1904 – 1914 Summer Tours of South America

Evertonians Chilean Style

Pre-season tours of Asia, Europe and North America will be on the schedules of many English clubs in the coming months but it’s been a few decades now since South America was a popular touring choice for a pre-season jolly, as the English Premier League seeks global commercial domination I wonder whether it will be long until we see a team touring this glorious continent once again.

Over one hundred years ago, it was all a very different story as many sides spent large parts of the summer break touring South America. It appears that in 1904 Southampton became the first professional club to tour in this part of the world as they swept aside teams representing Argentina and Uruguay and were also said to inspire a few teams to adopt red and white stripes.

Nottingham Forest followed in 1905 after an invitation from Argentine FA and a payment of £200 and in doing so inspired one of the greatest club sides in South America, Independiente, to change their colours to red. In Argentina and Uruguay  Forest played regularly in front of crowds of around 10,000, playing eight matches, scoring 57 times and only conceding 3 in a hugely successful tour. Amongst the crowds that came to watch these matches stood a certain Juan Peron who went onto become the President of Argentina and to marry American pop superstar Madonna (!)

Everton and Tottenham Hotspur were the first high-profile touring parties to South America in 1909. The secretaries of Everton and Tottenham received a letter of invitation from the English FA general secretary Frederick Wall inviting both clubs to participate in a series of matches in Argentina and Uruguay. The players would be away a total of nine weeks but only three weeks of that spent on South American soil.

The voyage from Blighty across the Atlantic began in somewhat adverse circumstances on the 14^th May 1909. First, the players were informed they were to travel second class without consultation due to FA cost cutting measures that had to be taken for the tour to go ahead and then the Spurs party missed the boat completely. They were greeted with plenty of mocking from their Everton counterparts upon their arrival on the boat later that day; they had caught up by chartering a tug boat.

Once they arrived in Buenos Aires a couple of weeks later, the players only had a few hours to adjust to their new surroundings before being asked to play a match in front of the Argentine President, the game ended 2-2 and the President was impressed and entertained by both the Toffees and the Lilywhites.

Both teams played local sides as well as each other. Boca Juniors and River Plate had both been founded by 1909 but it was a side featuring many a man named Brown called Alumni that provided opposition for Everton in a 4-0 win for the visitors. This included a hat-trick for Bert Freeman. Both sides went onto Uruguay, a nation that took to the beautiful game very well on and off the field  and Everton struggled to a 2-1 win against a Select XI from the national league before disposing of Spurs with another hat-trick from the star of the tour, that man again Bert Freeman.

Tour Hero

The players wrote letters back home of their tour experiences, many of them remarked on the beauty of Rio de Janiero, a city that was a stopover but it appears no official matches were played in Brazil; however locals were keen to watch and try to join in with the Everton and Spurs players having a kickabout in the dock and on the beach. Before departing back to England, Bert’s Everton teammate Val Harris decided to treat himself to an exotic pet and returned back home with a Parrot. Spurs also took home a Parrot but legend has it that it died on the infamous day Arsenal were elected into the 1^st Division in place of Tottenham.

The joint tour was considered a great experience and success, Everton’s legacy in South America was assured when a group of Anglo-Chileans that had witnessed part of the tour decided to form their own Everton football club in Vina Del Mar that is still going strong today. The Ruleteros Society is in place to create a special friendship between the two clubs and also aims to contact all the amateur football clubs in South America with Everton in their name , of which there are many. The Chilean side visited Merseyside for a friendly in July 2010 with the home side running out 2-0 winners in front of 25,000 at Goodison Park.  It’s been said that a return fixture in Chile should take place in the future.

In 1914 Exeter City embarked on a somewhat legendary tour of Brazil and Argentina. In one match the club secretary of Racing Club went well outside the technical area brandishing a revolver and took aim at the referee after Exeter went 3-0 up, the ref had to be persuaded to continue the match. Upon resumption he  decided to make things a little easier for himself by awarding the home side a penalty, they scored and the crowd went wild with excitement, fireworks were let off and a band came marching on playing the Argentine national anthem.

Brazil v Exeter City - Live and Exclusive in HD

The tour became even more problematic for Exeter in the Brazil part of the tour as several players were arrested for ‘indecent exposure’ on the beaches of Rio De Janiero. It appears they only removed their shirts rather than go the full monty but it’s fair to say that Brazil’s attitude towards body exposure was not as liberal as it is today. Also despite winning two matches on Brazilian soil, in the third they lost to a side that is recognised as the birth of the Brazilian national team as players from Rio and Sao Paulo joined together to beat The Grecians 2-0. It’s said the men from the south west of England did not take kindly to this upset and Brazilian star striker Artur Friedenreich had his teeth knocked out.

The positive cultural impact of these tours in South America is undeniable and although many of them took place in close-season rather than pre-season, they were a huge success and fed the continent’s hunger to watch the game played in their cities to the highest level. The reasons why clubs don’t tour South America are fairly obvious; lack of commercial profit certainly compared to Asia and also worries about safety are two key reasons.

