The defeat against Argentina and, above all, the fall against Bolivia, at the National Stadium, radically changed his status. From hope to rebound, the former Peruvian coach became directly responsible for the crisis.
Tuesday September 10. The final whistle of Paraguayan Juan Benítez, which ends the national team’s dishonorable defeat against Bolivia, can be clearly heard in a national stadium which, at that moment, seems even emptier than at the start of the match, with barely 25 thousand people. spectators in the stands. Then, in fact, the sharp sound mixes with another: that of the mistakes made by the supporters who attended the match to witness a victory that history practically took for granted, but the instability of La Roja in recent times He has already dared to question it.
The whistle goes to everyone, but it becomes more intense on Ricardo Gareca’s way to the locker room. The fans are looking for culprits and the temptation to point the finger at the coach is great, as usually happens in any losing team. It doesn’t matter that the one that just lost against the Highlands is only the second match that the former Peruvian coach has managed in the Qualifiers and the first in Ñuñoa for the same reason. Unless his arrival and the first preparations were a glimmer of hope after the opaque passage of Eduardo Berizzo, another coach who arrived surrounded by great expectations and left without satisfying them.
Gareca poses an open dichotomy when defining his sensations. “Personally, I’m having a good time because they treat me well. Pepper It’s a great country, very educated, I have all the comforts to have a good time” he says, in an interview with La Mesa del Fútbol, a show broadcast on YouTube. Strictly speaking, the strategist is having a comfortable time in the country. He lives in the exclusive area of San Damián, he already knows Santiago, at least as far as the route between the condominium in which he lives and Juan Pinto Durán, the complex in which La Roja works and this, when the team done No training, the strategist and part of his team occupy to study the current status of selectable players and analyze future rivals.
So far, with the exception of the post-match demonstration against La Verde, he has not received direct contempt in Gareca Street, although in his wake he no longer reaps the applause that characterized his early days, when he was a symbol of hope. On the contrary, they look askance at him. The consensus around his silhouette, widely perceptible upon his arrival, begins to give way to doubts. Many fans notice the mistakes in match planning and the lack of awareness of the environment that the coach alludes to in some statements. The initial romance gives way to jealousy. “No one has criticized him, far from it, but they already look at him with a certain distance,” they confess to those around them.
The coach’s next observation is precisely the contradiction of a life which, outside the playing field, seems pleasant. “Not as a sport, because the results have not been given; In that regard, I’m not having a good time. Chile is going through a period where it needs to find a competitive team. It was a few years ago. And Chile has always been competitive, but it has cost them dearly. » analysis in the same interview. In the dialogue, he also emerges from the obligation that was imposed on all the coaches after the death of Juan Antonio Pizzi, the last to win a title, the Copa América Centenario in 2016, but who opened the way for the chess. with the failed attempt to reach the World Cup in Russia: finding a replacement. “I have no idea of making a generational change. I just call based on what I see. I have no particular intention. The only intention I have is to qualify for the World Cup. he emphasizes.
The problem, precisely, is that immediate results do not occur either and the consequence is that anxiety increases. Among fans, in specialist opinion and among their employers. In the Copa América, La Roja failed to qualify for the round of 16 and, worse still, did not even score a goal. This route had already generated the first alarms. After the setback against the Highland team, the signal was even more eloquent: this week, as expected, Gareca had to give explanations to the management of the ANFP, in which, until then, he had benefited from a unwavering support. He had to speak directly with Pablo Milad. In Quilín there was no room for interrogations. Bad results opened this window. The wind begins to filter.
Gareca knows what we are talking about when his name is mentioned. Let’s assume the discontent around the Red campaign. However, contact with opinions is not so direct either. Although he gave a few interviews that allowed him to gauge the atmosphere, the truth is that he receives feedback from his collaborators. He generally does not consume journalistic media.
He is more aware of the public defenses his administration has benefited from. For example, before criticizing Arturo Vidal’s statements, in which the king questioned his decisions, Óscar Ruggeri called him to inform him of his intervention. El Cabezón made it clear that he was defending “a friend.”
The results did not change his routine in any way. On Monday he returned to Juan Pinto Durán after a trip to Argentina. During the week, as throughout the cycle, he arrived at his workplace early in the morning. There he found his closest collaborators, Néstor Bonillo and Sergio Santín, the same people who accompanied him during the match against Nacional. They are joined by nationals Sebastián Rojas and Matías González. Together they establish telematic contact with the head office which operates in Buenos Aires and whose mission is to prepare abundant material on its own players and, mainly, on the Reds’ next rivals: Brazil and Colombia.
At the Macul complex, as since the beginning of his time and he has already acquired knowledge of the streets, he arrives behind the wheel of his vehicle. Nobody crosses him. Not for a photo, not to insult him.
Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
