“He worked horrible”: Chilean players returned to dispatch against Reinaldo Rueda

Reinaldo Rueda did not have successful results on the way to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Caleño strategist began as the coach of the Chilean national team and then, from the seventh date, he went into command of the Colombia team. However, neither team could secure a spot at the World Cup: the 'Roja' and the 'Tricolor' finished seventh and sixth, respectively.

For this reason, Rueda was the subject of debate in the program 'National Team Fans', where there was talk about the elimination of Chile from the World Cup for the second consecutive time. There, former Chilean goalkeeper Nicolás Peric launched harsh accusations against the Colombian coach and blamed Arturo Salah, former president of the National Association of Professional Football (ANFP), for his appointment:

“The choice of the Chilean coach was bad. Whoever came here (Salah) and said 'it's Rueda', liquidated us. He looked for players where he didn't have to look for, he didn't quote the ones he had to quote... he worked horrible. Reinaldo Rueda wore out the squad,” said the former goalkeeper.

Likewise, former striker Mauricio Pinilla, who was with the Chilean national team at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, also questioned Rueda's methods in 'La Roja': “He was a very good guy, but he worked horrible (...) He cut the last piece to Marcelo Díaz, who, perhaps at the time, could have been at the start of the Playoffs. I was in Racing and I was a starter.”

When the Vallecaucano coach left office, Uruguayan Martín Lasarte was appointed as Chile coach in February 2021. However, the latter could not reverse the bad timing of the squad, so the directors decided not to renew his contract. And in his last press conference as a strategist, he threw some pullas at Rueda:

“When I arrived, the Chilean national team had played four games in the Playoffs, and I think we could have rescued a better result in some of them. A year ago I said that the selection depended on their 'golden generation' to qualify,” he said initially.

“Some young players who come out don't play or are not even cited, and that's very complicated. They don't seem to know me, I quoted the ones I had to quote. My decision was never tied to player representatives,” he added.

Reinaldo Rueda led a total of 27 matches for the Chilean national team: 17 in friendly matches, six in the 2019 Copa America and four in the Qatar World Cup qualifiers. On the balance sheet he scored nine wins, eight draws and 10 losses, leaving a yield of 43.21%.

On September 9, Colombia defeated Chile 3-1 at the Metropolitano Stadium in Barranquilla, rounding up what would be one of the few victories of the 'Tricolor' in the 2022 qualifiers to Qatar. However, one of the images that remained in the eyes of the spectators was the embrace given by several referents of 'La Roja' with Reinaldo Rueda, in the preview of the engagement.

Arturo Vidal, Claudio Bravo and Gary Mendel were some of the players who came to the bench of the 'Cafetero' team to greet their former coach.

“I have an eternal gratitude and I expressed it to the players in Chile. Your greeting to me is an act of gallantry, it is a special group of boys, very good ones. That event speaks of the good relationship we had as a coaching staff and the respect they gave us,” Rueda said at the press conference.

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