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Carlos Guirland | Outside of Chile they also notice the collapse of La Roja: “It lost respect; before it was a little machine”

This Sunday, La Roja will have a vital duel for the Qualifiers. In San Carlos de Apoquindo, the rival will be Paraguay and the mission is none other than to win. Otherwise, Chile would be almost sentenced to forget about the Qatar 2022 World Cup. In this context, Carlos Guirland (53), the talented former Guaraní midfielder who played in our country, talks with AS. Analyze what the game will be, but it also suggests that he does not have much confidence in his National Team. One that he defended 10 times.

– How do you imagine the game this Sunday?
– Paraguay is a team that, suddenly, does not have much constancy. He plays a good game and a bad one. Against Argentina he had a compact game, with good alternatives, he proposed, defended, he had options. Defending, he makes good matches, but is difficult when he has to be the protagonist. From three quarters up, Paraguay is changing, and the coach (Eduardo Berizzo) is still struggling to find the ideal team. He makes a lot of changes in every game. Above we do not have the strength of before. In the middle we have a little more, we try to play, but we are not that strong. There are important pillars in defense, but upstairs … There are players, but the coach is played more by footballers who suddenly do not have that stamina to bother the centrals, to jump, to cover the ball.

– But are you convinced by Berizzo’s Paraguay? I listen to him a little discouraged …
– What happens is that for a while we always end up suffering. That hurts us a lot. We never end a game calm, having the ball. We run more than we play. It happened to us against Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, in Qualifiers.

– Do you have faith in Paraguay against Chile?
– Chile has enough weapons, footballers who play the ball well, and Paraguay that hurts a lot. Chile is in need and is going to go looking. The field is going to help Paraguay, because it is not that big. The spaces are going to be covered better.

– By the way you told me that you have not seen much of Chile, I will tell you: the National Team is lacking to generate football, a goal, and many people are asking for the departure of Martín Lasarte. Does it surprise you that La Roja is going through this complex moment? Is it the end of the Golden Generation?
– And well … he was two-time champion of the Copa América. It was a football machine. In those days, you filled your eyes watching Chile play, even at the World Cup. But suddenly comes the downturn. What happens is that at that time, with all the football that he generated, winning step by step, he was gaining respect. They entered the field a little predisposed to take care of themselves, to attack and to play soccer. That is to gain respect, to be afraid of you. So you may be attacked less, fewer skill players and more branded players to play against Chile. And as the result goes down, one also loses respect. They already play you as equals, they risk more.

– In other words, did Chile lose respect for their game?
– Yes. He has lost it because he is not finding the rudder, the handle. It is not a team with the same level as always. Maybe he has players who are off, because they too have their streaks. It has also cost Paraguay a lot. Suddenly, in the Paraguayan National Team there are unknown players, who are not so important, who were nationalized. So, he leaves the doubt to the people, who are anxious, wishing the best. In the long run, that is transmitted in the environment and reaches the group. It is important the mentality of winning, the faith. And if you do not believe in the technician, even if you have 10 psychologists, it will not improve. When you play the same or more than you run, it’s nice. But the other way around is ugly.

– Arturo Vidal will return to Paraguay. Do you fear him or do you just respect him?
– Yeah right. When it is, it feels with personality. He earned it. He can make you play, he can mark you, he can pause you, he can protest you, he can cool down the game. You can also cheer on your peers.

– What does Chile have to watch out for?
– No … We are as screwed as Chile (laughs). There may be a play from the galley, but no … There is no José Cardozo, Santa Cruz, Cabañas. Almiron? I like it, it is very fast, but it is not a player to create, because it puts fifth, sixth and has no brake. It goes and crashes. It will be more pungent if you play from end to end, biting diagonally.

– What are the memories you have against the Red? He played a match for the 1991 Copa América …
– Yes (laughs) … Chile caught us with a great squad: Zamorano, Rubio, Basay … It was a game to forget (4-0), but it was nice to play against them.

A lost Liberators, the passage through Chile and her new life

– In that year, you also played for Olimpia against Colo Colo, in the Copa Libertadores. Does that final still hurt? Are you spinning in your head?
– It hurts (laughs), because it was our third final in Libertadores. In Paraguay we had many options to score in the first minutes. Later, Colo Colo settled in and made it difficult for us. And then, already in Chile, Colo Colo grabbed us with everything. The goals came and we were sent off.

– Later, you played for Audax Italiano and Deportes La Serena. How were those stages?
– Well. When I went to Audax, there was a case that made me laugh, because I played football very young. At the age of 17, he was already playing the Libertadores with Olimpia. And when they asked me my age at Audax, and I said I was 28, everyone was shitting with laughter, even journalism. Luckily, the first games practically didn’t mark me, because I had a beard … I was skinny. He didn’t look like a gamer. The compromise was also difficult, because it had to cover the space left by Claudio Borghi. I wanted to do my job. But great players do not forget. He played with Maradona, he was a champion, he took passes from the top of the hat, things that one believes do not exist in football today. There were great players: Sierra, Gorosito, Leo Rodríguez …

Carlos Guirland, during his time at Audax Italiano.

– Did you leave friends in Chile?
– Yes, very many. Whenever I go, I say that my mistress from Chile is going to look for me (laughs). It is my second country. He opened the doors for me and I did my thing to be able to be in Audax. Then I also had the opportunity to play again, but I wanted to quit football at the age of 31, and then I regretted it. Cacho Malbernat called me to go to Cobreloa. But it was too late.

– And what do you do today?
– I am a player trainer in the technical part, in Asunción. We were in Misiones. I took about 15 players to Chile, like Manuel Maciel, Fabián Benítez … Gustavo Gómez, the captain of the Paraguayan National Team, was also my pupil since he was 13 years old. He was with me for five years, even living in my house. I also directed Ángel Cardozo Lucena and Jorge Recalde.

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