Rayo Vallecano 2-Athletic Club Bilbao 0: Lightning Strikes Twice in the Copa del Rey

By: Paul | October 29th, 2009

vallecanoarmando

Has poor form gotten to the heads of Athletic’s players??? I expected that, after a recent rut in the league, this would be the game that Los Leones would be able to pull through and build some pre-Halloween confidence. This should have been the game that the team went into, ready to prove themselves, and came out victorious- whether it was by one goal or ten. Hell, the least that we should have been able to pull out of this was a draw, that way the next leg would be at home which should make things even easier. What I saw yesterday reminded me of the pre-season friendlies, and that scares me.

Before I continue my bickering, I will point out one bright spot from the match- for the first time in a while, there wasn’t excessive fouling on the part of Athletic. Maybe it was because they realized (or at least thought) that fouling wouldn’t be necessary to win the game. Or maybe it was just because Ustaritz wasn’t in the lineup. Whatever it was, this is one good thing I saw.

However, the bad far outweighs the good.

First point worth mentioning was the debut of Iñigo Pérez. Normally I wouldn’t be opposed to this, but when the team is on a poor run of form wouldn’t it make sense to start a regular or at least a bench player, that way they can hopefully get in some practice against weaker opposition? Pérez has had largely unimpressive statistics for Athletic’s reserve team and I really don’t see him breaking into the first team any time in the forseeable future, so why Caparros made this decision is beyond me. Caparros did sub him out in the 54th minute, but it was for Toquero- who I still don’t rate. I personally would have much preferred to see Gabilondo get the start on the left side, then see Pérez subbed in if he did well enough.

Another problem I had with Capparos’ lineup was the exclusion of some players due to “fitness issues”: Yeste, de Marcos, Ustaritz, and De Cerio. I’m glad that Ustaritz didn’t play, because he probably would have found a way to get a red card and/or give up a penalty, but where was Yeste? Yeste was another option on the left side of the midfield that Caparros could have started instead of Pérez. I also believe this would have been a good time to give de Cerio an appearance. I understand he is coming off of a long injury layoff and may still not be at his best, but when you’re starting Pérez you aren’t exactly starting the best players available, are you? I don’t necessarily believe he should have had the start, but giving him a few minutes in the second half to warm up and test himself in competitive play with his new teammates may have been a good decision- I’m pretty sure he played in some pre-season friendlies and looked relatively fit back then. I’m not saying Athletic needed to start the best XI available, but there are some inclusions that could have been made to the squad that could have made an impact, if only as subs.
vallecano9

The biggest problem I had, however, was not with Caparros, it was with Athletic’s players. I did not see official statistics from the match but was able to watch most of the action and my impression was that Athletic were the better team. At one point in particular (sometime about midway through second half, can’t remember the exact minute) there was a beautiful cross delivered into the box to Etxeberria, he was open with no defenders close enough to catch him. In fact, the only players close to him were two other Athletic players. Etxeberria takes the ball at his feet and I remember thinking “alright, at least my boys will be getting one back!” I sat, fists clenched, ready to stand and cheer. Exteberria took his shot and overpowered it away from the goal. That was basically the story of the game, good chances that were utterly exploited. It makes me question the team’s current composure. Hopefully they aren’t low on confidence, I would rather it be that they were trying too hard. Regardless of why this kept happening, these guys are professionals and should play like it.

That’s about it. To me, Athletic looked like the better team but flubbed their chances. Vallecano seemed to have fewer, but were able to make the most of them, and should be commended for that.
vallecanolineups

Athletic will be playing Atlético Madrid on Halloween at 4pm Eastern time. If I am not busy at that time, be on the lookout for a liveblog. Atlético have looked piss-poor this season, but did in their Copa match what Athletic should have done and grabbed a win. The game will be at home, so hopefully we’ll be safe there.

I wouldn’t be surprised if nowhere was safe, though…