Club Guaraní won their away match with Club Libertad Asunción with 1-3, due to two late goals through counter-attacks. Guaraní set up in a 4-4-2, but did not really shape this way throughout the game, as a lot of players moved out of position often. Libertad played in a 4-4-2 as well, but moved to a 4-3-2 formation after Piris got sent off.
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
Rodney Redes
- Nationality: Paraguayan
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 22/02/2000
- Club: Austin FC, on loan at Guaraní
- Career: Guaraní (Y), Austin FC, Guaraní (L)
- Position: Left Wing
- Secondary position: Striker & Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Rodney Redes played as a striker in a two-man partnership in this match. He was not that involved in the build-up in the first twenty minutes, but got more and more involved as the match went on. The winger had the role to drift wide and make runs from there. He did so quite often, as he looked to find space between the full-back and central defender, but also made runs on the wing. His teammates did not choose for this option often, especially early in the game. However, when they did find him, he showed good ability, which I am going further into below.
In some situations, he did well to cut inside from the wing just in front of his opponent, which forced his opponent to either slow down or make a foul. It always looked that something was bound to happen when Rodney Redes was driving the ball forward, forcing his direct opponent to move backwards. The Paraguayan forward took the set-pieces and proved to have a good passing technique. He could put a lot of curve on the ball and from his corner, Guaraní scored the 0-1. His crosses were dangerous as well.
When he got into positions to either attempt a shot on target or put a cross into the box, Rodney Redes kept extremely calm and composed. He assessed his options well before he put a blind cross into the box, and held up play when he saw that there was no good option in the box. The young Paraguayan did not only make good runs out wide, but looked to make runs centrally as well, especially when Libertad played a higher defensive line. He did not get found often centrally, but when he would play in a better team he would definitely be very dangerous when making these runs, as he timed them very well.
Rodney Redes also showed that he had very good vision. He spotted his teammates in space very well and was not afraid to use his weaker left foot to play a pass to his teammate that moved between the lines. A lot of players would have chosen for a backwards pass in this situation. Redes had good decision-making in the final third, except for one situation where he chose to attempt a shot where he could have passed it to his teammate as well. He sometimes lost the ball when he attempted a dribble, but was very agile with good changes of directions. This was due to a lack of ball control as he moved really fast which made him touch the ball heavy in a few occasions.
In defence, he used his excellent acceleration to close gaps quickly which helped him to put pressure on the opponents back line in an efficient way. He forced his opponent to make an error and recovered possession a few times. He did very well to hold of his opponents and link up with his teammates.
Rating – A1
An excellent performance by Rodney Redes and I think he is destined to impress in the MLS.
Jorge Morel
- Nationality: Paraguayan
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 22/01/1998
- Club: Guaraní
- Career: Guaraní (Y)
- Position: Central Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Jorge Morel played as a left central midfielder in the match against Libertad. He looked good on the ball, but needed to improve his defensive ability based on this match. Out of possession, he left his position quite often to help out on the right side of the pitch, leaving open a big gap in the central zones. He should have stayed more centrally in these situations. He lost some duels in midfield as well as he occasionally looked to be switched off and maybe even a bit nonchalant.
On the ball, he proved that he has a very good shot from distance which he proved quite often. All of his shots from distance were dangerous. Morel had a good passing technique and both his short and long passing was good. He picked out the right pass nearly every time and definitely had a good passing range. Morel managed to put the right power on the pass and looked really confident, while also looking dominant on the ball. He scored an easy rebound in the 22nd minute.
Rating – A1
I do not think that he is ready to play in Europe yet, but a move to the Superliga or MLS would be good for him.
Johan Romaña
- Nationality: Colombian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 13/09/1998
- Club: Guaraní
- Career: DIM (Y), Guaraní
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Johan Romaña played as a central defender in this match. He drifted wide way too often and was caught out of position too often. He left a lot of gaps open in central zones and failed to recover possession in wide zones. In the first 15 minutes, it was questionable whether he was playing as a right-back or as a central defender. He also stepped out of the defensive line a lot, without checking his shoulders or keeping the defensive structure in mind. He left the defence of Guaraní with a lot of problems when he did this. He struggled to keep his balance in the 1v1 duels against agile opponents, did not react quickly to the opponents movements and failed to stay on his feet. On the ball, he checked his shoulders, but he did not know where the ball was after and lost possession.
Rating – D
I will rewatch Romaña when I get the chance, but I thought he had a very bad performance in the match against Libertad.
Target Scouting 