Runaway Wheel – The Third

He was never comfortable. He has never really been happy in Santiago. Since the first controversy broke out, due to the self-marginalization or non-call (depending on how you look at it) of Claudio Bravo, Reinaldo Rueda knew that his journey through the Chilean team would not be smooth. But over the days, weeks, months and years, the Colombian convinced himself that the greatest enemies of his success towards Qatar 2022 were not in the nine teams that he must face with the Red in the South American Qualifiers.

Perhaps if the 2-0 against Peru, on November 13, gave him his moment of greatest gratification at the helm of La Roja. Everything fit: a good result, the return of Beausejour, good performances from the new breed of players, the symbolic clash of hands between Bravo and Vidal. All good. A slap to the face of the critics, too. Five days later, in Caracas, everything went to waste. The historic defeat in Venezuela, the bad game, the smell of dismissal that arose as soon as the end of the game was whistled. The advance in the Nacional, was lost.

To top off the coach’s discouragement, in the following days he did not find the unrestricted support of the ANFP for his management. Quite the opposite. The feeling that left him is that if he did not go on the list of unemployed it was simply because of a cash issue in Quilín. “It was not comfortable,” says someone close to the coffee grower. And in the ANFP they perceived something similar, that Rueda was not leaving due to economic issues and that, for the same reason, he accepted without problems being evaluated in March 2021, after the qualifying dates against Paraguay and Ecuador.

It is not the first time, in any case. In the 1,059 days that have passed since its official presentation on Friday, January 19, 2018, Rei has experienced many episodes of conflict and discomfort with the diver from Chile. Either with him as the protagonist or because the problem came to him on the rebound. To list: the Bravo thing; the marginalization of Vargas; his public claim for the programming of the tournament prior to the Copa América in Brazil; the friendly with Peru in Lima that the same players cut him off with the lukewarm reaction of the leadership; the threat of resignation due to the suspension of football in full explosion and because the clubs put obstacles to provide the players for the Under 23 National Team … and a long etcetera, which was crowned in the last week with its imminent departure to the Colombian team , replacing Carlos Queiroz.

Due to his reserved nature (he is described as a very unexpressive person with his anger), according to Juan Pinto Durán, the coach has preferred to take his anger inside and not represent it in front of his collaborators in the bunker of the national team. Those who work close to him point out that the only time he has been openly displeased is at the end of last year, with the determination of the Council of Presidents of the Association, on the anticipated end of the national championship.

Even so, he has had reactions that are unsettling in some press conferences, such as when he exhibited videos of Marcelo Bielsa in his time with La Roja or when he wanted to review the questions he would receive before an exposure to the media. From Colombia, journalists who have known him since his time as a player, emphasize that in Chile they changed Rueda, that they have not seen him well.

Rei is a consumer of news. A scholar who likes to read and internalize the information of the place where he is. Not only sports. His social sensitivity is recognized, as was the case in Honduras, where his 2010 campaign with the local team heading to South Africa is said to have prevented a civil war. Follow the contingency on television, radio and print media. Hence his relationship with external factors is unpleasant for him. He does not have the general affection of the Red public and also considers that the reproaches of the media have been very unfair, because the context of crisis in which he took the reins of Equipo de Todos is not considered. He has always sought allies, but has found few. One of those was Jean Beausejour, for whom he fought to renounce his resignation from the senior team. I needed him in the dressing room, perhaps more than on the court. “He focused on another side, not the football part. It made me feel responsible for the transition process. He invited me not to be selfish. And he invited me to suffer with him ”, confessed afterwards Palmatoria, when he gave the reasons for his somersault.

As soon as Queiroz left the coffee bank was known, Rueda’s name began to circulate in the orbit of the Federation. Unlike what happens in Chile, there Triple R is highly respected, despite the fact that on the way to Germany 2006 he could not qualify for the World Cup with the national team. In his defense, yes, he took the team halfway, in the middle of a crisis of results and was about to achieve the objective.

