Lucas González is weighing a different starting lineup for Atlético Nacional against Fortaleza on Sunday, and the changes would reach into every line of the team. The coach, after four official matches and several friendly matches in charge, is close to deciding who fits the side he wants to build at El Campín.
That search matters now because Atlético Nacional plays Fortaleza at 2:00 p. m. on Sunday, and González is no longer sorting through a short list of options. He has already seen most of the squad in both official and friendly matches, which gives him enough evidence to judge who has given the best response under his methods and who has not.
In the proposed lineup, Franco Armani would start in goal. Andrés Román, Néider Parra, William Tesillo and Milton Casco would form the back line, while Jorman Campuzano would anchor midfield alongside Juan Manuel Zapata and Juan Manuel Rengifo. Out wide, Ian Poveda and Marlos Moreno would give the attack its width, with Chicho Arango and Alfredo Morelos as the main choices to lead the line.
That shape would not come without a cost. Simón García would lose his place in defense, Matheus Uribe and Edwin Cardona would be left out of the starting midfield, and Andrés Sarmiento would also drop from the attack. The move shows the logic González is using: performance now carries more weight than early prominence, even when that means moving aside players who have been central in the first matches of his era.
The hardest call is up front, where Chicho Arango and Alfredo Morelos are the alternatives for the central striking role but only one can start there. González must decide whether to keep the structure that has already been used or lean fully into the version that best matches what he has seen so far. By Sunday, he has to choose which Atlético Nacional he trusts most.
