What to expect of Martin Lasarte’s new Chile?

The Chilean Soccer Federation, finally and surprisingly, decided to choose the Uruguayan Martin Lasarte to take the reins of his team when it seemed that Argentine Matias Almeyda would be the replacement for Colombian Reinaldo Rueda.

Lasarte is recognized in the southern country because he had experiences with two of the main teams in that nation, such as the Universidad de Chile and the Universidad Católica. His closest friends define him as a pragmatic coach, who favors the defensive order over having the ball , a concept diametrically opposed to that of Rueda, now the Colombia coach.

Once the uncertainty about the name of the new coach has been cleared, the question now is how can this talented but long-lived team play under Lasarte? Will Lasarte respect the Rueda process in the first few changes to avoid an abrupt change? The answers must come out quickly, because the next elimination round is just around the corner.

“Lasarte is a great coach, with a lot of international experience, he has obtained titles in Uruguay, Egypt and Spain . He knows Chilean soccer, the players, the idiosyncrasy, he does not need to adapt, he knows Juan Pinto Durán, and has lived in Santiago. That speeds up the processes. ”, Pablo Milad, president of the National Association of Professional Footballers (ANFP) told the Redgol newspaper.

The leader announced that a two-week microcycle will take place before the qualifiers. The next commitments of "La Roja" will be against Paraguay on Thursday March 25 and against Ecuador in Quito on Tuesday 30 ".

Pragmatic and defensive?

The Uruguayan strategist, known as 'Machete' for his way of entering strong when he was a player, stands out for the seriousness and professionalism with which he works, not in vain, many of his players have indicated that he is a man who transmits confidence, so he also has that paternal instinct that Rueda had, the first point in favor taking into account that it is a difficult squad to handle.

Lasarte knows very well the idiosyncrasy of the Chilean soccer player, his character and his love for a good game, that of proposing, going to the front, putting the ball at ground level and pressing, a hallmark that has remained since the Marcelo Bielsa era. However, his teams have never played like this and that is precisely the issue .

Defined as a "soccer gentleman", the aforementioned coach has received some criticism for his pragmatic and resultist style of play , in which few risks are run, and in that he is contrary to the last coaches: Rueda, Juan Antonio Pizzi, Eduardo Sampaoli and Bielsa .

Read also: These Colombian forwards are on fire abroad

Lasarte will have to continue promoting young people such as Erick Pulgar, Guillermo Maripan, Francisco Sierralta and Felipe Mora , who are key in the renewal of Chile in the face of the close retirement of references such as Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sánchez and Jean Beausejour. Thus, Lasarte will have the most important challenge of his career and, in the previous one, it is possible that he will sacrifice his defensive style to some extent.

In Chile, the Uruguayan coach collected successful campaigns with Universidad Católica (2012 Copa Sudamericana semifinals) and league finals. With the U de Chile he had better luck and won the 2014 Apertura, the Super Cup and the Chile Cup, both in 2015 .

He was domestic champion in his country with Nacional in 2005, 2006, 2016 and 2017. In Spain he won the title in the B and ascended to the first division with Real Sociedad in 2010 , and, more recently, in Egypt he won the 2019 League with Al Ahly .

Support of the King

That paternal style of Lasarte was immediately recognized by the reference of "La Roja" Arturo Vidal, who was the first to speak to welcome him through social networks. "Welcome Professor, all together for the same goal. Good luck, let's go damn Chile!", Wrote the Inter player, message reflected for 24 Hours.

"El Rey" did not hide his preference for a Chilean in office and even dared to give some names, but finally he took the appointment very professionally.