Football Ricardo Gareca’s major absences for La Roja’s matches against Brazil and Colombia

Ricardo Gareca wants changes at La Roja. This Friday, the coach delivered the list of players with whom he will face Brazil and Colombia. A payroll different from the FIFA date of September and for which Tigre expects a lot. “They are the best players in Chile. Young people are playing in big teams, in a First Division championship and they are looking for their opportunity to be taken into account. We look at them as men and we’re going to go out and play with what we consider to be the best. “We are totally convinced of the players we have called,” he said at a press conference.

Compared to the previous call, Eugenio Mena, Claudio Baeza and Jean Meneses were eliminated. All three were novelties at the time. He wasn’t convinced and decided not to call them again. But the absence of other elements is striking. He did not mention Mauricio Isla, for example, a player who was a regular with the coach. And that, in fact, he served as captain in the last double date. Of the golden generation, only Eduardo Vargas remains. Gabriel Arias isn’t there either. However, the coach explained that the goalkeeper is experiencing a complex personal moment which takes him away from sporting orientation. “I need to give him a break to calm some things down,” he said.

Also, without giving names, he announced that certain footballers did not answer the phone when he wanted to call them. “Players are human beings and we all have problems. I noticed at one point that this was happening, because it had never happened to me, but these are things that we respect. I talk about it to expose the situations we go through. Nobody closed their doors in the national team “, he noted.

The most notable absence is that of Ben Brereton. The strategist started him against Bolivia, but eliminated him after half an hour of play. This moment went around the world. When explaining his decision not to recall him, Gareca ruled out having personal problems with the striker. “I love Brereton, otherwise I wouldn’t have called him. The other is your perception. Before, I called him in all eight games, but in 40 minutes he has to perform, that’s what he has to play. If he has to play 15 minutes, I want to see him. All the other colleagues are in the same situation. Now it’s my turn to go out because I want to see other options, which can offer other alternatives. Just that,” he said.

The former Peru coach also spoke about the situation of Arturo Vidal. The midfielder was never taken into account in the current procedure, but his level in the Copa Libertadores suggested that Tigre could take him into account. In the end, this did not happen. “We’re interested in the boys who want to be there, that’s something I take into account. If they give options to other situations and want to move away from the national team, we are open to that. We called all the boys and some didn’t answer, it’s a privacy that we respect. “I have no problem with his personal comments towards us as a coach,” he said.

The other important absences are those due to injury. Matías Catalán and Vicente Pizarro did not enter due to their fractures. Bruno Barticciotto has come out of his recovery process, but he arrives without football. While Alexis Sánchez has already accumulated three months without playing and his return is expected for another month. “During this period, we haven’t seen anyone who has stood out. We trust the players, but we don’t see a savior. We haven’t seen it before and we don’t see it now. So the savior must be the team that does a good job. So it could be Alexis, but he’s a certain age and we have to see what he wants,” Gareca said.