Arturo Vidal, Gareca’s big dilemma at La Roja

Friday 8, Ricardo Gareca announced his first call-up to the national team. El Tigre announced the contingent with which it would face the FIFA date of March, which would include the duels against Albania and France and which, in light of the results and the level shown by La Roja, would surpass leaving a good image. There was some important news on this list. Claudio Bravo and Eduardo Vargas returned to the national team. On the other hand, other illustrious members of the golden generation, such as Gary Medel, Charles Aránguiz and Arturo Vidal, were not taken into account.

“They hired me to make decisions,” said the coach. The first two, at least, seem to continue to be taken into account. The main doubts rest with the King.

The announcement of Vidal’s return to Colo Colo was separated by just a few days from Gareca’s arrival in the national team. The midfielder still had a lot of work ahead of him to reach his best physical and footballing level. The recovery from the serious right knee injury he suffered while defending La Roja against Colombia in mid-September is still taking its toll. The best Vidal has not yet reappeared , even if in Colo Colo we happily recount the phenomenon that triggered its return. At least on a commercial level: sales of his t-shirt skyrocketed. In football, not so much. Without going any further, the King was not called up for the duel against Everton. He was not before Coquimbo either.

Publicly, at least, Gareca was careful , but clear enough to explain its absence. “We followed him. He had some discomfort and we basically wanted to take care of him, because he has some problems that he’s had for a while,” he emphasized. “I hope that in Colo Colo he will abandon these sequences of discomfort. I know him from having faced him and from my references. In general he wants to be there, he is a player with a lot of temperament and it is difficult to say no to being present or taken into account. “As soon as “he will be physically well, he will have better options”, insisted the strategist, conditioning a possible call.

There are those who are more categorical. “Arturo has played very little for about two or three years now. Because technicians don’t think about it or they get hurt. He arrived in Chile and played little, due to injuries. Everyone expects him to be the one from 10 years ago and he won’t be that Arturo anymore. If you don’t achieve consistency or performance, your chances are significantly reduced. You access the national team by being at the first level, not through the curriculum,” he emphasizes. Jorge Aravena . El Mortero insists: “Injuries, over time, are less and less respected. If at 24 it lasted a week, now it lasts a month and a half.

“What about Vidal, it won’t happen because of a football problem. He has the ability, the quality and the background. I don’t know if it’s physical either. It has to do with how you are, how you feel, how you can contribute. The interpretation is that there was support for those who were there and a cry for attention for those who were not. If you don’t wait in line, it will be difficult to get called. Of course, this still applies. “Clearly,” he said. Victor Hugo Castaneda .

In the case of Pitbull, Gareca has been more open, as he assumes that he still offers him defensive options that he might need. This was especially evident in Igor Lichnovsky’s performance against France. But in midfield, The performances of Marcelino Núñez and Rodrigo Echeverría left him satisfied, but there is a door ajar for Charles Aránguiz. “Just because he hasn’t been recalled doesn’t mean he won’t be there in the future. I communicated with everyone and assured no one of anything. I did it to present ourselves, after so many confrontations, to analyze us from all aspects. No player is excluded during the entire process. I am simply giving the roster for these two matches,” explained the coach.

In the case of Vidal, however, we have to dig a little deeper. In Peru, there is enough evidence that the Tiger is not afraid to get rid of iconic figures. Gareca does not match any footballer, beyond his CV. “Gareca arrived and the party began. And he cleaned several of them first, I was first. The teacher didn’t take me to the Copa América in the United States and I was half injured. And I was sure I was going to go,” remembers Jefferson Farfán Inca icon.

“He called me into his living room and said ‘I’m not going to take you, you’re not 100%’. Tears began to flow. “Master, take me,” I asked him, but he stopped ugly. The “professor” was more stubborn! A player who wasn’t 100% didn’t go, whether it was Farfán, Guerrero or Pizarro,” he recalled.

Although he doesn’t say it publicly, Gareca is troubled by Vidal’s personality. A friend of the construction of harmonious locker rooms, the coach achieved from his first call the mixture which allows him to calmly transmit his ideas. The good performances that he has sometimes achieved constitute, in fact, a new guarantee to calmly welcome the return of the King. On the contrary, qualifying it as a secondary figuration can modify this situation.

The Colocolino midfielder, in addition to posting images on Instagram that show his evolution, has also opted for caution, while still trying to highlight his hierarchy. “If I’m not on the payroll it’s because I was injured, that’s why. Let’s see how the Copa América will go and who the nominees will be. I hope to be 100 percent,” he said. Of course, he assumed the possibility of not being there existed. “If they call me, I will help them like I always have. And if not, I will support from the outside. Time passes, new players appear and we have to give a chance to those who are better,” he concluded, perhaps as an omen of the end of his time at La Roja.