The four-time champion coach was clear in pointing out that his team still has a lot of work to do to be competitive. He also regretted that the reinforcements did not arrive in time, despite the club’s best efforts. However, he maintained that Universidad Católica have improved and that they take the key against the Brazilians as a good measure of how far they are from reaching the level they are looking for.
After a low participation in the Copa Libertadores, the Universidad Católica has a good option to return to the international field. He will do so tonight against São Paulo, at 8:30 p.m., in San Carlos de Apoquindo. A party which, moreover, could be the last at the continental level of the enclosure, before its closure for its remodeling.
The Crusaders have just eliminated Unión San Felipe, in the Chilean Cup, showing an increase in play, compared to what was shown before the arrival of Ariel Holan on the bench. With Mauricio Isla and Daniel González as brand new reinforcements, the four-time champion takes on the tough face of the Brazilians with calm and enthusiasm.
That’s how the Argentine coach put it. For the DT who won the triple championship with those on the fringe, in 2020, UC still has a lot of work ahead of them to be a complete and fully competitive team. The coach pointed out that he only took command of the team in the first half of May, so he was in charge for a very short time to see a drastic change that allows them to have great expectations in South America.
“We can’t help but keep in mind that this team is under construction. The basis of good results is hard work and we have just started this work, but the team is growing. The more work we do, the more it will become an increasingly complete and competitive team. From an international point of view, we still have work to do against big rivals. In football, you have to work to get results. Coaches are not magicians,” he warned.
We are rebuilding the physical and football part of the team. I want to measure the team against a Brazilian giant to see how far we are from the team we dream of. Our reality is that we have to be a competitive team, but our numbers are also very low in the local tournament. I took the team three points from relegation and now we are seven. Our priority is the championship. We want to make a big tournament to get closer to those who are leading the championship. This is our big goal.
From this point of view, Holan wanted to ease the pressure on his team and meet the expectations of the fans, insisting that the four-time champion still has a long way to go to show a level that allows him to aspire to eliminate a team. powerful. like the São Paulo cast, more beyond that for years, it couldn’t stand out in Brazil.
Our team can compete on an equal footing at the local level. Internationally, things are different. We do not have the desired working time nor the timely reinforcements due to different circumstances which are irrelevant, although we, the management, the footballers and the coaching staff have made a great effort to speed this up as much as possible. possible.
And here he pointed to the delay in the arrival of reinforcements, since he still cannot count on, for example, César Pinares. Moreover, the Huaso just joined last week. “Our team can compete on a level playing field at the grassroots level. Internationally, things are different. We do not have the desired working time, nor the reinforcements in time and form, due to different circumstances that are not relevant, although we have made a big effort, the management, the footballers and the technical staff to let it speed up as much as possible,” he added.
Holan hopes to return to the level his side showed in 2020, when they reached the quarter-finals in South America, after a stellar appearance at the Libertadores. “When we wanted to start the work process, we had setbacks from the players of the national team, reinforcements that did not arrive in time and a very complex situation. In addition, we had a very We are going to compete and we are going to make every effort to ensure that this key gives us a clear picture of everything we have left to become a competitive team like the one in 2020,” he assured.
Finally, he highlighted the virtues and power of Sao Paulo. “They are a very tough rival, who together with Rogerio Ceni are very solid defensively. These are teams that have worked very hard on certain fixed strategies of the game. We will therefore have to be very careful with set pieces from corners and kicks also on the sides, because they take them several times in the corner. We also have to be very careful with the direct play, the second plays and with the crosses to Calleri or Patrick, “he stressed.
Tonight, the starting goalkeeper will be Sebastián Pérez. Matías Dituro has been dropped from the call-up as his transfer from Europe hasn’t happened yet, according to Holan. The rest of the eleventh will be practically the same that beat the Aconcagüinos last Saturday.
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Source: Latercera
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
