The Argentine coach Eduardo Berizzo affirmed that “everyone has to redouble efforts and commitment” to put the Chilean team on track, whose leadership he has assumed since Monday in substitution of his Uruguayan colleague Martín Lasarte.
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In a press conference at the Pinto Durán sports complex, headquarters of La Roja in Santiago, the former coach of Celta de Vigo, Seville, Athletic and the Paraguayan national team said that he has learned from his recent disappointing experiences and guaranteed that he is prepared to take on this new challenge.
Berizzo left the Paraguayan bench due to the disappointing results in the World Cup qualifiers and arrives in Chile, which also did not achieve the goal of reaching a quota in Qatar 2022.
“It is necessary to redouble efforts and commitments. The frustration experienced by not reaching the goal demands it, to do more than we did, that is a first feeling,” said Berizzo, who began his coaching career in Chile.
Grateful to Chile, where he started as a coach
“I am grateful for the country that gave me a job, my work experience started here fifteen years ago. I participated in the process towards the World Cup in South Africa led by Marcelo Bielsa and then I had the opportunity and luck to start working in a club here. Many are the ties that bind me to Chilean football”, he stressed.
Berizzo, who began his coaching career at O’Higgins, declared himself interested in establishing close communication and coordination with the local clubs to promote renewal with the participation of new figures.
“It is our job to discover soccer players who are young and who will also be part of this path,” said the former coach of Estudiantes de La Plata.
Bielsa’s influence
“I come to a medium that I know, I want to establish bridges of trust and professionalism with the clubs, which need the national team just as the national team needs them. We must have a harmonious relationship so that we can empower ourselves,” insisted Berizzo, who made a recognition of the influence of Marcelo Bielsa.
“We have worked out our methodology based on his teachings, but I am a different coach. I like to attack, be the protagonist of the game through the ball, recover it closer to the rival’s goal. In that I agree with Marcelo, who also thinks football like that”, He said as an example.
Cracks in the final stretch of their careers
La Roja closed their participation in the South American qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in seventh place with 19 points in 18 games, with nine losses, four draws and five wins.
The absence of Qatar also marks the need to undertake a renewal of the squad that for years led established figures and now in the final stretch of their careers such as Alexis Sánchez, Arturo Vidal, Gary Medel and Claudio Bravo.
