The World Cup, like receiving the Nobel Prize, is attended in a tuxedo, while the Qualifiers are attended in combat uniform. It's a war without deaths, but fascinating, the one that unleashes the most passions of the South American tournaments due to the exceptional atmosphere of each match. If the national teams activate the sense of belonging, the Qualifiers exacerbate nationalism, they go beyond. In earlier times, playing in certain cities was a virile adventure, you had to have class and character to get an away result. Now all the guarantees are given to play anywhere. Football organization has advanced centuries, the game is won on the field, not outside. However, the tension remains. They seem like country duels.
That rough beauty of the Qualifiers also has to do with the tradition of continental football, its rivalries, and its parity, everyone wins or loses points against each other. Some are less strong than others, but there are no Cypruses, Maltas, or Andorras. It has the power to change the mood in South America. To make millions of people happy, angry, sad, or excited. It's the Qualifiers. The mood moves to the beat of the results. The National Team won, happy. It lost, angry. Take the most amusing example, rescued from the Paraguayan press in 2016, which harshly criticized the Albirroja after being eliminated in the Copa America in the United States. In the following match, already for the qualification to Russia, Paraguay won 2-1 against Chile and the important newspaper ABC Color headlined on the cover, sweetly: "Garra, amor y corazón!" ("Guts, love, and heart!").
- Jorge Barraza: They are all about money, Mr. Klopp
This Thursday 8, the race to Qatar 2022 will kick off. A curtain that rises in strange, unprecedented conditions: due to the coronavirus pandemic, the teams have not played for almost a year (since November 2019), so it is difficult to predict how they will be. For the first time, they have not been able to train; only Paraguay and Bolivia have done microcycles, and a few training sessions for Peru and Chile, but with local players, many of whom will not play as most of the starters will be those who play abroad.
And, most importantly, it will be played without an audience, at least at the beginning, which changes the scenario. Argentina, which does not benefit from climatic or geographical factors, had designated the Boca stadium to give more encouragement to its players and generate more atmosphere for its rival, but on Thursday La Bombonera will be empty. It will be an unprecedented situation.
- Jorge Barraza: Independiente del Valle makes history again
This reduces the disadvantage of being the visitor. The only ones with an advantage are those who play at high altitude (Bolivia, Ecuador) or in special climates like Barranquilla due to the combination of high temperature and humidity. The Qualifiers have always been difficult to win away from home; however, since they are played behind closed doors, we see that visitors often prevail without the pressure of the local crowd.
The difference that European football has taken over South American football indicates that those who have the most players in clubs in the old continent will have an advantage. That is why Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Colombia can put together a complete national team with players who play in the most important leagues in the world. In contrast, Bolivia is in the opposite situation. "In our country, there hasn't been a championship for seven months and the national team is made up of only local players. There are barely a couple of foreign players, but they are not even starters in their clubs abroad," explains Roberto Aguirre, a Bolivian colleague. "To make matters worse, they start by facing Brazil and Argentina," he emphasizes.
- Jorge Barraza: Everton, the last spring of James...?
If it comes to quantity and quality of players, even in terms of their current form, we should risk saying that those four - Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia - are clear candidates to secure a spot in the World Cup. At least beforehand. Chile would be in that group due to the hierarchy of its "Golden Generation" (which was truly golden). The one with Vidal, Alexis Sánchez, Isla, Medel, Aránguiz, Eduardo Vargas. But there are few left, they are getting older and new talent hasn't emerged. In addition, this pre-World Cup will last a year and a half; those six pillars that support the entire weight of the team will oscillate between 33 and 35 years old at the end of the competition.
Paraguay is an unknown; they are the ones who have worked the most, they have been training for three and a half months, we will have to see what their potential is. The fighting spirit of their players is undeniable. They missed the last two World Cups, so they are hungry for revenge. Eduardo Berizzo, their coach, is a pupil of Bielsa and has had good experiences in Chile and Spain.
- Jorge Barraza: Ansu Fati: the face of a child, the game of a grown-up
Peru continues with its winning card, which is Ricardo Gareca, the coach. They still haven't produced new values and, what's worse, their two stars Paolo Guerrero and Jefferson Farfán are injured. Venezuela, with very good players (very good, pay attention to this), but who have not even trained once with coach José Peseiro, will visit Colombia in their debut. La Vinotinto relies on the number of players with good skills who are not out of place abroad.
The case of Ecuador
Ecuador starts a completely new process with its brand new coach Gustavo Alfaro, who just made his first call-up yesterday. It is assumed that he will hold a training session today (Sunday) and another one tomorrow (Monday); on Tuesday they will travel to Buenos Aires. In these four days, he will get to know his players, something at least curious, typical of the 1950s, not this era. The same thing happens to Portuguese Peseiro; on the other hand, the other coaches have been in charge for a while, so they are a few steps ahead. Ecuador relies on having many talents, especially young ones. We will see it on the field. The good side is that Alfaro will have more time to get to know the players and work with them in future dates. How will his Ecuador be...? Nobody knows. La Bombonera will stage the first version.
The best players will decide the Qualifiers, that doesn't change. And the ability of their coaches. Both factors go hand in hand. You can't reach success without one of them. (O)