Colo Colo starts the Apertura Tournament with a victory

The start of the Apertura Tournament was rewarding for Colo Colo. Against Unión Española, a team that is expected to compete at the top of the table, the albos won with good resources at Santa Laura. And among them, the presence of Humberto Suazo as right winger in the visiting attack, alongside Esteban Paredes, a nine, and Martín Rodríguez, as left wing, was noteworthy.

For Chupete, the position is not new. In the early stages of Marcelo Bielsa's process with the National Team, he had to move to the right to give way to Marcelo Salas. When the Matador exhausted his energy reserves and was substituted, the Colo Colo goal scorer again positioned himself in the center of the offensive line, after constantly moving back and forth in his area of action to meet the requirements of the former Chilean coach.

Without the same display as back then, but in good spirits to adapt his resources to the demands of playing on the wing, Suazo performed adequately against Unión Española. Since Colo Colo is rarely attacked, the forward did not have to constantly defend by following the left back, which allowed him to conserve his physical stamina to primarily focus on attacking.

On the right wing, José Luis Sierra fulfills Chupete's implicit requirement in his return home to feel comfortable: to avoid the intense and extensive contact zone in the center of the attack. In the previous cycle, Héctor Tapia gave rise to this demand, placing Suazo as a playmaker or in the role of a deep-lying forward. The result was not as expected, except in specific plays where he provided good assists for some Colo Colo goals, until an injury erased him from everything.

As a winger, the conflict arises with the respective left back and he can avoid it by quickly releasing the ball. That's how it went against Unión: with his back to the opponent's goal and close to the sideline, he always played with the teammate in front; and face to face with the defender, he constantly sought a partnership to run into space instead of engaging in direct confrontations.

With Chupete in that sector of the field, Colo Colo gains greatly in precision in cross-field passes from the penalty area, thanks to his powerful strike. The level of Gonzalo Fierro is also enhanced, as in the interaction with Suazo, the full-back can amplify his performance due to the great understanding of the game from his teammate, who has the right timing for the pass on the outside of the defender.

There is one aspect that Sierra should pay more attention to. This has to do with Chupete's defensive role. Nowadays, forwards who play on the sides are expected to take care of the respective full-back, even up to the goal line if necessary. Against Unión Española, Suazo only fulfilled this function in specific plays, forcing Jaime Valdés to come out and press on the side, a task in which the midfielder does not particularly excel.

Fierro will have the difficulty of handling double offensive presence on his side. As long as the opponent does not attack much, there will be no problems. Additionally, if the Colo Colo center-backs provide adequate cover, the issue currently has a solution.