Note

Intensity is the word to understand what the new coach of León demands from his players. Torrente seeks to be active in attack and propose, but without decomposing the team; this is explained by Efraín, Chispa Velarde.

"He will ask for a game stamp and a style of play from each of the players, and what he has mentioned is that five players should be attacking and five should be defending very well depending on the circumstances; but he wants us to go on the attack and play with a lot of intensity and mark very well," explained the player.

And the change of coach in León came accompanied by a shake-up and the circumstances that the green team is experiencing -last place overall, with only four points- is no small matter. Although they have had few days of work, according to the emerald footballer, on Saturday we will be able to see some of the intense work that Lucho Torrente asks for.

"Whenever there is a change of coach and especially due to the circumstances we are going through, it is a shake-up for everyone, because we all have to be committed to the institution that we owe, to the fans and we have to work in the best way in every sense. On Saturday you can already perceive a situation, both from us and from the coaching staff; but it is still too early for what the Coach wants," he said.

"Focusing on ourselves"

Without failing to warn that Atlas will be a tough opponent for the greens. For Chispa Velarde, the key point to improve next weekend lies more in the importance of regaining confidence.

"We have to focus on ourselves, we have players of great quality who, if the team regains confidence, will be a team with a very important football potential; we cannot skimp on efforts to achieve a good result and we hope for a good outcome," he said.

Recovered from his injury

The left-back of the greens has not had the best luck in the present Apertura 2016, since he has gone from playing every minute to playing just over half of the possible minutes -355 out of 630 possible, all due to a tear.

"I come from an injury -a tear in the right abductor-. In the match against Santos, I felt very well, without any discomfort; after that match, I had some discomfort that has not allowed me to train fully last week; hopefully this week I will be 100% for whatever the Coach says," he explained.

For Efraín Velarde, it is clear that his injury, like those of his teammates, is a consequence of a poor preseason; although he affirms that it is time to turn the page and focus on adapting to Torrente's coaching style.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have the best preseason, the injuries have taken a toll on some of the team members, which has not allowed us to train in the best way; with this coaching staff, we have to adapt to what he wants and truly be mentally prepared for what is required," he concluded.

Statistics

355 out of 360 minutes have been played in the tournament

5 appearances

Total for Apertura 2016

Fact

Efraín Velarde's injury was a one-centimeter tear in the right abductor. Although he is already available, he claims to have felt some discomfort.

Quotes:

What the Coach asked us primarily is intensity, not to hold back anything on the field. And the style of play he wants will gradually be shown through training sessions and matches; he wants it to be an offensive team, but we have to be careful with our lines

The points tell us that it is in our hands to achieve what was planned at the beginning of the tournament, we have let many opportunities slip away

It is too early to see what Javier Torrente wants; but he does ask for offensive players, with a lot of intensity; but it also depends on the opponent and the player you are marking; and how each match unfolds

Efraín Velarde, player of León.