Pumas defensive woes continue with Darío Verón

Few players will be remembered by Pumas fans with as much respect as him. Darío Verón has made a before and after in Pumas. There is no doubt about that. The central defender has been a symbol in the institution's greatest successes, acting as a leader, from Hugo Sánchez's bicampeonato to the most recent league title in 2011, under the command of Memo Vázquez, but the passage of time has mercilessly diminished the skills of the Paraguayan, who today is the most recurrent link in the goals that Universidad has conceded in the tournament.

Pumas has lacked defensive solidity, more than ever this semester, and despite Francisco Palencia's repetitive statements that "To avoid goals against, we all have to intervene." And in part he is right, but in the crucial moment, that is where Darío's presence has appeared, almost always as just another spectator, out of time and with a noticeable decline, especially physically, when the opponent is faster. Verón has directly intervened in 12 of the 17 goals that the club from Pedregal has received.

At 37 years old, he has played the possible 900 minutes and all 10 matches of the tournament; in the same way, he has negatively intervened in almost every game that Pumas has conceded a goal. It all started in Guadalajara, against Chivas, at the beginning of Clausura 2017. The rojiblancos' 2-0 began with a run down the right side, and in the center of the feline area, with Darío Verón as a spectator, inside the finishing zone, Alan Pulido scored the second goal.

It has been in the bad moments when Darío's inertia has been most noticeable. In the most recent five matches, the Paraguayan's decline has been evident. Against Monterrey (2-0), on matchday six, he was a factor once again. Jesús Gallardo allowed an extension from Yimmy Chará, which served Dorlan Pabón near Pumas' area; Darío Verón did not close in time and the Colombian opened the scoring; Pablo Jáquez allowed a bounce near his area, which Rogelio Funes Mori used to combine with Pabón; the Colombian opened up to Walter Ayoví, who quickly returned the ball and with the university captain nearby, scored the second goal.

A week later, against Tijuana, in CU, the outcome was the same. Darío Verón made a mistake with a pass that left Avilés Hurtado practically alone in front of the goal; the Colombian chipped the ball and scored the first goal; Víctor Malcorra received a pass on the edge of the area, looked up, positioned himself, and shot powerfully to beat Palacios; Alcoba and Darío closed in, but it was too late. For the third goal, Tijuana counterattacked through Guido Pizarro, Verón watched him, with distance between them, without thinking that before entering the area, the Argentine would shoot to score.

Eight days later, Querétaro received Pumas at La Corregidora and with Jaime Lozano on the home team's bench, the Gallos demonstrated their prowess. The game ended with a convincing 4-3, but in the process of the rout, once again, Darío showed his shortcomings. In the fourth goal, Abraham González made a mistake with a pass, which left Yerson Candelo facing an inert Verón, the Paraguayan backed off, did not press, and the former served Camilo Sanvezzo, who shot without any marking from Jáquez.

Against Santos, on matchday nine, despite Pumas' victory (2-1), Verón was once again involved in the conceded goal. Osvaldo Martínez played a ball to Djaniny Tavares with Darío's weak marking; Josecarlos Van Rankin allowed the African to burst in, and he swiftly defeated Alfredo Saldívar. The league was then halted due to the referee strike and forced rest, but not even the 15-day break improved the defensive deficiencies.

Against América (2-3), once again at the Olympic Stadium in CU, in the most important game of the tournament, his experience didn't count for much. Oribe Peralta, with little pressure from Verón, played a through pass to Silvio Romero, who outpaced Gallardo and scored the opening goal; in the third goal, América made a new counterattack, Abraham lost the ball to William Da Silva, who played to Cecilio Domínguez, and with Verón and Van Rankin in the background, scored the final goal.

Table (2)
THEY GET INVOLVED IN THE GOALS
NAME OCCASIONS
Darío Verón Ten times
Pablo Jáquez Four times
Josecarlos Van Rankin Four times
Alan Mendoza Three times
Abraham González Three times
Jesús Gallardo Two times
Gerardo Alcoba Two times
Nicolás Castillo One time

THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE GOALKEEPERS
NAME G MIN GA
Alejandro Palacios 6 468 10
Alfredo Saldívar 5 432 7

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