Between 1998 and 2010 Paraguay made four consecutive World Cup appearances but have since missed out on the last two editions. However, they have made a bold, ambitious statement by appointing former Mexico manager Juan Carlos Osorio as the man to lead them forward. Though the Colombian had his fair share of doubters while at the helm of La Tri, Osorio can point to his achievements with Atletico Nacional and the Paraguayan public should be more receptive to his progressive ideas.
Osorio will be tasked with ushering through a new generation of promising Paraguayans and one such player who should be on his radar is flying full-back Santiago Arzamendia. The versatile 21-year-old, who can also play on the wing, has had a fantastic twelve months and shone in the Libertadores as Cerro Porteño reached the Round of 16. Given the importance of full backs to Osorio’s system, Arzamendia emergence could well be a timely one.
The Albiroja would be wise to act quickly too as Arzamendia was actually born across the border in the Argentinian province of Misiones. There have been no suggestions that the naturalised Paraguayan might be poached by the Albiceleste but, given their struggles at full back in recent years, it wouldn’t be a surprised if the AFA were to come calling.
On the books of Asuncion giants Cerro since the age of 13, Arzamendia progressed through the youth ranks alongside a talented cohort that included Sergio Diaz, Julio Villalba and Josue Colman. Arzamendia went on to make his debut in 2015 but it was only in late 2017 that he truly established himself as a regular, playing 13 games as Cerro won the Clausura.
Arzamendia has continued that form into 2018, playing another 21 league games, as well as another 8 in the Libertadores, quickly becoming one of best young players playing in Paraguay. So, as Paraguay enter an exciting new dawn, we analyse why Arzamendia could well be in line for a national team debut in the not-to-distant future.
CROSSING
What really sets Arzamendia apart from his peers is his fantastic crossing ability. Able to generate plenty of whip and pace with his wand of a left foot, Arzamendia is a centre forward’s dream. Whether it be from deeper positions or closer to the byline, the left back is regularly seen bending the ball in behind the defence and presenting teammates with golden opportunities.
Even when a cross is miscued such as the fluke goal against Palmeiras the delivery always asks questions of defenders and goalkeepers given the dangerous areas that Arzamendia regularly hits.
This crossing ability inevitably lends to Arzamendia being a good option from free kicks and corners, such as the examples below:
