After the Tiger did not consider him fit to face the last date of the Qualifiers, the King issued statements that now take him even further away from a place in the national team. However, as this double elimination approached, it was on the coach’s mind.
The relationship between Ricardo Gareca and Arturo Vidal has not been the best since the arrival of the Argentine coach at the head of La Roja. . After facing a few friendly duels in Europe, the time had come for Tigre to focus on its first big challenge: the Copa América.
The last test to face international competition was a friendly match against Paraguay which took place at the National Stadium. In the squad for this preparatory match, it should be noted that Tigre did not call up the Colo Colo midfielder, nor Gary Medel.
Indeed, when asked about the footballers, the coach explained at the time that “this is the list, in principle, this is what we want to see in this match. (At the Cup) We can go there with 26 players, 24 or 25. That’s the only thing I can answer. Of course, they are very recognized guys. No, not at all (they are excluded) “.
Of course, once he had to present the final list for the competition taking place in the United States, the king was absent again. In fact, after the debut against Peru, the former Barcelona player said that “You know that the selection with Vidal is something else. With Vidal and Gary (Medel), it’s something else. But nothing, that’s how the coach wanted it. . You have to have confidence in the selection, you always have to trust. I hope they can move on to the next phase and then the qualifiers and qualify for the World Cup, which is the first goal. “We must no longer support the outside world now and continue to support the national team until the end,” he expressed.
Then, about La Roja, Vidal said that “the knockout matches, the qualifying matches are very hard. They have nothing to do with friendly matches. When you play friendly matches, you play with five fewer substitutions. In Copa América matches, when it comes to determining them, they are very tough. They are very difficult. And we clearly saw the other day that, against Peru, without much else, it complicated Chile’s game.
In the end, everyone’s team was eliminated in the group stage with a poor performance, adding two points and failing to score any goals.
Back in qualifying
With Chile’s fate in North America decided, the time has come for Ricardo Gareca to face the process he was recruited to do: take Chile to the 2026 World Cup. His qualifying debut came against Argentina as a visitor, then at home. against Bolivia, losing to both rivals.
Vidal was also not considered on the list for these duels. despite the fact that he showed a good personal level both nationally and internationally with the Cacique’s participation in the Copa Libertadores.
As El Deportivo was able to discover, the king was considered as a third option for his position on the Gareca board. However, he buried his options return to Red by disrespecting the Tiger .
“This bastard doesn’t watch the Libertadores! Looks like he only watches Argentinian football matches . Look at Argentina, they’ve been playing the same players for how many years, right? Here we have to thank the boys for their efforts, but they are burning out a lot of youngsters “, Vidal said in one of his broadcasts on the Twitch platform.
“You need to make three changes now! They need to calm down on the pitch. (Gareca) We must stop inventing. If football is very simple “, he added later.
These words ended up condemning the relationship between the coach and the player and he did not even think of calling him on the phone to find out his availability. Moreover, the criticism against the national athlete also brought signs of support for Gareca, who received the support of important figures in Argentina and world champions in solidarity with him.
On the other hand, a player already excluded is Gary Medel. According to information from El Deportivo, pGareca is not an option either as a midfielder or a defender. His presence at Boca Juniors doesn’t help either .
Absence of leaders
The latest defeat against Bolivia also caused an upheaval within the ANFP board of directors. A few days ago, Pablo Milad assured that “there is a worry of not having won, but we must turn the page and channel our energy towards these matches, which have always been difficult for Chile. Brazil is a power, whether it is at the top or not. This is why Professor Gareca is going to change the program. He spoke of many new players, very hungry and eager to advance, to be able to stay alive. “.
“The hopes, the enthusiasm, the desire have been renewed. Chile played well in the friendly matches. I mean, there is material, but we need the players to give 120% to get good results,” he added.
Regarding Gareca’s work, he explained that “he already knows that he has to reinvent himself for these games. cWith the constant change of players, he saw that some responded to him and others less. Some who responded later did not. . That’s why he has to change, try a different situation with the players who responded to him.”
He also had words for the absences of Vidal and Medel. “The teacher has always taken them into account, but it is a purely personal decision. It seems that a leader is missing. It shows. And we are all aware of it, because we see it on the pitch, but there are players who arrive with a future, with a process of maturity at the footballing and international level. . “We want an aggressive Chile with Brazil, a Chile that dares, where there is personality, character on the pitch, as a team.”
For now, we will have to wait to see the results. La Roja will face Brazil at home on Thursday October 10 at 9:00 p.m. Then, the mission will be to face Colombia as a visitor on Tuesday 15 of the same month from 5:30 p.m.
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.
