CHILE vs Argentina, 4 de julio en Santiago (Copa América 2015) [R]

I’m aware of the ‘apodo’ or ‘sobrenombre’ norm that exists in Chile. A similar custom exists where I currently live in Australia.

What I was getting at is that there is a difference between nicknames with a positive element (such as terms of endearment) and others. I know that some players and fans still refer to Bielsa as ‘profe’. In Uruguay, Tabarez is sometimes known as ‘maestro’.

I was curious about your thoughts on Sampaoli. If you say you’re neutral, then you’re neutral.

 

For me, there’s a hierarchy in the locker room; a pecking order, of sorts. I know that I’d be up against some serious s*** if I were a player in that environment. Contrary to what some of you guys may think, I don’t speak with an accent. But, my issue would be that, in a personality sense, I’d be somewhat of an antithesis to the dominant, overdone, celebrity-inspired character that you see in guys like Vidal, Valdivia, Pinilla, etc. I think that any new face – player or manager – would be expected to adapt to this locker room culture, and not the other way. This is problematic. Sampaoli, in my honest opinion, appears to be a person who decided to “play the game” and “go with it” from the beginning. Every ‘bro’ culture has a pack mentality, and I think that Samp knew that it would be too difficult a task to change.

It’s for this reason that I believe selecting a new head coach will be quite a challenge. This core group has already developed a taste for more liberal change room policies and vague boundaries. How do you change this culture if it’s been the norm since Borghi’s days in charge? I don’t want to offend anyone here, but as I’ve already suggested above, many of these guys are not particularly intelligent – it is very likely that they won’t get it. They’ll argue that they won a trophy doing things “the old way,” and that any outlooks on substantial change in off-field matters are all relative.

I’d only examine the options of acquiring a new manager if evident options actually exist. When they are communicated and put on the table, then I’m all ears.

 

I came across a couple of polls the other day (one of them was shown to me); they asked people to vote for the country's best head coach in history or something like that. Close to 70% of people voted for Sampaoli in both polls, which is telling. Like some of the other members have alluded to, his tactical knowledge and on-field results have been his strongest features. It is mostly the man-management stuff that has people worried. We can't have a Vidal 2.0 in the future, for example, as I don't think that we'd get away with it.

Even if Samp were to penalise a team player in the future for a similar off-field mistake, everyone would bring up the Vidal CA 15 incident, and point at the double standard. So, in that sense, if one considers how he handled that incident as well as the overly-sensitive celebrity personalities that we have in the locker room, we are on very thin ice heading into the future.

 

Pretty much my take on the matter. I'm struggling to find a realistic option who I think would do better than Sampaoli.

 

Never forget that 'CatDog' was the central defensive pair that helped Chile win CA 15:

 

If it ain't broke you don't fix it. Sampaoli benefited from the maturity of a group that has been working together for a long time and has finally peaked. But he also brought something to the team that allowed it to reach that pinnacle for which he has to be given credit. Thinking about getting rid of him without having Guardiola or Mourinho lined up as a replacement is crazy

 

That's the thing. I think he needs to move on, but I immediately remember there are no realistic targets that are better ...and I track back. He will have to stay until a new viable option for improvement appears.