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Keeping up with South America - Chile News

Matias Vulej, June 10 2010,
America's second will have to polish their many diamonds in the rough to take Chile deep into this competition.

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Marcelo Bielsa is one of the coaches with most experience in this competition, and the importance of this factor became first evident during the qualifying stages,for he had much to do with Chile claiming the second position, just one point below Brazil. Scoring almost two goals per game, La Roja will have to fight in the same group as the favorite for this competition, Spain. Nevertheless, Marcelo Bielsa is confident his team needs first to defeat Honduras before getting obsessed with tearing down one of the giants.

 

 

Switzerland and Spain, the other Reds to look out for

Chile has a tight schedule waiting ahead, for their debut next Wednesday against Honduras will prepare the team for the decisive match against Switzerland. Only during the third week will Bielsa's boys be able to take on Spain, and thus the performance on the first two matches will be determinant to ease the pressure on last week's clash. This will be Chile's first international experience in 12 years, and it doesn't look like they will let this opportunity waste. A good beginning will be determinant to boost player's spirit and prepare them for the dangers of the last week.

Three determinant players for Bielsa. Will Suazo make it before it's too late?Humberto Suazo's presence during the first matches is yet unknown, for Chupete is still recovering from an injury which has kept him away from the fields during the last weeks. Suazo has been the South American top striker during the qualification for this championship and will be given an opportunity to show his skills internationally after a solid performance in Monterrey and Colo Colo.

If there's something Marcelo Bielsa can never leave behind is the superiority of technique over fierceness. This is the reason why he has chosen Matias Fernandez and Carlos Carmona as the foundations of his midfield's strategy, with Alexis Sanchez as jack-of-all-trades, contributing to the defense when needed and driving the ball towards their opponent's area taking advantage of its superior speed.

Team's coach has already gained its place in Chile's Football History by securing the ticket for a world competition one round before the end of the qualifying stage for the first time for this nation, having won more than half the matches played. The team has shown nevertheless some defensive problems, having the most defeated goal of the five south American teams qualified for this competition.

Chile's most unbalancing player, Alexis Sanchez might explode in this competitionDespite having been qualified by several Spanish newspapers as a "tedious and decaffeinated team", Marcelo Bielsa is confident his strategy will work wonders in South Africa. As he did when commanding Argentina's cruise a few years ago, his style might be lacking a furious unleash of energy, but the consistency and regularity of his formations are indeed something that raises jealousy in many other squads.

In official matches, Chile has lost a single match in two years (Against Brazil back in September '09) thus making the numbers already mentioned grow much higher. Something appears to have changed in the last time, and everyone is noticing that this might be the year Chile makes it further than ever in the championship (Chile's best presentation has been 48 years ago, claiming the third place).

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