Jocoro FC played CD FAS in the final of the Primera Division Apertura. Jocoro FC reached the final of the Primera Division for the first time in the club’s history, mainly thanks to Jose Carlos Argueta who was the top goal scorer of the Primera Division. Jocoro’s ‘stadium’ can only host 2.000 people, making it the smallest home ground in the entire division. The Salvadoran underdogs set up in a 4-2-3-1 on paper, but it was a 4-4-2 with Salamanca mostly playing next to Argueta. They had a relatively balanced style of play, sometimes going for a more direct approach but also building it out from the back through Elvis Claros and Henry Maldonado. CD FAS had the majority of the chances, but Jocoro FC also created some chances and deserved at least one goal in this match. In the end, Jocoro FC lost 2-0 to CD FAS meaning that CD FAS has won the league title for the 19th time in the club’s history.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Juan Carlos Argueta
- Nationality: Salvadoran
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 18/05/2000
- Club: Jocoro FC
- Career: Fuerte San Francisco, CD Dragon (Y), CD Cacahuatique, Jocoro FC
- Position: Striker
- Secondary position: Winger
- Preferred foot: Right
Juan Carlos Argueta played as a striker in Jocoro’s mixture between 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1. The striker is not the tallest, standing at approximately 1.75 meters but has a stocky frame. Despite having a stocky frame, Argueta moves really well and turns really smoothly. He did not look heavy-footed at all and looked very mobile. The Salvadoran striker has decent speed over both short and long distances, but was not the quickest of the team. Juan Carlos Argueta showed pretty good strength in duels with his back towards the goal and in shoulder-to-shoulder duels. The striker drew fouls really well on his own half when Jocoro were put under early pressure. This helped the team to progress the ball up the pitch and to give the side time to get back into position. Argueta was pretty good in aerial duels because he has a very good leap and timing. He also has good strength in his upper body, not getting pushed away in aerial duels easily.
The striker is a pretty direct player, often wanting to shoot from tight angles or from distance. He can display tunnel vision in the final third at times, rushing his shot and focusing on scoring goals rather than going for the pass, which was the better option in that situation. Juan Carlos Argueta seemed overeager to make an impact in the match, as it was the biggest game of his career thus far. Argueta surprisingly showed great composure in the late stages of the game, when he nearly assisted his teammate to score the 2-1. In the box, Argueta does not give up when the ball is near showing good persistance. He has really good movement in the box, often moving into the right areas but not getting found that often. When Jocoro had possession in the midfield third, Juan Carlos Argueta often moved into the channels to create space in central areas for teammates to dive into, as he was always followed by one of the two central defenders.
Juan Carlos Argueta has decent technical ability, even though it sometimes looks slightly unconventional. Under pressure, Argueta does well to keep the ball close to him despite not always having full control over the ball. However, he uses his body very smartly to protect the ball giving him extra time on the ball. His receiving skills were mostly good, even though he rarely miscontrolled a pass. The Salvadoran striker has the confidence to play long passes, playing some decent long passes also showing an okay passing technique. Juan Carlos Argueta has the potential to become better in passing, especially in the link-up play and hold-up play. He just does not get found that often, at least in this match.
Rating – A1
As I already mentioned on Twitter, I think that Juan Carlos Argueta would be a good pick-up by mid-table teams in Colombia and Ecuador. It is true that he has only been playing at the highest level for a few months, but he has shown enough quality to justify a transfer to Colombia or Ecuador. If he does move to Colombia, he could follow the footsteps of Brayan Gil Hurtado.
Henry Maldonado
- Nationality: Salvadoran
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 30/10/2000
- Club: Jocoro FC
- Career: Pasaquina (Y), San Felipe (Y), Corinto FC, Jocoro FC
- Position: Central Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Henry Maldonado started off as one of the two holding midfielders for Jocoro, but ended up at right-back in the second half. The midfielder is approximately 1.73 meters tall and has a normal frame. Despite being relatively small, Maldonado wins most aerial duels because he has a great leap and he uses his body well in the duels. The midfielder did lose most 50-50 duels though, not being persistant and tenacious enough to really contest the duel. He sometimes seemed to shy away from 50/50’s. Maldonado impressed with his bursts of speed though, looking really quick and using feints to burst past opponents. He had a couple occasions where he dribbled past multiple opponents. The midfielder also showed really good changes of direction while sprinting at full speed.
The Salvadoran midfielder is very composed under pressure, scanning well and making the right decision after this, taking a positive touch and helping the team forward. His low centre of gravity helps Maldonado to turn away quickly from opponents in midfield. Maldonado displayed good ball progression in this match with his ball carries. The youngster generally looked great on the ball, showing that he has a very good technique and that he can play at a higher level if used well. Maldonado has a great passing range, playing passes over long distances with ease and often being accurate with his long passes. Some of them failed to reach a teammate, but those were mainly from long passes into the box in the dying stages of the game. Maldonado was mostly positioned as single defensive midfielder in possession with Jocoro using a 3+1 build-up. The Salvadoran always seemed one step ahead of the opponent. For example, he received the ball in a congested area and did not hesitate to play a perfect over the top through pass to one of his teammates who was making a run.
