One of the actual reasons why people are looking at these World Cup qualifiers is because there certain teams improved making the fight for the two and a half spots that will not be taken up by Argentina and Brazil.
Chile are presently grooming arguably their greatest footballing generation ever, look at this team to do some damage in this qualifier. They will be an important factor. Outside of their off the field antics in Venezuela and the U-20 World Cup in Canada, a coach like Marcelo Bielsa is the perfect coach that they needed to bring balance to such a chaotic situation.
But there are issues that go beyond his control. The Chilean Football Federation (ANFP) is in the middle of a fight right now with players that were part of the U-20 side that ended up in their place in the last World Cup help in Canada. According to sources, they were promised US$10,000 per player for their feat and still haven’t been paid.
The federation claims that they are still waiting for FIFA to hand down suspensions and fines to them due to altercations that they had with Canadian police officials after the semifinal match in which they lost 3-0 to eventual champ Argentina. Based on reports and video evidence, various players attacked the referee, police officials, and vandalized a team bus after the match. Players like Bayer Leverkusen’s Arturo Vidal demanded to speak to federation president Harold Mayne-Nicholls about this issue. Unfortunately for him, Mayne-Nicholls was not available. This caused him to say that if this particular issue was not solved he would not make himself available for the national side indefinitely.
<span style="font-weight:bold;">Bielsa’s Mystery</span>
If there was one thing that everyone knew that they were getting with Marcelo Bielsa was his quirks and his maniacal drive towards precision. In order to obtain that he will do outlandish things that will raise an eyebrow, and in the process isolate some of his teams from the fanbase. Presently he is preparing his side behind closed doors in order to not give Argentina any hints towards a starting lineup and tactical positioning on the pitch.
<span style="font-weight:bold;">Chile Raves</span>
Even though they know that they will have the toughest possible matchup to open up the qualifiers, fans of <span style="font-style:italic;">La Roja</span> are looking forward to seeing the team make that leap and return to the World Cup after being absent since 1998.
<span style="font-weight:bold;">Offensive Combination</span>
Past meets present and future in the attacking front for Chile. Three of Colo Colo’s young starlets that set all of South America on fire are now ready to take that step to the next level. Humberto Suazo, Matías Fernández, and Alexis Sánchez will be the nucleus of this club and knees will knock throughout the entire continent because of this. Sánchez will be absent for the first part of the qualifiers after the serious ankle injury he received against Tigre. This will make room for a healthy Marcelo Salas. Those three words were not heard in the same sentence for years, and in addition to that he is finding his form once again.
The defense could be a little suspect, but the midfield looks super strong. Players like Gonzalo Fierro, Waldo Ponce, Claudio Maldonado, and Mark González are part of a strong supporting cast that has shown a great deal in the first few friendlies of the Bielsa era.
The problem with this side is their potential for losing their collective fiery persona. If they are able to overcome this, they could accomplish their primary goal.
Goalkeepers:
Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad-ESP)
Nicolás Peric (Audax Italiano)
Defenders:
Hugo Droguett (Tecos-MEX México)
Cristián Alvarez (Beitar Jerusalem-ISR)
Ismael Fuentes (Jaguares Chiapas-MEX)
Mauricio Isla (Udinese_ITA)
Waldo Ponce (Universidad de Chile)
Miguel Riffo (Colo Colo)
Arturo Vidal (Bayer Leverkusen-GER)
Gary Medel (Universidad Católica)
Midfielders:
Marco Estrada (Universidad de Chile)
Matías Fernández (Villarreal-ESP)
Gonzalo Fierro (Colo Colo)
Manuel Iturra (Universidad de Chile)
Luis Jiménez (Inter- ITA)
Claudio Maldonado (Santos-BRA)
Carlos Villanueva (Audax Italiano)
Mark González (Real Betis-ESP)
Delanteros:
Marcelo Salas (Universidad de Chile)
Humberto Suazo (Monterrey-MEX)
Eduardo Rubio (Colo Colo)
Fabián Orellana (Audax Italiano)
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