February 3, 2025
The 2025 season in Paraguay was in its third week and today’s featured match bizarrely kicked off at 9am local time on a Monday morning, making it a convenient lunchtime watch for Fatbear in the UK !
It wasn’t clear why today’s match was being played at the unusual time of 9am on a Monday morning. Last season, all 2 de Mayo home matches were played at normal times for the Primera Division and a number were played under floodlights, but there was a suggestion that the floodlights at the Monumental Río Parapití were now out of commission ?
The first home game of the season against Club National also kicked off at 9am, but on a Saturday, but a Monday 9am start meant many supporters would not be able to attend due to work commitments. A further comment was that this was down to TV scheduling, but then how many TV viewers would there be on a Monday morning ? The match could have been scheduled for any time during the day at the weekend, it all seemed crazy !
Paraguay
Paraguay is a landlocked country in South America, surrounded by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast and Bolivia to the northwest
It has a population of 6.1 million off which over a third live in the capital Ascencion.
Paraguay National Team
Paraguay’s national team are currently 53rd in FIFA’s rankings, having achieved a best of 8th in 2001.
They have qualified for the World Cup Finals on 8 occasions with the best performance being in 2010 when after topping their group with a win over Slovakia ( 2-0 ) and draws with Italy ( 0-0 ) and New Zealand ( 0-0 ), they beat Japan on penalties after another 0-0 draw to reached the quarter finals, where they lost 0-1 to eventual winners Spain.
In 2002 they reached the last 16 but lost 0-1 to Germany, and in 1998 they lost 0-1 in extra time to hosts France, also in the last 16. In 2006 Paraguay lost a group game 0-1 to England and failed to get out of their group.
In the current qualification campaign Paraguay sit in 6th place, four points ahead of Boliva with 6 matches still to be played. The top 6 qualify automatically whilst 7th place goes into the inter-confederation play-offs. Therefore Paraguay look to have a decent chance to qualify for the finals for the first time since 2010, with home wins over Argentina ( 2-1 ) and Brazil ( 1-0 ) the standout results of their campaign so far.
Paraguay will qualify automatically for the 2030 tournament as they will host one match in the finals.
In the COPA America, Paraguay were the winners in 1979 when they beat Chile 3-1 on aggregate in the final and were runners-up in 2011, when they lost 0-3 to Uruguay.
There are three players from Paraguay currently playing in the English Premiership ; Brighton’s Julio Enciso ( 23 caps ), who is now on loan at Ipswich, Diego Gomez ( 12 caps ) is also at Brighton and signed from Inter Miami in January for a reported $15M, and Ramon Sosa ( 20 caps ) is at Nottingham Forest. Miguel Almiron ( 64 caps ) left Newcastle in the January transfer window to join MSL side Atlanta United. Defender Fabian Balbuena ( 45 caps ) was previously with West Ham before signing for Spartak Moscow.
Perhaps the most famous Paraguayan to play in the Premier league was Roque Santa Cruz ( 112 caps ) who played for Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City, and is Paraguay’s record goal scorer with 32 goals and third in the all-time list of appearances. Centre-back Antolin Alcaraz ( 23 caps ) played from Wigan and Everton.
Centre-back Paulo da Silva holds the record for the most appearances ( 148 caps ) in a career mostly played for Mexican side Toluca, but made 24 appearances for Sunderland between 2009 and 2011.
Ex-Velez Sarsfield, Zaragoza and Strasbourg keeper Jose Luis Chilavert was famous for scoring 46 goals in his career, including 8 in his 74 appearances for the national side.
Paraguay Primera Division
The Primera Division is the topflight for football in Paraguay but for sponsorship reasons is also known as the Copa de Primera TIGO-Visión Banco, or more simply Copa de Primera.
Like many countries in South and Central America, Paraguay utilises the Apertura and Clausura format. Twelve sides play home and away fixtures in both competitions, which produce two champions, but unlike some other countries, there is no final between the Apertura and Clausura winners to determine an overall champion. An aggregate table for the two campaigns is produced to determine the qualifiers for South American club competitions. The two champions enter the group stages of the COPA Libertadores, the next best placed side goes into the second round of the COPA Libertadores and the best performance in the COPA Paraguay of teams not already qualified goes into the COPA Libertadores first round. The next best four sides qualify for the COPA Sudamericana first stage.