Defensively, there is room for improvement for Henry Maldonado but this also has to do with him being played in a position that is not his strongest position. His body positioning in defensive duels when the opponent received the ball was average. He did not stay behind the ball but seemingly tried to get in front of his opponent, which was bad because his opponent would turn away from him every single time. This meant that his opponent was in possession in a lot of space because Maldonado’s positioning was not optimal. When FAS had settled possession in Jocoro’s half, Maldonado tended to stay too high up the pitch leaving a big gap between the defensive and midfield line. Maldonado also got drawn out wide a couple of times, leaving gaps in central areas leading to chances for FAS. The midfielder did occasionally read the game well, intercepting a couple of passes.
Rating – A1
I think that Henry Maldonado could also make that step to Ecuador or Colombia, but he should also be a target for top teams in Peru or Paraguay. He is the type of midfielder that would succeed for good clubs in South America outside of Argentina or Brazil. Maldonado has a good technique, good speed and he is comfortable on the ball. I think his best role would be a box-to-box role in a 4-3-3.
Elvis Claros
- Nationality: Salvadoran
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 31/08/2000
- Club: Jocoro FC
- Career: Fuerte SF, Jocoro FC
- Position: Centre Back
- Secondary position: Right-Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Elvis Claros played as Jocoro’s right central defender in the final of the play-offs against CD FAS. Standing at around 1.85 meters with a muscular build and big legs, Claros does not change directions quickly. He surprisingly did not show good strength in shoulder-to-shoulder duels, not being able to push his opponent off the ball and losing balance himself. Over longer distances, Claros also could not generate enough speed to win the race to the ball, making him pretty vulnerable defending in a middle-high defensive line. Another reason for this is that he generally did not react quickly enough, or not at all, to runners in behind allowing them all the time they needed to test Jocoro’s goalkeeper.
The defender was defending air for FAS’s 2-0, not covering the opponent’s attacker at all and only looking at the ball. The attacker could sneak away from his back and had a great finish. In 1v1 duels, Claros had a very wide stance, while also staying pretty low and leaning backwards. Staying low is not a bad thing, but having a very wide stance and leaning backwards restricts him from changing directions quickly and it makes him vulnerable in 1v1’s. When his opponent received the ball with his back towards the goal, Claros showed dominance and assertiveness to force the opponent backwards. Elvis Claros seemingly lost composure after FAS scored the 1-0, shooting from 40-45 meters distance.
The Salvadoran defender displayed decent on-the-ball qualities. He has a good passing technique and has the ability to play good passes into midfield. However, he sometimes lacked vision because his choice of passes were questionable, playing it into a teammate who was being put under a lot of pressure. His long passing technique was pretty good, but the execution was inconsistent. He sometimes swept too much under the ball, meaning that his passes lacked accuracy.
Rating – B2
I think Elvis Claros could become a strong player in the Salvadoran league and maybe play in a better league at his peak (age 27-32). He needs to work on his athleticism and defensive vision. Claros has the potential to become a decent ball-playing defender, but needs to keep developing this aspect over the next years.
Ronald Aparicio
- Nationality: Salvadoran
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 12/09/2001
- Club: Jocoro FC
- Career: Jocoro FC
- Position: Right Wing
- Secondary position: Left Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Ronald Aparicio played as a right midfielder or winger in the play-off final against CD FAS. The attacker was subbed off at half-time because (I think) of an injury. The Salvadoran youngster looked pretty tall at around 1.82 meters but he had a slim build. If he can develop his body strength and also the strength in his legs, Aparicio could have a really good frame for a winger. The attacker already uses his body really well in aerial duels, bumping into his opponent smartly, meaning that his opponent misses the ball and that Aparicio receives the ball in space. Ronald Aparicio showed good aggressiveness in defensive duels, but sometimes just went over the line making a foul. He did track back well though and worked really hard in the 45 minutes he played in.
The Salvadoran youngster displayed good speed over short and long distances. I did not get to assess his athleticism in this game, but given the fact that he mainly tried to sprint in straight lines it could be a point that needs improvement. Aparicio did really well to move into good spaces on the pitch. He moved into the channels really well, sneaking away from the full-back but needing to much time on the ball to make use of that space. Aparicio also made really good runs in behind, but his final ball was below average. He was also very wild in front of goal, not hitting the ball cleanly and rushing his shot.
Rating – B2
Overall, I think that Ronald Aparicio does have the potential to make something out of his career but there are a lot of if’s. He has the potential to have the perfect frame for a winger but needs to develop his body and leg strength. Aparicio shows great spatial awareness, making good runs, but needs to work on his composure and quality in the final third. He should also try to develop his athleticism more. If he can do that (so if he is coached well), I think he could become a good player in a few years. For now, he is not yet at the level to start for Jocoro though.