“If the World Cup started today, we would win it”: former La Roja legend reveals Marcelo Bielsa’s little-known speech in South Africa

On February 27, 2010, one of the most terrible disasters to hit Chile occurred. That night, an earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale shook the south-central coast of the country. That day, in addition, a moving image was projected among the rubble. It was Bruno Sandoval, in Pelluhue, in the region of Maule, a city devastated by the tsunami, who went around the world immortalized in an image in which he raised the national flag from the rubble. From the world of football, various gestures have been made to send strength and help to the nation.

“The flag represents what happened to Chile. It’s dirty, broken, muddy. I dug it up. Roberto (Candia) tells me to stay a moment with it in my hand. I thought it was a sign that Chili “It’s still standing and the flag is up.” ” said Sandoval.

A few months after the earthquake, in May, Daniel Marín, owner of the emblem, offered it to Harold Mayne-Nicholls then president of the ANFP, so that he could be hoisted onto the Reds’ concentration site. So when the national delegation arrived in Nelspruit, they were on the training ground side. This gesture, 14 years later, remains in the memories of the team’s footballers. “When we landed in South Africa, we went to have a snack and Bielsa called us to a meeting. He was a coach of few words. Bonini was making speeches. But that day he started telling us that we had the privilege of participating in a World Cup, of having been chosen from a universe of more than 100 players and, in this, he told us that we had to give back to the people what they had lost everything. “ remember Pablo Contreras in the documentary series The third and fourth, hang the golden boots.

“Our mission was to bring happiness and peace of mind to people. After all this, Marcelo tells us that he also feels identified with the country, he encourages us to think of our families and those who have lived through difficult times. He told us to look at the flagpole that was on one side of the training area and when we saw it, there was the historic flag of the boy from the south, who saved it from the rubble. It was something so moving that if the World Cup started that night, we would win it. adds the former defender.

The moment also persists in memory of Waldo Ponce. “We were clear about what it meant, what happened with the earthquake, but after the retreat you assimilate everything. The technical staff highlighted certain situations. We also had the flag of the Southern boys hanging next to the training ground. “It was there, on a mast,” he remembers.

“I remember the conference before the World Cup, where Marcelo told us that we had the privilege of being there. He told us that all the triumphs and joys of being there should be reserved for all the people who were with us selflessly. The most beautiful thing is to have sung the national anthem. It is unique. The earthquake flag was taken to South Africa; it was placed in Nelspruit, on the flagpole. Every day we saw it and understood the suffering the country was going through. “We wanted to turn people’s situation around by bringing them joy, at least on a sporting level,” he adds. Ismael Fuentes who also participated in the 2010 planetary event.

This emotional moment also had a profound impact on Esteban Paredes. An element that all footballers remember, moreover, is that Bielsa highlighted the privileges that being in South Africa meant for them, on the eve of the tournament of the best. “The speech with the flag was something that touched us a lot. He told us that we were privileged to be there. It touched our sensitivity. The people had suffered. This message touched us so much that we said: “we must give joy to all those who have lost loved ones.” Today I work at Santiago Morning and I also teach them that they are privileged and that they must take care of the work they have,” explains the former striker.