Pineda doesn’t buy the hype

It sounds like Gozalo Pineda is listening to the right people. Pineda echoed the sentiments of his coach, Ricardo La Volpe in saying that qualifying for the 2nd round is not a guarantee.

“We cannot get overconfident or underestimate our opponents. The fans and the media have said it’s a done deal making it to the knockouts, but it’s not going to be like that at all. We have to do our talking on the pitch.” Just a reminder that I am not one of those who is making reservations for the 2nd round. I fully expect every team to be more than a handful.

This, combined with the Ricardo La Volpe’s constant reminders of recent tournament underdogs making noise, is good sign that the players may have their “head one with ball” during the tournament. “These are the imagess that my team and I have to have. We may not be one of the favorites because we are not an established power, but we could be that dark horse that has to fight for everything.”