The defender of Bologna and emblem of the Chilean National Team, Gary Medel, raised his voice and gave his opinion regarding the best coach that La Roja has ever had.
True to his style and without mincing words, the national defender Gary Medel He cleared the doubts and chose the one who, for him, has been the most influential and important coach of the Chilean National Team; Marcelo Bielsa.
This was expressed in an interview with The latest newswhere in addition to reviewing the successes and downfalls of the ‘Golden Generation’, he settled the popular discussion that exists at the national level: Jorge Sampaoli or the ‘Loco’?
“With Sampaoli we achieved peak performance, in addition to qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil and winning the Copa América. The numbers and the history are there. However, for me, the number one was the teacher Marcelo Bielsa “stressed the ‘Pitbull’, who has become a bastion of Bologna’s defense during this season.
In that sense, the one trained at the Catholic University emphasized Bielsa’s influence not only at a tactical and technical level, but also in the mental evolution of the historic ‘Team of All’.
“He taught us too important things. For example, how to stand on the field of play. It changed our mentality. It didn’t make me bigger, it made me competitive, just like my teammates”assured.
In turn, Medel expressed his position regarding when and where the attitude that forged the ‘Golden Generation’ to become two-time champion of America was born, pointing out that “In the World Cup in South Africa (2010) the best squad of the generation was formed. We were like a family… We were young, animals on the pitch, we wanted to take on the world”.
Despite deciding between Sampaoli and Bielsa, those days of glory of a national team that, for the second consecutive Qualifiers, were left out of the World Cup are gone.
In this regard, the 34-year-old defender pointed out that both the elimination of Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 were “very big blows”, although he sentenced: “Clearly the one in Russia was worse because it was for a point or a goal, I don’t remember, and we were all around 29 or 30 years old, the ideal age to compete in a World Cup”.