Relegation is determined at the end of the season by computing an average of the number of points earned per game over the past three seasons. The two teams with the lowest average are relegated to the second division.
There have been 131 champions and all but two have come from the capital. Olimpia have 47 titles, followed by Cerro Porteno ( 34 ), Libertad ( 25 ), Guarani ( 11 ), Nacional ( 9 ) and Sol de America ( 2 ). The outlier is Sportivo Luqueno from the city of Luque, which is part of the Gran Ascencion metropolitan area and has a population of 260,000, who won in 1951 and 1953.
By winning the 2024 Clausura, Olimpia are the defending champions and are joined by 7 other sides from central Ascension in the 2025 competition. Three more sides are based in the Gran Ascencion area, Tembetary from Villa Elisa, Sprtivo Ameliano from Villeta and Sportivo Luque. Two sides come from the provinces, namely General Caballero JLM from Juan León Mallorquín in the east of the country and today’s home side.
Club Sportivo 2 de Mayo
CS 2 de Mayo are located in Pedro Juan Caballero in the northeast of the county, close to the border with Brazil, and has a population of just under 80,000
Home is the 25,000 capacity Monumental Río Parapití which has a grass pitch and was one of the venues for the 1999 Copa América hosted by Paraguay. The name of the stadium refers to the conquest of the territories of Chaco soil during the Chaco War of 1932 to 1936 with Bolivia, up to the banks of the Parapití River, by the Infantry Regiment No. 1 "2 de Mayo". The football club is named in honor of the regiment.
The team are also known as The Northern Roosters.
2 de Mayo were promoted to the Primera Division for the 2024 season, where they achieved an overall 5th place finish to qualify for the COPA Sudamericana, where they have been drawn to play at Guarani in a single-leg tie in March. Brahian Ayala scored 12 goals over the two competitions whilst striker Rodrigo Ruiz Diaz scored 7 goals in the Clausura and has since signed for Russian side Terek Grozny for a reported fee of €100K. His brother, Fernando Ruiz Diaz, is now the side’s centre forward.
Argentinian midfielder Franco Aragon had previously played for Sol de America and Sportivo Luqueno in the Primera division whilst fellow Argentine midfielder Fabricio Brener had played in Malta and Greece as well as Belgrano in home country. Right back Juan Feliu is from Argentina, but his football experience had been in Paraguay with Olimpia.
2 de Mayo started the season with a 0-0 draw at home to Club Nacional, playing nearly 60 minutes with 10 men, but won their second match, 2-0 at newly promoted Deportivo Recoleta with headers in the last 15 minutes from centre back Pedro Sosa and substitute Sergio Bareiro
Club Guarani
Guarani are the indigenous people of Paraguay and surrounding areas in Bolivia and Brazil.
Club Guarani were founded in 1903 and are the second oldest club and one of the most successful teams in the country, and they proudly have never been relegated. The last of their 11 titles was the 2016 Clausura.
Home is the 8,000 capacity Estadio Rogelio Livieres in the Pinoza barrio of Ascencion and Guarani’s traditional colours are yellow and black strips with black shorts,
Last season they were 4th in the overall table, having finished 2nd in the Clausura. However, they had drawn 21 matches out of 44 in the combined campaign.
The foreign players in their current squad were either Argentinian or Uruguayan. Argentine keeper Gaspar Servio had played for Banfield and Rosario Central back home, midfield Agustin Manzur started at Godoy Cruz but was now on loan from second tier Deportivo Maipu, whilst midfielder Nicolas Barrientos played in lower leagues in Argentina before joining Guarani. Uruguayan defensive midfielder Bruno Piñatares had a short spell with Australian side Western Sydney Wanderers as well as playing for Barcelona in Ecuador.
Experienced midfielder William Mendieta ( 34 caps ) joined in pre-season from Libertad, having also played for Brazilian side Palmeiras and Mexicans Juarez in his long career whilst Fernando Fernandez rejoined the club from Cerro Porteno, having also played in Colombia for America de Cali and in Mexico for Tigres UNAL and Atlante. He needed one more goal for 150 in his career.
Defender Mario Lopez had played in Chile for Santiago Wanderers and Argentina for Quilmes whilst left back Alexis Cantero was part of the Paraguay under 23 squad at the 2024 Paris Olympics and was their most valuable player according to Transfermrkt at €900K. Centre-back Fernando Roman was also part of the Olympic squad
Guarani were top of this season’s table after the opening two rounds, winning 1-0 at champions Olimpia thanks to goal after 11 seconds from full back Daniel Perez but hit the woodwork twice and could have won by a greater margin, and then beat General Caballero JLM at home 2-1 with Mendieta and Fernandez on the scoresheet.
