Squad called for Ecuador and Chile games

November 4th, 2011 | by: Victor | View Comments

“Chiqui” Arce completed the list of selected players for the upcoming pair of games against Ecuador and Chile.

Paraguay is scheduled to play against Ecuador in Asunción on November 11 at 19:00 ET and Chile in Santiago on Nov. 15 18:30 ET.

Paraguay has to send a clear message by winning both games. As far as I remember we usually win both of these games. The last time we played in Santiago we won 3-0.

I don’t see why the next game should be any different. I still think this team is better than the one that went to the World Cup. The new players in the midfield, Marcelo Estigarribia and Hernan Perez, really bring a lot of quality to one of our traditionally weakest sectors. Julio Dos Santos is also a very technically gifted player. He should be a good addition. My main concern is having a sufficiently creative midfield that will be able to feed Cardozo the balls he is used to putting away. We should be getting closer to that goal.

Roque Santacruz has requested to take a break from these games and Justo Villar is injured. The other notable absences are Jonathan Santana and Nestor Ortigoza. Their time in the Albirroja is probably over under “Chiqui” Arce. I’m not sure about Santana but I’m happy Ortigoza is finally out. I agree he is a creative player, but he is just too slow to play in Paraguay. He has given up several ball that ended up in opposing goals during the Copa America.

Call-Ups

Goalkeepers: Diego Barreto (Cerro Porteño) and Anthony Silva (Deportes Tolima, Colombia).

Defenders: Paulo Da Silva (Zaragoza, Spain), Darío Verón (Pumas UNAM, Mexico), Antolín Alcaraz (Wigan Athletic, England), Iván Piris (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Carlos Bonet (Libertad), Richard Ortiz (Olimpia) y Miguel Samudio (Libertad).

Midfielders: Cristian Riveros (Kayserispor, Turkey), Edgar Barreto (Palermo, Italy), Marcelo Estigarribia (Juventus, Italy), Hernán Pérez (Villarreal, Spain), Víctor Cáceres (Libertad), Sergio Aquino (Libertad), Julio Dos Santos (Cerro Porteño), Víctor Ayala (Libertad).

Strikers: Nelson Haedo (Rubín Kazán, Russia), Oscar Cardozo (Benfica, Portugal), Lucas Barrios (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Lorenzo Melgarejo (Pacos de Ferreira, Portugal), Luis Caballero (Olimpia), Pablo Zeballos (Olimpia), Edgar Benítez (Cerro Porteño).