Caracas and Blooming faced each other after both lost the first match of the Copa Libertadores by quite a big margin. Especially Blooming probably felt disappointed after that game as they failed to convert any of their chances. Both teams set up in a 4-3-3 and liked to build out from the back patiently. Blooming made many mistakes in the build-up and failed to create many clear cut chances, opposed to Caracas who created several clear cut chances. Kevin Medina, goalkeeper of Blooming, had a good day and made some very good saves in which he showed that he has good reflexes. In the end it was Bryant Albizo who scored the winner for Caracas late in the second half after a good assist by Jean Torres.
Youth Ratings
1 – Ready for the first team
2 – Good, potential to be first team
3 – Decent, could make first team squad
4 – Decent potential, unlikely to make it to first team
5 – Unlikely to make first team
Guilmar Centella
Player profile:
- Nationality: Bolivian
- Age: 16
- Date of birth: 26/03/2005
- Club: Blooming
- Career: Blooming
- Position: Right Winger
- Preferred foot: Left
Guilmar Centella played as a right-winger for Blooming this match and had a more quiet game than last match against Blooming. Standing at ~160cm with a slim build, Centella has a lot of limitations to his game. He is not strong in the duels, struggles to maintain his speed over longer distances and can not keep up if the game has a high intensity. Centella’s aggressiveness in the defensive duels helped him to recover possession a few times, but in physical duels he lost all of them. However, he is very agile and can change directions quickly. He is fast on the first few meters and can get away from his marker when he is in a 1v1 duel on the wing near the byline. In the 1v1 duels with Renné Rivas, he did well to cut away from him a few times but apart from one good cross with his right foot that got cleared he did not create any chances.
Centella is a smart player, which helps him to cover up for his lack of physical ability. He tried to stay out of the duels as much as he could and scanned well. Especially scanning helped him to know when he had space to carry the ball forward or when he had to play a first-time pass backwards. He often made the right decision. The winger has an excellent long passing technique and liked to cut inside to his stronger left foot in the deeper areas, looking to switch the play or for a run in behind by one of his teammates. Centella showed a good variety between cutting inside to his left foot or moving on the outside in the 1v1 duels in the final third. The Bolivian was often covered by two Caracas players.
His off the ball movement when Blooming had possession was significantly better than Becerra’s off the ball movement. He opened up passing lanes for Nicolas Justiniano at the right times. Centella also had good one-touch play in the small spaces.
Rating – 2
Guilmar Centella has a lot of talent in the technical and tactical aspects but his lack of physique could restrict him from being a short-term target for clubs in the MLS, Serie A or Superliga. He would not be able to keep up with the tempo of those leagues. I think he will become a leading player in the Bolivian league though, as it’s quite a low-intensity league in which his technical and tactical ability can help him a lot.
Matheo Becerra
Player profile:
- Nationality: Bolivian
- Age: 16
- Date of birth: 01/06/2005
- Club: Blooming
- Career: Blooming
- Position: Left Winger
- Preferred foot: Left
Matheo Becerra played as a left-winger for Blooming and made less of a good impact than the last match. He is 180cm tall and has a slim build. Becerra was quite strong in the ground duels, protecting the ball well and holding off his opponent. He had good acceleration, but only sprinted in straight lines and did not seem to be capable of changing directions when sprinting at full speed. The Bolivian looked quicker when he made a 180-degree turn. Technically, Becerra seemed to struggle to deal with aerial passes, as he could not keep the ball close to him when trying to control the pass. His short passes when being put under pressure were inaccurate and his crosses were also not great. His technique was very inconsistent and he only put in one or two good crosses. Matheo Becerra always tried to get past his opponent on the outside and should have been more active out of possession. When Daniel Lino was in possession, Becerra should have moved into the half-space to open up a passing lane for Lino. However, he did not do this and this often led to possession loss for Blooming. Most of his actions were made near the halfway line. His 1v1’s with the opponent often started in the midfield third and he carried the ball into the final third.
Rating – 4
Matheo Becerra’s physical, tactical and technical limitations were displayed in this match and I do not think that he has much potential based on this match. His last match was better, but he showed the same tendencies in that match and in this match the level of the opponent was slightly higher, as Sporting Cristal’s defence was really bad.
Daniel Lino
Player profile:
- Nationality: Bolivian
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 18/02/2002
- Club: Blooming
- Career: Blooming
- Position: Central Defender
- Preferred foot: Left
Daniel Lino once again played as a left central defender for Blooming and proved once again that he is an interesting player for the future, even though he did not perform that well. He is ~184cm tall and has a slim to muscular build. Lino is strong in the duels and used his body very well to protect the ball in the ground duels. The Bolivian has decent acceleration and is capable of maintaining that speed over longer distances. The defender is very mobile and can change directions well. He is very active on his feet and looks quick when he changes his stance. Lino has good footwork. His passing technique is adequate, but the accuracy of his passes is very inconsistent.
A bad pass of Lino on his own half led to various dangerous situations in front of Medina’s goal, but it must be said that he sometimes was not helped by Becerra as well as he was not active enough to get into the right position. Lino’s long passes over a very long distance were always intercepted or went over the sideline. His long passes over a medium-long distance were often accurate. The Bolivian defender struggled to keep the ball close to him when dealing with aerial passes. Daniel Lino always looks composed on the ball and closed gaps towards the wing well. He likes to cautiously carry the ball into midfield, assessing his options. The Bolivian defender looked comfortable defending in a low block and also in a high defensive line.
Rating – 2
I think he had a bad match, but his physical and athletic ability is promising. He needs to improve on his technical ability, especially his first touch and consistency in his passing. Daniel Lino could be a future Bolivian national team player if he develops his technical ability and I can see him making it into the better leagues in South America at his peak level.
I also watched Sergio Ferreira, but I did not make enough notes on him and he lacked pace and acceleration in this match.
Target Scouting 