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
Renné Rivas
Player profile:
- Nationality: Venezuelan
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 21/03/2003
- Club: Caracas FC
- Career: Caracas FC (Y)
- Position: Left-Back
- Secondary position: Central Defender
- Preferred foot: Left
Renné Rivas played as a left-back for Caracas. The defender is ~178cm tall and has a muscular build. Rivas looked quick on the first meters and was capable of maintaining that speed over longer distances. The Venezuelan has good agility and changed directions quite quickly. He won most of his aerial duels against the 160cm tall Centella, but also lost at least one aerial duel against Centella. Rivas looked strong in the duels, but his matchup with Centella (160cm and a small build) was not really fair. In the 1v1’s on the wing, he did well to keep up with his quick turns and Centella did not create much danger in this match. The left-back has good crosspassing technique, but his long passes were often inaccurate. Rivas also kicked the ball forward quite wildly sometimes.
Renné Rivas has a good passing technique over short or medium-long distances and this looked really promising even though his passes were quite inconsistent. Over time he could become a very good passer and become better at progressing the ball without losing the ball. The Venezuelan showed good close control when dealing with aerial passes and his first touch was good. Most of his possession was in the midfield third and he liked to play powerful passes into the attack and continue his run. Defensively, the 18-year-old once again showed that he has quite some weaknesses. His anticipation was bad. Rivas tried to be smart to cut the passing lane to one of the Blooming players but Centella instead took the touch and carried the ball forward, which meant that Rivas was outplayed. Rivas also showed some bad decision-making in defence at times.
Rating – 2
I think he will become a leading player for Caracas in the future and he could possibly move to a better league at his prime, but at this point he is not an interesting player for the MLS or Eredivisie/Jupiler League Pro.
Saul Guarirapa
Player profile:
- Nationality: Venezuelan
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 18/10/2002
- Club: Caracas FC
- Career: Caracas FC (Y)
- Position: Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
Saul Guarirapa played as a left-winger in the first half and as a striker in the second half. It is clear that the left-wing position does not suit him that well and that he felt more at ease playing as a striker. Standing at ~188cm with a muscular build, you would expect that Guarirapa is not quick on the turn. However, Guarirapa looked to be a good athlete who can turn relatively quickly. He is fast on the first meters and can maintain that speed over a long distance, not running out of gas. Guarirapa is really strong in the duels and won most of his aerial duels, even though his heading did not look that good. The Venezuelan has slightly above average ball coordination when dribbling. At one point, he used a roulette to get past his opponent and this looked quick and fluid, but he also had two moments in which he failed to control the ball when dribbling.
The Venezuelan striker liked to make runs in behind, but also sometimes dropped deep and linked up with his teammates. Guarirapa timed his runs well, but struggled to make a good first touch when dealing with an over the top through pass. When dropping deep, Guarirapa showed great composure on the ball and had good and consistent passing. However, his final pass often missed accuracy and he needs to work on that. He also once shot from like 35 meters when he should have kept the ball in his possession. The striker pressed the backline well and sometimes even recovered possession in the final third, which also led to a few opportunities for Caracas.
Rating – 1
Overall, it was a good performance by Saul Guarirapa. He shows a lot of potential in the physical and athletic aspects and combines this with decent technical ability. He needs to work on his first touch when dealing with aerial passes, improve on his final pass and probably up his intensity.
I also watched Manuel Sulbaran, but he does not have an interesting profile and did not play well before getting subbed early.