Jimmy-Baikovicius-Flickr
Maracana, Brazil- They say your soccer team should mimic your country’s style and emotions. Well an hour before the start of the Chile vs. Spain game, Chilean fans stormed through the media center at the Maracana Stadium. They knocked down two sections of temporary walls as they tried to get close to the field. This sense of urgency is exactly what the Chileans or better known as La Roja (The Red One) brought to Spain. A ferocious attack with little to no let up beleaguered a once proud Spaniard team only one World Cup removed from winning it all. The Spaniards trying to recuperate from a humiliating loss to the Netherlands, tried desperately to match the intensity of its opponent. La Roja’s players Duardo Vargas and Charles Aranguiz scored first-half goals which ultimately were enough to send the defending champions home with a 2-0 loss before they even played their third game of the group. This was the earliest exit ever for a defending World Cup Champion.
La Rojas’ style lineup is a basic 4-3-3 of high-energy, attacking style, goal scoring talent, and even attacking-full backs. La Roja is coached by Argentinian, Jorge Sampaoli; who coached the Chilean club team Universidad de Chile (three league titles and a Copa Sudamericana) has the same intensity and fever on the sidelines as his players do on the pitch.
The Chileans have officially arrived as more than a mere guest in this tournament. La Roja has come a long way since being banned from one world cup in 1990. Then their goalie Roberto Rojas cut himself with a razor blade, just as a pre-planned flair had been sent onto the field from the Brazilian side of fans. The Chileans walked off the pitch, deemed too unsafe to play. If not for a photographer who caught Rojas cutting himself, this blatant infraction would have gone unnoticed and knocked their opponent Brazil out of qualifications for the FIFA World Cup of 1990. FIFA ruled that Chile had broken the regulation of leaving the pitch before a game’s conclusion and then issued a final judgment, suspended Chile from the 1994 World Cup. The incident was a dark stain in Chilean soccer.
Fast forward to 18 months ago, Chile went on a torrid pace, winning five of six FIFA qualifying matches with a draw only to Colombia. The highlights include beating England in Wimbledon stadium 2-0 and beating Germany 1-0 in March. Now with the likes of Alexis Sánchez, Eduardo Vargas, and Charles Aranguiz, this Chilean squad fears no one. The Chileans now will play the Netherlands for first place in the group on Monday in Sao Paulo. The winner avoids in all likelihood a date with the host country of Brazil in the knockout stages. In a country starved of South American soccer respect La Roja is storming this World Cup like rabid fans doing anything to get closer to greatness. In the immortal words of Lil John “nother round of shots, Turn down for what” La Roja has arrived and looking for their best world cup finish since 1962 were they finished third.
Luis Valdes is a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow him on Facebook.
