The history of La Roja calls for calm after the debut of Ricardo Gareca: “There was no category rival to draw a conclusion”

Ricardo Gareca’s debut for the national team raised expectations. The 3-0 victory against Albania appears to be a glimmer of hope in very turbulent years for the national team. Especially since he marks a difference with his predecessor, Eduardo Berizzo, who never managed to assert himself during the friendly matches he played before the Qualifiers. However, the path continues this Tuesday, and with a rival who appears much more complex: France. The vice-world champion will be La Roja’s second opponent in the Tigre process, which is why part of the history of the Chilean team requires that the tests be postponed after the Marseille clash.

In dialogue with Sporty the former striker Leonardo Veliz He says he expects expectations to rise if what happened Friday happens, but he believes there should be a call for restraint. “I knew that if Chile won, hopes would begin for the Chilean team, the Gareca era and all that, but Albania is not a top rival to draw conclusions about,” explains- he.

El Pollo, yes, is open to analyzing the match , where he sees a lot of positive things, but emphasizes once again that we have to wait until Tuesday to see the true level of La Roja. “A Chile showed up with many inlays, plus four players with national team experience. They did a good job against a rival that wasn’t of the highest quality, meaning the 3-0 could have been more conclusive, but that’s what I get. Perhaps we will be able to draw more important conclusions against France than this stage of knowledge allows,” he underlines.

On another side, Gonzalo Jara is excited. The double American champion assured that, whatever the result, different variations were already emerging from the former Peru coach. “Beyond winning or losing, the other day we saw a different tactical layout, with a lot of freedom for Alexis and with Eduardo in front” he declared this Saturday at the National Stadium, after playing the legends match against Ronaldinho.

The defender adds that against the Gauls, they should benefit from the experience. “I hope they have a very good match against France, it’s a great experience, because they have a team with great players, not to mention where each of them plays, they are very powerful “, he added. In addition, he had words for the first official tournament that Gareca will lead in a few months: the Copa América. “I think Chile should have a good turnout, these two friendlies are the only ones before , so they are important, I imagine the coach wants to see them all. The important thing is that you have an identity and that showed in the match against Albania,” he said.

When the national team entered the field, more than one person was surprised to see Claudio Bravo with the captain’s genet. Especially because Gareca had hinted that it was Sánchez who would take him through this process. “I don’t know the captain, we will surely see who is on the pitch. If Alexis is there, it is very likely that it is him, based on his history and his career. , had said. However, the decision was up to the team. So, 24 hours before the match against Albania, a vote took place in which even Alexis Sánchez himself gave his preference to the goalkeeper, who has led the team for almost two decades.

However, Leonardo Veliz This takes away symbolic weight from the bracelet. “Claudio Bravo is a true leader, he has demonstrated it in his life and his long career. But these awards awarded, these captaincies, are not In saecula saeculorum, But I believe there are other factors that Gareca experienced. I think it’s okay, there was nothing to dig there,” he explains.

Where the ancient ram enters are the decisions of the Tiger. For example, another difference that he marks with his predecessors is the little importance he gives to the players’ sporting moment when preparing the call. “He broke the paradigm of previous coaches that players had to have minutes of participation at their clubs. He broke with that, with that idea,” he emphasizes.

“Bravo didn’t play at all and was the starter; Vargas doesn’t play at all, he starts and scores a goal. We have to look at what Gareca wants from this point of view, I don’t know if it will work or not. Against a lower class rival like Albania, I wouldn’t go beyond the fact that it was a good match. “If the country was not on fire, imagine what could have happened to Spain, which lost against Colombia or France,” he adds.

The vision of the 1974 World Cup in Germany is more grounded than, for example, that of Ivan Zamorano , who, during his days in Santiago, took it upon himself to express his optimism. “Against Albania we showed that we can be a competitive team, Yes, we can be a team committed to a philosophy and yes, we can be a team that can fight for something important. said Bam Bam this Saturday.

The former Real Madrid player highlighted what Alexis Sánchez did. “They can say what they want, whether he plays for Inter or not, but when he puts on the Chile jersey, it’s another matter. Today he develops another idea of ​​his game which can be very useful to Gareca,” he said.

Sánchez, who also assured Friday that La Roja’s good start was due to the fact that there were now players running. A statement that did not please Leonardo Véliz. “That was an unfortunate statement from Alexis. Why didn’t you say it before? It was turtles before and the match against Albania was it gazelles? No, I don’t think so, I think he’s run before too. It’s not that he ran more, it’s more quality. You have to have quality to face these matches. We always focus on fitness, on who runs the most, but today, the one who plays the best is not the one who runs the most. Whoever plays best is what matters,” he says.