Reinaldo Rueda, the technician who did not fit into the Red and left without finding the replacement

12/31/2020 Chile, Sports, World



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The Colombian coach Reinaldo Rueda took over as the Chilean national team bench in 2018, after the failure of Juan Antonio Pizzi en route to the World Cup in Russia, and came with a series of scrolls that excited the national fans. Had led to Honduras and Ecuador to the 2010 and 2014 World Cup events, and he was expected to lead the replacement process at La Roja, taking advantage of the latest cartridges from the “Golden Generation”.

However, the wheel never fit. Despite his experience and respectful treatment of the journalistic medium, Professor Rueda was unable to convince the fans with his results and style of play, who constantly questioned their work, demanding an intensity that would recall the times of Marcelo Bielsa and Jorge Sampaoli.

In addition, his leadership was also questioned, since arrived at a fractured dressing room and only at the end of 2019, almost two years after his arrival, he was able to bring together two of the leaders in the team, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Bravo, distanced after the elimination against Brazil in 2017, in the past qualifiers.

His experience and knowledge did not leave a mark, and after the irregular results of the Chilean team on the road to Qatar 2022, it is felt that La Roja has not had any growth since the aforementioned failure of the previous process, without being able to emulate what it has achieved in its past voyages.

His scrolls before arriving in Chile: World Cup with Honduras and Ecuador

Rueda, 63, did not have a great career as a footballer and never played in the First Division. He only played in minor categories, amateur teams and university.

However, at the academic level he did stand out: he has a degree in Physical Education, in addition to having the title of coach, and did a postgraduate degree at the German Higher School of Sports, something that earned him a name both in Colombia and throughout South America , giving talks on the culture of football.

As a coach he had his first experience in the Sub 20 in Colombia and took it to the 1993 World Cup in Australia, although he could not pass the group stage; and in 1994 he directed Cortuluá in his hometown, until 1997. After that, he went on to Deportivo Cali, achieving a runner-up. In 2002 he directed Independiente Medellín, but he was only in charge for four months, since he again made the leap to the national teams.

The first step of this adventure began with his return to the sub 20 of his country. In the South American in Uruguay, he achieved a classification that the team did not achieve 10 years ago, with a great performance that extended until the World Cup in the United Arab Emirates where he achieved third place.

In 2004, he took the Colombian adult team, replacing the mythical Francisco Maturana, to guide the way to the Germany World Cup 2006. However, for one point he could not qualify for the Repechage. Because of this, he left his post and went to Central America.

The next challenge was with Honduras and made history, logrando to qualify for a World Cup after 28 years of waiting. In South Africa 2010, they faced Chile in the group stage, in addition to Spain (who came out champion) and Switzerland.

The game with the Red was much tighter than expected due to the differences in the squad, but the team of Marcelo Bielsa managed to prevail in the debut thanks to the solitary score of Jean Beausejour.

After his first World Cup experience, Ecuador entrusted Rueda with the classification to Brazil 2014, despite the fact that in his first experience he failed completely when he was eliminated in the first round of the Copa América of Argentina 2011.

In the Qualifiers for Brazil, the Colombian’s team became strong at home, winning almost all their matches there, except for a draw against Argentina. With this, more than three ties as a visitor reached him to be in fourth place and thus qualify for the World Cup.

In Brazil they only lost to Switzerland in the debut, but the victory over Honduras and the final draw with France were not enough to pass the group stage.

Continental glory with Atlético Nacional

After 12 years linked to national teams, Rueda signed in 2015 for National Athletic of Colombia, a club used to fighting big things and that had just lost the final of the Copa Sudamericana against River Plate at the end of 2014.

In total, he won two national titles, in addition to the Colombia Cup and a Super League. His most important achievement, yes, came with the Libertadores Cup 2016, a trophy that the “Verdeolaga” team had only won in 1989. In addition, they won the Recopa Sudamericana in 2017

He could also win the Sudamericana, but the tragic accident of the Chapecoense prevented the final from being played and the trophy was delivered to the Brazilian club. In 2016, he was also voted the best coach in America.

His great period at Atlético Nacional, aroused the interest of Flamengo from Brazil, his last stay before the Chilean team.

The irregular Red of Rueda

After the departure of Juan Antonio Pizzi in November 2017, the Chilean Federation took its time to look for a replacement. The one chosen by the dome, at this time with Arturo Salah in command, was Rueda, for the aforementioned scrolls, their experience and proven professional quality. He seemed the ideal one to lead a transition and begin to leave behind the idols of a “golden generation” It was worn out, to make way for the new faces that had to take responsibility for defending the Chile jersey.

The main objective was always to qualify for Qatar 2022, although there was also another tournament of interest to fans and players: the Copa América 2019. La Roja arrived at that tournament as a two-time defending champion, so they could not appear with an alternative team to rest their figures (and avoid what happened with the 2017 Confederations Cup).

With that in mind Rueda started his journey in 2018, but the inconveniences were not long in coming. Captain Bravo, who had approved his arrival, was marginalized from the first call of the Colombian. The rumors began to become noise, since it was understood that the experienced coach had not managed to solve the problems of coexistence within the national team.

Despite this, his odyssey with Chile started with a win against Sweden and a draw against Denmark. The balance was more than positive, but in that same 2018 everything was diluted: In October and November it reaped defeats with Peru and Costa Rica, and victories against Mexico and Honduras.

For 2019, the doubts continued and the uncertainty was installed when the Copa América started. But a 4-0 win against the guest of the tournament, Japan, made one think that all those previous games were just that, friendlies, and now the Roja de Rueda had appeared.

The sensations were ratified in a tight victory over Ecuador, although again the instability returned. Defeat with Uruguay and a suffered victory over Colombia on penalties allowed La Roja to get into the semifinals, although in that instance came the blow of reality. Peru gave Chile a dance and left him without the dream of the three-time championship.

In the fight for third place, Argentina took revenge from the last finals and defeated Chile. Despite finishing fourth in the tournament, the feeling was not the best, since they only won two games: against the Asians, who played with team B, and with the Ecuadorians, who are also in the process of replacement.

La Roja de Rueda, in 2019, played four more friendlies: draws with Argentina and Colombia, a defeat with Honduras and a narrow victory against weak Guinea. The positive thing about those games was the return of Bravo to the squad and sharing the pitch with Vidal. Both did not fix their differences, but the coach himself pointed out that the two had the welfare of the national team as a priority.

After that, the social outbreak occurred in Chile and he could not play on the November FIFA date; And in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic caused a global football hiatus.

Almost a year passed for the Red to play again, and in official matches. Rueda explained on several occasions that the task was difficult due to this unprecedented panorama that had affected La Roja, and also due to the need to find new faces that could accompany Bravo, Vidal, Alexis Sánchez and Gary Medel, that despite their quality, they also feel the passing of the years and are not always available, hit by injuries and wear and tear in their leagues.

Finally, his last two games were sweet and sour: he defeated Peru in the Nacional, but suffered a historic defeat against Venezuela, giving points that had always been in La Roja’s pocket.

The crisis in Colombian banking created the ideal setting, to return home and leave an environment where it did not fit at all.

In statistics, He led 27 games, 10 losses, seven draws and nine wins: six friendlies, two in the Copa América and one in qualifying.





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