Guarani’s coach was ex-Gremio, Palmeiras and Gamba Osaka defender Franciso Arce ( 61 caps ), who played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cup Finals, scoring against South Africa in 2002.
Previous Meetings
Guarani had a clear edge in last season’s encounters, winning both meetings in last season's Apertura, winning 3-2 at home and 1-0 away and also won in Pedro Juan Caballero in the Clausura ( 1-0 ) but were held to a 0-0 draw at home.
Matchday Information
The distance from Ascencion to Pedro Juan Caballero is 470km, which would take nearly 7 hours by road. There are no scheduled flights from Ascencion to Pedro Juan Caballero.
The weather at the 9am kick-off ( noon UK time ) was sunny and 27 degrees.
Tickets for the match were 20,000 Paraguayan Guarani ( £2 ) although under 12s entered for free.
Bet365, who live streamed the match, couldn’t separate the two sides, with both at 8/5. The draw was 21/10
2 de Mayo were in their usual blue and white hooped shirts with white shorts but the red numbers on the back of their shirts were hard to read, although they also had small numbers on their shorts. Guarani were also in their normal kit of yellow and black stripped shirts, which black shirts and socks.
2 de Mayo made two changes to the team that started at Deportivo Recoleta with Feliu and Ronald Cornet coming in for Rene Rodriguez and Orlando Colman. Rodriguez was not in the matchday squad, perhaps he couldn’t get up in time for the early kick-off !
Guarani made one change, with Roman replacing Gustavo Vargas in their back four.
Match Report
The kick-off was delayed for eight minutes as there appeared to be a problem with the officials’ communication equipment. A long line of soldiers were visible along one side of the pitch, which seemed out of proportion for the paltry crowd in attendance for the start of the match, but spectators continued to trickle into the stadium during the first half.
The home side started brightly with a ball flashing across the face of the Guarani goal in the first minute, followed a minute later by a low cross from the right by Feliu being cleared on the 6 yard line.
In the 5th minute a corner was headed just wide by Sergio Sanabria with Ruiz Diaz sliding in at the far post making a slight contact with the keeper, who collapsed to the floor, and Ruiz Diaz was shown the first yellow card of the game.
Little was seen of Guarani as an attacking force, although an aimless long ball out of defence gave 2 de Mayo keeper Carlos Servin his first touch in the 8th minute.
The card count was levelled up in the 11th minute when Cantero pulled down Mathias Martinez as he tried to escape down right wing. The freekick from Sanabia was straight at keeper Servio, who held at his near post.
It was all 2 de Mayo and Martinez showed good skill to control and pass for Feliu to run into the visitor’s area, but Mario Lopez was alert and made the interception. Shortly after Roman was forced to put the ball out for a throw in after getting to a long ball down the left-hand channel ahead of Aragon.
The Northern Roosters won another corner from down the left, but the keeper flapped under pressure at the in-swinging delivery but was deemed to have been impeded and a free-kick was awarded.
Nice interplay between the home forwards gave Ruiz Diaz some space but the shot from tight angle on the left drifted across the face of the goal and well wide.
2 de Mayo continued to press for the opening goal and from a ball down the left channel, Cesar Castro slid to keep the ball in play and cross in the same movement, but a Guarani defender put the ball out for another corner. This time Servio’s punch away under pressure was effective.
With 24 minutes played a good move down right saw Martinez release Feliu but the low ball across the 6-yard box was hoofed away left footed by Roman.
Out of the blue, two minutes later Guarani had their first serious attack. Mendieta’s fierce strike was blocked by Sosa’s head and the follow up from Manzur was deflected wide for a corner.
A water break was taken after 27 minutes and after play resumed, Martinez’s attempt to wriggle past two markers was illegally halted. The free kick into Guarani area was overhit but although Sosa managed to head back across the goalmouth, Servio made a comfortable catch.
Guarani were still having to soak up the pressure and another corner from the left was headed away at the near post. Another tidy move saw Feliu in space to cross from the right wing, and after two lay-offs a shot from just inside the penalty area was scuffed and bounced well wide.
