In the last 12 minutes he solved the Royal Zaragoza the first match in Marbella against Al Shabab of Saudi First Division. Zaragoza lost 1-0 after a goal early in the second half and after being superior and missing several clear goals and when everything seemed to be heading for further disappointment, the latest reaction came. It was a useful rehearsal for the coaching staff against a rival of a certain rank, which required dedication and an almost competitive game, with entrances full of sparks.
The first half can be summed up easily: the Zaragoza team did almost everything well… except for the goal. They dominated those of Carcedo at one of the leading teams in the Saudi league, they had a lot more ball and realized those automatisms that the coach tries to establish in the brains of his players, that is to say the incursions on the wings – especially from the side -, the constant crosses looking for shots from three or four forwards, the constant pressure when it is the rival who governs the ball or the quick combinations in the small spaces of the midfield. But the climax was still missing. The evil to be repaired. The stain of the last two seasons has taken root and there is no way to fix it.
Chances were created in front of South Korea international Seun Guy’s goal, but no one was able to put it in the net. The same song from last biennium. Under normal conditions of success, the victory could have been equalized in just 10 minutes, at the start of the match. Because chavarria he shot outside in the 5th minute and the goalkeeper hastily dismissed him; Puche insisted from the front in the 9th and was moved away from one meter; and Bermejo, in the 11th minute, had the goal at will after a low pass behind in the area of Gamezbut his timid shot slammed into the doll, understand the defense Krychowiakof Seville.
Al Shabab Riad existed in attack relatively little. Banega was running the helm in slow motion and his colleagues were still idling. Until minute 23 they did not step on the area of Cristian Álvarez reappearing -good news- and it was Al Abid who fired a free kick, in a fetid thread that the Argentine stopped well below. The game, played in a hot and humid environment, rotten for a long time. With many fouls and protests from the Arabs, some earning a red card in a competitive game. The Brazilian Carlos Junior managed to put the 1-0 in the 40but his shot in the box, only against the goalkeeper after a pass into the space of Banega, he was stopped twice by Cristian in a stoppage. Both teams eagerly called for the break, tired and somewhat disenchanted with their little success when they approached rival areas.
The first period ended with what seemed a clean penalty from Al Tambakti to Simeone, a charge in the 42 that the referee did not see as a maximum sentence. The young signing from Zaragoza, attacking for the first time, put up a good fight but almost nothing ended well. It’s hard to play in ‘9’ in this team, some of his predecessors know it. Carcedo’s goal and defense smelled like a choke. It’s been a habit lately. And in midfield, Grau was not well, and frank there vada They floated too much in the attack, with shots missing from the youth team, who don’t have a well-tuned point of view. Above, the Puche fight was the best. Bermejo, on the right, very discreet.
In the second part, Carcedo renewed the eleven to 8 positions. it just remains to Jair, Bermejo and Simeone. The Saudis barely made two adjustments. 10 minutes of nothing passed until, at minute 56, Bermejo missed a free header in the small area on a good cross from sweet bread. The wasp ’10’ did not put the head well. The short turns that Carcedo wants don’t go well. And from one of them came a counter-attack by the Asians which ended in a 1-0, in a quick one-on-one by the Argentinian Guanca behind the backs of the central defenders which ended by a perfect Vaseline on the release of Rebollo. Serious error in all lines that penalized.
The next 45 seconds were more blurred by Zaragoza. The team did worse. After the Arab goal, there was that classic reaction of team pride that’s fitting. azon he missed a goal in the box which was small in the 66th minute in the center of the newcomer Larrazabal, the shot is blocked by the opposing goalkeeper. And at the exit of the consequent bend, Eugene he hit a perfect ball – it’s true – and Lluis Lopez directed towards the net, but a save came with a hand of Son Gyu which prevented the draw. A pain. In the 72nd, another clear chance presented itself, scored by Larrazabal on an empty goal after a false start from the goalkeeper above against Azón. The Basque’s shot went to heaven, badly. Haste began to stun Carcedo’s men. They wanted but they couldn’t.
Al Shabab, completely renovated after match time, suffered greatly from the changes. And Zaragoza invented everything in the home straight. And Jair was able to take advantage of this last rush in the 78th minute on the second game after a corner. He put the left in a dead ball in the box and overcame the goalkeeper. The 1-1 was much fairer as we saw all afternoon. Never a defeat for Zaragoza. Immediately came the crystalline option for victory, Well, Azón went hand in hand against the keeper in 81. But his strike, as in Tarragona, went to the right post. It was the warning that the real scorer of this team was going to turn the tide in the little that remained of the game.
It was in 85, after a good Mollejo center, with the toe going like a howitzer to the first post. Things were already in place. The best of the stake won. And, incidentally, the doubts that Real Zaragoza had once again shown in their blindness to goal for 78 long minutes have dissipated. Azón has sweetened it all up, again. With the help of an insistent Mollejo and the final reactivation of Eugeni, of Molina as midfielder, of an incisive Nieto on his wing… The team, as in Lleida and Tarragona, at least showed that ‘she had a spirit of reaction and was able to overcome an unfavorable initial score.
data sheet
Al Shabab Riad FC: Seung Gyu; Al Saqoor (Al Ghamdi, 63), Al Tambakti (Al Sharari, 46), Krychowiak (Al Dawsari, 63), Al Harbi (Al Sibyani, 63); Al Monassar (N’Diaye, 63 years old), Banega (Mohamed, 63 years old), Al Abid (Abdallah, 63 years old); Carlos Junior (Al Shammary, 63), Bahbri (Al Alammar, 46); and Guanca (Abdou, 63).
Royal Zaragoza: Cristian Alvarez (Rebollo, 46); Gámez (Luna, 46), Frances (Lluís López, 46), Jair, Chavarría (Nieto, 46); Grau (Petrovic, 46), Francho (Molina, 46), Vada (Eugeni, 46); Bermejo (Larrazabal, 63), Puche (Mollejo, 46); and Simeone (Azon, 63).
Arbitrator: Morales Moreno (Andalusian). He reprimanded Chavarría (22), Lluís López (80) and Molina (81).
Goals: 1-0, min. 59: Guanca. 1-1 mins. 78: Jair. 1-2 mins. 85: Azon.
Case : Hot afternoon at the Marbella Football Center, with 30 degrees, a light breeze and humidity above 68%. The lawn was in exceptional condition. Real Zaragoza disguised as a wasp, black and yellow. It was played behind closed doors for the public, only a few relatives attended the clash. Gustavo Poyet, former Zaragoza player and Greece coach, was in the gallery.