Far from the group and in silence
Far from the group and in silence, Ray Sandoval has put on headphones as enormous as red to wait for the flight that will take him back to Lima. Hours before, Sporting Cristal had drawn with Melgar in Arequipa by the first final of the Descentralizado 2016. It was times of Mariano Soso in charge and with Sandoval as a supporting actor, outside the starting eleven that won the national championship last year. He seemed annoyed, and that apparent discomfort worsened when a clueless reporter mistook him for Pedro Aquino for an interview. Sandoval didn't participate in the jokes or talk to his teammates. Six months later, everyone wants to embrace him.
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With some history of indiscipline as a youth in Sporting, Sandoval received the support of Mariano Soso, who first took him to Real Garcilaso and then brought him back to Sporting Cristal. With an intermittent 2016, 2017 appeared to be the year of consolidation for Ray. Chemo del Solar was the coach and what seemed to become a romance with goals became an accidental and premature rupture. The illusion of this young forward seemed to be more ephemeral than a teenage summer love.
The absence in a practice would have exhausted Del Solar's patience, who excluded him from the first team. "It was purely disciplinary measures," explained Chemo in a press conference. And that's how Sandoval was forced to work with the reserve team under the watchful eye of Pablo Zegarra. Yes, it is true that many now want to embrace Ray in La Florida, but the first one to do it was Zegarra. The former midfielder from the 90s didn't hesitate to reach out when Sandoval was in the corner of the punished, he asked him to tie his boots properly and get playing.
It is true that Chemo gave him another opportunity when the team had more urgencies than joys. It was already difficult. They say in Rimac that he argued almost to the point of fighting with Jorge Cazulo, also that his annoyance with Del Solar was mainly because of making his sanction public. He never exploded his game until Zegarra arrived as interim coach.
Ray has scored five goals in the Zegarra era. He has already embraced celebrations with Cazulo himself and has even dared to jump the fences of the Gallardo on Sunday to celebrate with the fans. From journalism, it is almost impossible to report a plot against a coach (such as Del Solar), unless the same player declares, "Yes, we set him up." Any other exercise of speculation is just that, a nod to street rumors. With Sandoval, what we can analyze is commitment and dedication to a professional (Zegarra) who welcomed him in his most difficult hour.
"Pep is a philosopher of football, while Mourinho makes you kill for him," said Zlatan Ibrahimovic a few years ago. Other players could declare the opposite, defending Guardiola and criticizing 'Mou'. Everything depends on each situation, each message, and each player. The chemistry between Zegarra and Sandoval is evident and Cristal is the winner with that. In football, everything always turns around. If Sandoval continues his goal streak against Alianza or 'U', he could make the beer leaders not look for anyone else. Sandoval has in his feet the great opportunity for the man who prevented him from leaving Rimac to stay as well.
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