2 de Mayo then had a 2 on 1 break but the return ball from Aragon to Ruiz Diaz was poor, over hit and too high, and the chance had gone.
Despite the dominance of the home side, there was very little noise from the crowd and the encouragement from the benches could clearly be heard on the audio.
With two minutes to go before half-time Sanabia was pushed by Mendieta and made the most of it to win the free kick. The set-piece was again overhit and although the ball was kept in play, offside was given.
As the game moved into the second minute of added time, Guarani won a free kick midway inside the 2 de Mayo half. Fernandez anticipated the ball forward from Manzur and escaped Ulises Coronel to athletically on the stretch, flick the ball with his right foot past the wrong footed keeper, who reacted a little slowly. The ball rolled into the far corner and against run of play, Guarani had taken the lead and the 20 or so away fans celebrated. Fernandez had his 150th career goal and it was 0-1 after 45+2 minutes.
There was barely time for the restart so Guarani headed to the dressing room with a scarcely deserved lead. The home side had dominated the midfield but had failed to create any decent chances against a resolute Guarani defence.
The Northern Roosters started the second period strongly and Martinez immediately met a cross from the right wing, but his header from around 14 yards was a comfortable diving save for Servio.
Guarani centre-back Roman then hauled down Cornet on left but after Servio punched away the free kick, the follow-up shot from Sanabria from 20 yards was high and wide.
However, the home side were stunned again five minutes later. There didn’t seem to be any obvious danger when a cross from Manzur was partly cleared by Fernando Diaz, but Fernandez controlled the bouncing ball on his chest and then produced a scissor kick from 14 yards which bounced inside the post. Another smash and grab raid but it was 0-2 with 52 minutes on the clock.
Guarani attacked again two minutes later, and Sosa needed to put out a low cross from the left for a corner. Manzur’s corner was punched high in the air by Servin, who then rose the highest to catch at second attempt.
2 de Mayo moved quickly down the left but Castro’s cross was headed narrowly wide of the near post by the diving Ruiz Diaz. That was to be the striker’s last contribution as he was one of the four substitutions made in the 56th minute.
Although Sanabria was brought down as he ran from the half-way line and Alcides Benitez entered the referee’s notebook, the changes seemed to have had an adverse effect on 2 de Mayo as Guarani had a 3 on 2 break but the final pass across edge of area was cut out by Diaz.
Then, in the 67th minute a flowing move by Guarani gave Mendieta a sight of goal but his first time effort from just inside the area was pushed past post by for a corner by Servin. The corner was not defended well, and the ball flew across the 6-yard box as the keeper and defenders looked at each other, but Fernandez was unable to apply a touch, and the ball went out for a goal kick.
Barrientos then was putting to space on the left, but his goal bound effort from a narrow angle was saved by Servin, who gathered at the second attempt.
A second water break was taken after 72 minutes, and the home side produced a neat move as Castro played a ball behind the Guarani right-back for Sanabria to pull back from the by-line but the 2 de Mayo attacker took too long to pull trigger and the shot was blocked.
Guarani saw out the closing stages with relative ease. A long goal kick from Servio was headed off for a corner by Sosa under pressure from Fernandez. The visitors then received two yellow cards in less than a minute. First, Fernandez was judged to be taking too long to leave field when substituted, and then his replacement, Richard Torales, was shown a yellow for wrestling with a defender before the corner could be taken, so saw yellow before play had resumed following his entrance to the field of play !
The last action saw Servio drop a cross in the 93rd minute when challenged, but a free kick was given in his favour.
At the final whistle Guarani walked away with the three points that kept them at the top of the table. They hadn’t played particularly well, but two pieces of predatory finishing from Fernandez and a strong, disciplined defensive performance was enough. 2 de Mayo had played a lot of nice football but lacked a cutting edge and were now 7th in the league table.
Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tjox9q2zUk
CS 2 de Mayo : Servin - Feliu, Sosa, Diaz, Castro, Rodriguez – Cornet ( Colman ), Sanabria, Coronel ( Britez ), Aragon ( Bareiro ) – Martinez ( Costa ), Ruiz Diaz ( Acosta )
Club Guarani : Servio – Perez, Roman, Lopez, Cantero ( Ibarrola ) – Benitez ( Rolon ), Manzur, Martinez, Barrientos ( Maidana ) – Mendieta ( Maiz ), Fernandez ( Torales )
No comments:
Post a Comment