Atlético Nacional suffered a severe blow by being left out of the Copa Libertadoresafter losing the series against Olimpia of Paraguay, with a global of 4-2.
It is a failure for a club that made a large investment, that has one of the most powerful payrolls in Colombian football, and that on paper was more than its rival in the series. These, the reasons for its removal.
1. Without the caste for the Cup
Nacional did not bring out its hierarchy. The team was left with no plan to fight Olympia. In Asunción he missed the goals. And he paid dearly. In Medellin he played without clarity, as if he were not Nacional, as if the rival had more payroll, Nacional could not beat that rival, he did not find the goal formula, and that he has a voracious attack, full of figures. Those players, stellar for the local environment, played without the ‘clothes’ that are needed for the international tournament. Nacional had more equipment, but did not show it. He was seen without confidence. With pressure. They played the most important game very badly.
2. In debt the figures
They did not shine, and the but thing is that they were far from the level that was expected. Jarlan Barrera was miles away from his best performance. Duque was not the scorer that he usually is. Pabón hardly showed sparks. And Gio Moreno is still far from his form and his level. He didn’t even play in the second leg. Nacional has high-class players, very talented, but as a team for now they don’t work. The player who pushed the team was missing, who lifted it up in the worst moments, who guided it. Andrade tried to be, he scored a goal and almost did the other. That was it.
3. The Nightmare of the Arch
It is evident that this is a structural error of Atlético Nacional. In January the board decided that they did not need a goalkeeper, and that Quintana already had problems from the previous semester. The coaching staff decided that they could fight with those they had in the Copa Libertadores. It was clear that it could not. Kevin Mier missed Olimpia’s goal, the goal that buried the purslane team. Quintana failed in the League, once again. The two goalkeepers, young and talented, did not have the profile for the tournament. national had to sign a goalkeeper to give him guarantees. This was not the time to place bets.
4. The exit of the DT
Another false step. They took out DT Alejandro Restrepo a few hours before the crucial match against Olimpia. The fans asked for him to leave, but it happened at the least opportune moment, when the return key was being prepared. The team was hit by that decision, in the midst of the crisis, rumors of the new coach, with Hernán Darío Herrera sacrificed to guide the team as interim. Removing Restrepo at that time was a risky decision, and they lost it.
In free fall
Atlético Nacional has failed in its recent bets. At the time they gave Restrepo the job, and it didn’t work out. The signings have not given the performance expected of them. This new elimination adds to the recent missteps of the club, which has lost stability in its presidency and in its technical direction. Last year they won a Colombia Cup, little when you take into account that the last league they conquered was in 2017. In the Libertadores, last year they were last in their group.
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