Gamero fires back at Lucas González: "Nacional sat back, we came to play"

The 1-1 draw between Millonarios and Atlético Nacional in Medellín, in matchday 12 of the BetPlay League, left more drama for the post-match press conference than the match itself had produced on the field. Lucas González, the verdolaga coach, walked away from the Atanasio convinced his team had done more than enough to take all three points and that the final score, in his view, did not reflect what had happened on the pitch.

The next day it was Alberto Gamero's turn to respond, and the Millonarios coach held nothing back. Asked directly about González's comments, the blue strategist explained that the issue wasn't his team's approach, but rather that Nacional simply set up better defensively.

"We played with Angulo, Estupiñán at center forward, Ruiz at number 10, with Chaverra as an attacking winger. We didn't put out defenders. Maybe Nacional defended better, playing with three marking midfielders and three center backs. That blocked our attacking game. We came to play and they blocked us," Gamero explained on Blog Deportivo.

He didn't stop there. The Millonarios coach went full force at his colleague's remarks and zeroed in on one very specific detail: how many times Nacional actually threatened the goal defended by Burrai.

I respect the opponent's comments but I want to know how many saves Burrai made, how many times Nacional actually got through. Their goal came from a dead ball, a corner kick. I could say that if Banguero marks Reyes, it's probably not a goal, because it came from a corner. That's soccer.Alberto Gamero

"Millonarios had to have something"

Gamero also wanted to make clear that his game plan was anything but conservative, quite the opposite. By his reading, it was the first time Nacional had set up against him with three marking midfielders, and Millonarios still chose to go toe to toe.

"I'm not one to say 'if only I had luck,' but here's something true: this was the first time Nacional played me with three marking midfielders, and still Millonarios went out to play it straight up. I had center backs on the bench and I didn't put them in because I didn't want to sit back. My substitutions were attacking ones, I went looking for the win. Millonarios had to have something to bring home a point," the coach concluded.

The back and forth between the two coaches makes clear that, beyond the scoreline, Medellín produced two completely opposite readings of what happened on the field. While González insists his team deserved more, Gamero maintains it was Nacional who sat back, and that his Millonarios side, far from playing it safe, pushed for the win right up to the final whistle.