.
Vasco also corrected a common problem in recent games: space for the rival team in the middle and back lines. Being more compact and more aggressive in an attempt to retake the ball, the team was little threatened.
– Sá Pinto has given us confidence, he asks for a compact and aggressive team. I think that in these last games we showed it, compact and fighting for the second ball. It is a beginning of work and we have a lot to improve. It requires a lot of dedication – commented Captain Leandro Castan.
