Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, re-watch
- D – Below average in this match
The match between Club 12 de Octubre de Itauguá and Club General Díaz de Luque ended in 1-1, after 12 de Octubre took the lead in the first half. A Sergio Bareiro goal in the second half put General Díaz on level.
12 de Octubre were very effective in putting pressure on the wing, after forcing General Diaz to play it out wide as they made sure to close the center. When they would play it out wide, 12 de Octubre would be putting pressure very aggressively, especially through the right side with Victor Barrios. General Diaz often played long passes but failed to really reach one of the two strikers. The wide midfielders often tried to play out of pressure by attempting a dribble as well, but this was not that effective as they lost possession quite often.
Derlis Martínez
- Nationality: Paraguayan
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 09/12/1999
- Club: 12 de Octubre
- Career: 12 de Octubre (Y)
- Position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Derlis Martínez played as a left midfielder in the match against General Diaz. He was not active in possession and did not get many touches in the first half. In possession, he always stayed close to the sideline in the first half, awaiting the ball. The first proper action of him was in the 21st minute, when he carried the ball to the oppositions half before playing a backwards pass. Later in the game, he was more involved and after 35/40 minutes or so, he was more involved in the game and got into possession more often.
He made a good run in behind in the first half and did very well to stay onside, as his teammate waited too long with the pass. He did not really make a decision between attempting a shot on goal or playing a cross towards his teammates. This meant that the change got wasted, unfortunately for him. Martínez got pushed off the ball easily as he is quite slim-build. He showed good perseverance in the duels though as he kept battling to stay in possession, even after it looked like he would lose the ball.
Derlis Martínez did well to track back, but he seemed to be covering air rather than actually trying to either cut passing lanes or man mark his opponent. However, he was really effective with cutting passing lanes in the final third and forced his opponent to play a backwards pass to the goalkeeper, while also shaping his body towards the goal so that he could sprint to the goalkeeper when he would receive the pass. Martínez got subbed off after 67 minutes and I am interested to see what he can do in the next matches.
Rating – B2
For now, it’s a B2 since he was quite quiet in the game and he did not really show that many promising signs.
Gustavo Navarro
- Nationality: Paraguayan
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 16/09/1996
- Club: 12 de Octubre
- Career: 12 de Octubre (Y)
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Gustavo Navarro played as a right central defender in the match against General Diaz. He liked to defend proactively and aggressively, as he liked to step out of the defensive line. Navarro tried to close gaps quickly and put pressure on his opponent immediately. He often did well to get a foot in front of his opponent to prevent his opponent from controlling the ball. Navarro was quite strong in the duels, but in the duels against Bareiro he seemed to struggle at times, even though he did win a few duels against the Paraguayan striker. Navarro used his body well when his opponent made a run in behind, but did not look very quick.
The 23-year-old had two moments where he tried to close a gap towards the side without checking his shoulders. This was something he needed to do, as an opponent in one situation made a run in behind and in the other situation moved into space centrally. He did not block the pass and it led to a chance in the first situation. In the second situation, he got back into position on time but against a better opponent he would have been in a lot more trouble. He was quite good in the 1v1 duels as he kept looking at the ball but did not look that agile when he came up against a player that changed directions quickly.
He did not anticipate well in aerial duels. Navarro did not really know where the ball was going to land/drop and jumped under the ball quite some times. One time, this had catastrophic consequences as Bareiro was in space to head the ball in the back of the net.
Rating – B1
Even though I did like his performance, I think the Paraguayan league probably is his ceiling.
Victor Barrios
- Nationality: Paraguayan
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 22/03/1997
- Club: 12 de Octubre
- Career: 12 de Octubre
- Position: Right Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Victor Barrios played as a right-back for 12 de Octubre in their match against General Diaz. He liked to follow around his direct opponent and put pressure on him, even when that means he has to defend far from his own goal on the oppositions half. Barrios is very aggressive in putting pressure, which also leads to Barrios giving away unnecessary fouls, such as pushing his opponent in the back while he could just force him backwards by staying close to him. From these positions, he did well to block passes and he certainly chose the right moments to step out of the defensive line or to keep in the defensive line.
He could step out of the defensive line often, because the right central midfielder of 12 de Octubre did well to cover runs in behind from the opposites left central midfielder. However, this requires good communication and understanding between both and this went wrong in one situation, where both the midfielder and Barrios put pressure on the left midfielder, leaving open a lot of space on the wing and leaving Gustavo Navarro isolated on the wing in a 2v1. Victor Barrios also did well to stay narrow when the ball was on the other side of the pitch and cleared some crosses.
On the ball, he looked alright but not extremely confident, even though he played one good powerful pass towards the striker from his own half. However, when he went forward, he did not really seem to know when or where to make a run and anticipated quite late on the through pass of his teammate. He liked to get forward when he could, but only got into a good crossing position at once. It would be good for 12 de Octubre to train on the combination on both wings as there was a lack of tactical understanding.
Rating – A2
He played very well in this match, especially in the defensive area. He could do better going forward, but I can definitely see him making a step upwards in the South American leagues at some point in his career. However, I don’t see him making it in Europe.