“Rueda is Chile’s coach,” Ramón Jesurum, the president of the Colombian federation, told La Tercera on December 2, the same day that it was confirmed that Queiroz was no longer in command of the cumbia team. Underneath, however, the leader was already preparing the proposal to take the coach of the Red. On Friday of that week there was a meeting between Pablo Milad, helmsman of the Creole federation, and Rei, at the ANFP headquarters. They talked about planning, logistics, vacations for DT. There was not a word from the trainer about an option to go to his homeland. Even so, in the face of information that said otherwise, in Quilín they knew that the matter is there, that it was a matter of time before it was uncovered.

The truth is that Rueda just notified Ian Mac Niven of the Colombian proposal in the middle of this week. The manager of selections transmitted the message Pablo Milad. And the response he received was far from a firm attempt to keep him in office. Nobody can be forced to be where they do not want, they raised him from the dome. On the same Wednesday, Milad acknowledged to this newspaper that Colombia had already formalized its desire to negotiate with the Chilean coach, a request that was authorized from Santiago. “We, as a Federation, have left the doors open for him to stay and also in case he wants to go to another team. This means that people have to work in accordance with each of the places where they do it and develop in the best way, “he said. Milad in a video which was released to public opinion by the ANFP.

To his collaborators at Pinto Durán, those who are not part of his coaching staff, Rueda has not said anything. In fact, in recent days he has continued to work normally, planning microcycles and seeing other details of his work. He has been seen calmer than usual, in any case, they report from the Red complex. His contact with Milad has been very limited. The Colombian is understood mainly with Mac Niven. The truth is that his arrival in the country was under the management of Arturo Salah, who just raised him from a project he was carrying out at Flamengo in Brazil. In exchange for a large sum of money and juicy prizes, plus a mirror clause of 2.3 million dollars in case of dismissal or that he wants to leave. This figure, however, does not run in the negotiation that the DT is leading, since the ANFP is willing to reduce it by half.

In recent weeks, after the defeat against Venezuela, another factor of annoyance was generated for the coach. The announcement of the ANFP about the hiring of a director of national teams, who would be above the DT himself. The name of the person was even leaked, the Spaniard who worked for years at England’s Arsenal, Francis Cagigao, who has not yet closed his membership to the federation. “Rueda was somewhat insecure on the subject,” describes a leading national football voice.

The manager also feels that he does not have the support of his colleagues in the clubs. An example: in the first four elimination dates, the question was repeated over and over again about why he did not cite more players from Universidad Católica. Rei never explained it, but in his close circle in Santiago they assure that it is because of the conditions and obstacles that the championship leader and the coaching staff led by Ariel Holan have put up. In fact, they describe that eloquent compliment that DT gave to Ivo Basay, when he called Leandro Benegas (“He is a man who has the national team’s shirt impregnated in his skin”, he said), was also a “stick ”For other coaches who did not act the same.

Last, and not least in the technician’s desire to emigrate, is the pandemic factor. Since the health crisis began, Triple R has been locked up. Both he and his wife, Genith Ruano, hardly ever leave their apartment in Vitacura. In the case of the coach, from the house to Pinto Durán and vice versa. In fact, their own collaborators are in charge of making the purchases for the home. A walk through the city is ruled out for fear of Covid. And this was one of the reasons why Rueda asked Milad for a vacation due to the burden of being isolated in a city with few affections for them. This was requested before the negotiation with the Colombian federation was made official, which In addition to returning to his country, he offers better economic conditions than those he has in Chile.

Colombia and Canada, where his daughters Alejandra and Carolina live, are his next destinations. Meanwhile, and in his role as Chilean coach, he already gave a telematic talk for the Vasco da Gama club on Friday. And he has another scheduled with a foundation for the next few days. It is not clear if he will give them from Santiago or already abroad. What does seem is that it will be one of his last official activities with the colors of the Red. Rei prepares her escape.