“My relationship with Bielsa is almost mythical. Through his excellence he justifies an attacking style that I have always identified with, and I subscribe to his philosophy and ideas. Although Marcelo is constantly evolving, he has never lost the ability to convince his charges that they are as good as anyone, which makes him a central figure even when results go against him.
That’s an admirable trait.”
– Jorge Sampaoli
I seem to have a loyal fascination for all teams donning red – be it the Red Devils at club level or La Furia Roja on the international stage. However, La Roja – as the Chile national football team is popularly known – should be the team to watch for all football lovers, who can be guaranteed some scintillating attacking football by Jorge Sampaoli’s men.
Ever since Jorge Sampaoli has taken over as coach, Chile have reverted to the style of play that they had embraced under Marcelo Bielsa – a high-intensity attacking style that very few teams can boast of. Bielsa is no ordinary coach by the way – Pep Guardiola went on record to say that Bielsa is “the best coach the planet currently has”, after an Athletic Bilbao side coached by Bielsa comprehensively defeated Manchester United in the quarter finals of the Europa League. It was under Bielsa that Chile achieved qualification for the 2010 World Cup after being absent for the previous two editions. Bielsa’s Chile (2007-2011) was stuff of dreams for tacticians. He favoured the philosophy of playing with one playmaker and three forwards.
In the true Bielsa spirit, Sampaoli’s Chile has a ‘craving’ for the ball unmatched by any other team. The players possess the mind-set (and skill) to fight for the ball, and launch searing attacks once they win the ball. During World Cup 2014 qualification, La Roja scored 29 goals, a number bettered only by one country. However, their defensive capabilities remain suspect, having conceded 25 goals in these 16 qualifying matches. Let’s take a look at what makes this Chile side such a treat to watch and a threat to any other team out there.
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Formation
While Chile do have a structured approach to their fantastic interplay and positional interchange, labelling a fixed formation to their team does injustice to their style of play. After all, formations are merely 3 or 4 digit combinations that allow statisticians to draw up all kinds of complicated maps and figures, and fill the white spaces with arrows.
La Roja have been known to play anything from a 4-3-3 to a 3-4-3 to a 3-4-1-2 to a 3-3-1-3 to a 3-1-3-3 to a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 to a – well, you get the point. More often than not, Chile switch from one formation to another in the same 90 minute period. While this may seem anarchic to many, it is the impressive endurance of the Chilean players which allows them to pull this off in an effortless and organized manner. Sampaoli’s philosophy is one which requires speed and stamina. In Sampaoli’s own words, “I like players who don’t need oxygen.” Ask Germany, they know all too well. The two sides met at the Mercedes-Benz Arena earlier this year in March. While Germany did win 1-0, they had no clue what Chile were up to for the majority of the game. The Germans seemed clueless as to how the Chilean players were popping up everywhere on the pitch.
Style of play
There is one thing of which we can be certain – Chile will play with three men up front. Be it in the form of a 4-3-3 (4-3-1-2) or a 3-5-2 (again, dare I say 3-4-1-2). This is because Sampaoli prefers to setup his team around the creative genius of Jorge Valdivia. The little Chilean may not be a household name like Alexis Sanchez or Arturo Vidal, yet his genius is key to the team’s attacking setup. A classical playmaker, Valdivia is the key to unlocking opposition defences with his brilliant vision. In Valdivia’s absence due to injury, Vidal has also played in this role. One thing remains in common to whichever of them play in that role – they’ll play as a false nine.
Under Jorge Sampaoli, Chile play with a high defensive line, to support their team’s pressing game. There have been moments when Chile’s two-centre backs have pressed higher up the pitch than their central midfielders. This has been a massive improvement from the side that played under Claudio Borghi, whose insistence on playing a deep defensive line combined with a midfield which pressed heavily often meant that Chile’s defence was often left unprotected; and hence vulnerable to opposition attacks. Chile’s lack of a world class centre back is probably the weakest link in this team. It is not very often that you find a centre half measuring up at 5 feet 7 inches, but the defensive midfielder-turned-centre back, Gary Medel, does a marvellous job of protecting his keeper. The Cardiff man makes up for his lack of height with his endless energy and aggression.
The importance of Chile’s midfield maestros to their setup cannot be undermined at any cost. If Pirlo thinks that Ji Sung Park “must have been the first nuclear powered South Korean in history”, one wonders what he would have to say about Arturo Vidal. For it is Vidal’s skill, power and movement that make Chile so dangerous. Whether it is for Chile or Juventus, while the opposition players are busy trying to mark the forwards and full-backs, Vidal’s runs into the box often go unpicked. What is his role? Playmaker? Destroyer? False-9? Nobody knows.
Of course, no team can play such high tempo football without any semblance of control, and Marcelo Diaz is just the man to provide exactly what is needed. He does for Chile what Pirlo does for Juventus. Another little-known player, he plies his trade with FC Basel. Once nicknamed the ‘South American Xavi’, Diaz is well worthy of the comparison. To give you some perspective, Sampaoli’s Chile dropped points in qualification only when Diaz wasn’t playing.
There is an element of total football to the manner in which Chile play, and nobody epitomizes this more than Vidal. He switches positions with Charles Aranguiz very effectively. His runs are anyway hard to pick, and his interchanging movements tend to leave the opposition at wits. The same can be said for the wide-forward duo of Alexis Sanchez and Eduardo Vargas. The way they move around and link up with each other often leaves defenders befuddled as to what is transpiring. Their darting runs between the centre-back and the full-back can cause many a headache too. While I could wax lyrical about Chile’s total football all day, I’d rather shut up and let you watch them play. Here you can see the first 45 minutes of Germany vs. Chile. I’ll let you decide which is the better team!
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“I think the only way to be successful is by unifying players from the amateur level up. You have to try to help them to find love for the shirt, to enjoy the game instead of seeing it as just a duty.” – Sampaoli
Since 2013, Chile have defeated Uruguay, England and Costa Rica, drawn with Brazil and Spain, while they have lost to Germany and Brazil – both by a margin of one goal. They have won both their pre-World Cup friendlies, against Egypt and Northern Ireland. Spain, Netherlands and Australia need to accept the fact that qualification out of the group stages is not going to be an easy task. Having embraced Bielsa’s attacking mentality, Sampaoli has a group of men under him who have only one thing in mind, going for the ball – and enjoying themselves while they’re at it. So prepare to be amazed as La Roja run the opposition ragged with their relentless attacking and effective pressing.
Any team that comes across Chile is going to face the brunt of their overwhelming attacks. Chile are afraid of no one.
Parashar is a part of the @Football_P family. You can follow him at @Ptee17
