SANTIAGO.- “Surely I had words in which I was wrong,” said the emblematic midfielder. Arturo Vidal on his return to the Chilean team after more than a year away from it, a period in which he criticized La Roja’s performance.
“I said several things about the games. What I felt, I said,” Vidal, 37, said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Last October, the veteran midfielder questioned the coach of Chilithe Argentine Ricardo Gareca, for not calling him and other players from the so-called ‘Golden Generation’ that won the 2015 and 2016 Copa América, but could not qualify for the 2018 Russia and Qatar 2022 World Cups.
“I wanted to come back sooner, but when I got here, we just (was) talking to the teacher (Gareca). We had never talked before and we clarified things,” he said about his relationship with the coach.
Vidal, a former player for clubs such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Flamengo, had never been called up by Gareca since he took over the Chilean bench last January.
“It has been two very nice days, returning to (the place) where I have been all my life representing the country. I spoke with everyone, with the teacher. The atmosphere is very good,” said Vidal.
The call for ‘King Arturo’ came one day after winning the 2024 Chilean championship with Colo Colo.
In the midst of the controversy
A week ago he was involved in a scandal along with other Colo Colo players in a nightclub in Santiago, where a woman accused them of having sexually assaulted her.
La Roja will visit Peru on November 15 and will host Venezuela on Tuesday the 19th, two key matches to maintain their aspirations to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Chile is last in the South American qualifiers with five points, having played ten of its 18 dates, 7 points behind seventh, Bolivia, which is in the playoff zone.
The qualifier grants six places for the World Cup and the seventh the possibility of a play-off against a team from another confederation.
