Franklin Salas, technical assistant to Pablo Repetto at Liga de Quito, came to the defense of Antonio Valencia regarding the events that took place in the Ecuadorian national team's concentration after the failure in the 2019 Copa America. 'El Mago' also referred to a group of players who left the hotel on the same day.
"First, in the case of Floor 17, we need to get rid of populism, second, we need to know the context of the matter. If the coach ('Bolillo' Gómez) gave them permission, it's within their rights. Each player is a professional and knows what suits them and what doesn't. The players (from Floor 17) were in a room together drinking beer and no one talked about the players who left the hotel (that same night)," Salas pointed out in statements to La Radio Redonda of Quito.
"A little group made a big deal out of it and there were never any women involved, they were never seen drunk. And they say nothing about the players who left the hotel that night because they were given permission. That's not how you work, football is very different, by trying to please the people you're acting in a certain way," he continued.
About Antonio Valencia, whom he considered an emblem of the national team, he said: "Antonio (Valencia) has been our emblem for 15 years and to call him fat, drunk, is disrespectful. Thanks to him, people recognize us, in England they know where Ecuador is thanks to him. And because of a slip-up, and because he came to Liga, we're burning him. By saying that this player can return to the national team and this one can't, the handling of Floor 17 was very poorly done."
"Only the players who are in their best moment should go to the national team. That's populism and in football we have to stay away from that. There are internal codes but what is the big event that happened? That they drank beer? In Fossati's era, we used to go to Fossatti's house after games, we would get together, eat and have a few beers. And nobody made a scene," Salas concluded. (D)