Universitario vs. César Vallejo: Who will replace Rodrigo Ureña against the 'poets'?

Universitario will have an important absence

One of the significant absences that Universitario de Deportes will have for the match against César Vallejo is midfielder Rodrigo Ureña, who in a fit of rage committed a brutal foul against Santiago Arias against Alianza Atlético and received his first red card with the cream shirt.

During the week, there was much speculation about who Jorge Fossati would use in that defensive midfielder position to replace the Chilean against the 'poeta' squad, but the Uruguayan strategist already has his man defined to get back on the path of victory and continue fighting for the Torneo Apertura 2023.

The chosen one to protect the defensive order from the center of the field will be Alfonso Barco, who won the battle to enter the starting eleven over Jorge Murrugarra. This was announced by journalist Gustavo Peralta on his social networks.

Unlike Rodrigo Ureña, 'Fonchi' is a very technical footballer, and he has shown this since his debut at Universidad San Martín. The '4' for Universitario is not afraid of the ball when he has it at his feet and always looks for the safe pass, as well as offering himself as an option both in defense and to create scoring chances. He also has good aerial play and long-range shooting, although he has not dared to do it with the 'U' so far.

However, the weakest point of Barco is his marking, a characteristic that Ureña excels at (in addition to game organization) and Murrugarra. He is not a player who constantly wins individual duels, but Fossati prefers to use him for his good ball touch to generate attacking options and control the match with the ball at his feet.

This will be Alfonso Barco's first start in 2023. During the season, he has played 197 minutes in 11 matches between Liga 1 (161') and Copa Sudamericana (36'), without yet appearing as a goal scorer or playmaker.