Exclusive interview with the best player in the history of Chilean football

In an exclusive interview with the best player in the history of Chilean football, Elías Figueroa, pointed out a fundamental point, in his opinion, that led to La Roja's elimination in the qualifying round for Russia 2018.

"Sometimes arrogance counts, because many believe that they had already won everything with the Copa America; some are stars with their teams in Europe, and maybe it's a bit of that arrogance of feeling like the golden generation; that didn't make them realize that they had Brazil in front of them, which will always be a tough team."

Arturo Vidal was one of the players most criticized for his indiscipline, even on social media he had written that he was already leaving the national team; today he changed his speech and Don Elías spoke firmly on the matter.

"Lamentable the statements before Vidal, we all know he is a worldwide figure, but there are things that you cannot talk about outside, they must be kept within the group, you cannot anticipate an exit when there are important matches ahead."

Although all the blame is attributed to coach Juan Antonio Pizzi, with whom they won the Copa America Centenario, Figueroa believes that the players did not show greater willingness and ability when the matches required it.

"I believe that there is always a responsibility from the coach but it is not all. Sometimes the coach tells you not to go, and you go, and you score a goal. It happened to me at Internacional, the coach told me not to go forward, but I went and scored the goal that made us champions. You have to stick to what the coach says, but it also depends on the player to observe how things are developing on the field to know what to do."

Disappointed, said the former central defender, three-time World Cup player with Chile, but he asks for strong work with the U-17 and U-19 generations to build a better future.