Ricardo Gareca rules out player in Chile's squad because he doesn't speak Spanish well

The Chile coach, the Argentine Ricardo Garecaannounced this Friday a roster of 24 players to face the friendly matches against Albania and France at the end of this month with the absences of Gary Medel and Arturo Vidal and the return of Claudio Bravo, Mauricio Isla and Eduardo Vargas.

“This strictly has to do with looking at other options, but it does not mean that any player is ruled out. This is simply the roster for these two games,” Gareca said at a press conference where he announced the names of the players mentioned.

The coach explained that the absence of midfielder Vidal, who returned to Chilean football to play with Colo Colo, has to do with his recovery from physical discomfort that he had at the beginning of the season, while defender Medel stated “that he has not being summoned does not mean that it will not be there, it is something that we will resolve in the future.”

Regarding the objectives in the matches against Albania, on Friday the 22nd in Parma and France on Tuesday, March 26 in Marseille, Gareca focused on the opportunity to delve deeper into the perspective of the players and the results. “Get to know the boys more deeply, some players that interest us, and get good results. We are going to face two important teams, one the world champion and runner-up and another that is in an important process,” he mentioned.

Asked about the analysis of his list, the coach ruled out some conjectures: “I didn't come to make any change of course. The list speaks for itself, I don't know the captain, if Alexis is on the field, it is probably Alexis because of his experience. I come to win, it has not been classified for two stages and for Chile it is detrimental, my thing is to try to give results.”

The Argentine coach had spoken directly with the players and some returns were expected, such as that of the Spanish Betis goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, who had not been called up by Eduardo Berizzo for the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifier. He liked it even though he is currently a substitute at Betis, we have the possibility of having him and seeing how he is and what state he is in,” he commented.

Among those called up, the inclusion of defender Mauricio Isla, who performed very well in the Argentine league with Independiente, was less surprising, especially to the Chilean press. “We have been following him particularly in Argentine football where he is consistent and has the hope of being called up. He is a player who has always been to our liking,” he commented.

'He doesn't speak Spanish well'

This first list did not include the English football forward Ben Brereton or midfielder Charles Aránguiz, usually called up and added other players from the local environment that he has seen with his teams in the dispute in the previous phases of the Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana.

Specifically, in the case of the English striker Sheffield United, he commented on his surprise because the footballer still does not speak Spanish. “It caught my attention that he doesn't speak Spanish well. It is not an impediment, but I would like him to speak Spanish, I consider it essential to be in the team for communication on and off the field of play.”

EFE