The Premier League is very popular here and I’m confident any Premier League side brave enough to visit would see the stadiums filled especially against the clubs in Argentina where the atmosphere is arguably the best in the world and in doing so would benefit enormously from what would surely be a memorable experience as I’m sure tour legend Bert Freeman could vouch for.

Unión Española 2 – 2 Universidad Católica – Copa Libertadores 2011

My first experience of club football here in Chile and it was a very positive one. I joined just over 10,000 noisy supporters in Santa Laura, Santiago and we were treated to an entertaining 2-2 draw in the first week of group matches in the Copa Libertadores. Here’s my photos, videos and thoughts on the match and experience. Luckily I anticipated all 4 goals, click the links in the article.

I arrived at the stadium in the north of the city fifteen minutes before kick off as I finally dragged myself away from the Arsenal v Barcelona match. It was easy enough to get a ticket from the box office and I decided to get a seat to the side of the pitch with the Católica fans as they were making a typical South American racket complete with drums and a brass section, far more tuneful and enjoyable than England and Sheffield Wednesday’s fans attempts to re-create this kind of atmosphere back home. As I write this report the songs are still reverberating in my head.

The home side Unión Española started the game with some excellent pressing high up the pitch forcing defensive errors and making for some exciting attacking play and they could have been ahead in the first minute. The ball bobbled around the Catolica area until eventually Jaime produced a save from Toselli.

Throughout the first half Católica found it difficult to defend against the excellent right hand side of the attacking Española. Excellent movement from the ever dangerous Argentine front man Jaime caused the Católica defence a few tactical dilemmas.  The picture below shows that Española were prepared to leave 3 forwards up even when Católica had the ball in the Española  half. Católica in turn looked nervous to commit to many players forward, Unión Española really had the favourites rattled.

The away side however thought they had gone ahead slightly against the run of play halfway through the first half but Roberto Gutiérrez’s header was ruled out for offside. In truth UC offered little in the 1^st half apart from moves that regularly broke down in the final third with slopping passing to blame, Fernando Meneses an exception,  and there were many disgruntled Católica fans at the half-time whistle.

At the start of the second it seemed like the half time break had made no difference to the champions of Chile and they fell behind. A corner was headed into the path of Monje to smash home from inside the 6 yard box to put the impressive Española 1-0 up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oDi2W6ttG8

This goal seemed to wake Catolica up. A key moment occurred around this time when the number 10 Marcelo Canete who had a very poor game, was substituted to the relief of the UC fans. His replacement Villanueva had an immediate impact as he grabbed hold of the midfield and soon after his introduction UC equalised. Lucas Pratto glancing home a header from a cross from the left. All square. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykq1q0P1Ezo

For the first time in the match it was clear UC were on top and they looked a very capable side. The goal of the match put UC 2-1 up. It was a nice move ending with a superb touch and finish from Fernando Meneses, a goal his exciting performance deserved . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIoSCR7DqOk . At this stage you felt they would go on to seal the victory comfortably. They nearly did just that when an audacious lob from Roberto Gutiérrez after some poor goalkeeping just went wide of the post.

As the final whilst neared, tension appeared in the Católica backline again and Espanola had started to force some errors. Then in the 89^th minute whilst seemingly in little danger Catolica youngster Alfonso Parot gave away a silly penalty that was expertly converted by Leal, a contender for man of the match. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPIsm-x1akI . Española got away with a point in the end, they sat back and invited pressure when they had gone ahead in a game which I feel they had in their control. They were not helped by the loss of Olarra during the 2nd half.

It finished 2-2, a fair result all in all and I’m already looking forward to my next Copa Libertadores match. Argentine side Velez look a strong bet to win this group although on this showing if the Chilean teams can tighten up at the back they will both push hard for qualification.

More Photos Here - http://s1135.photobucket.com/albums/m621/caniggiascores/Union%20Espanola/

Alianza Lima and the 1987 Air Disaster

Alianza Lima, formed 1901 by horse stud workers of Italian heritage are Peru’s oldest professional football club. Since their first championship in 1918, Alianza have won titles in every decade apart from one, the 1980’s, a decade marred by one of the saddest tragedies in South American football.

Los Portrillos, 1987

During the first round of the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, the Argentine sports magazine El Gráfico named the Peruvian midfield made up of Alianza Lima players (César Cueto, Teófilo Cubillas, José Velásquez) as the best in the world. Peru, then South American champions, in their iconic white strip with red diagonal slash, had swept aside Scotland and Iran and got a very creditable draw against eventual finalists Holland in the 1^st round. The 2^nd phase however, they fell to 3 straight defeats including the infamous 6-0 defeat against the hosts.

That same year, Alianza Lima won the Peruvian national championship after 18 long years of suffering. Unfortunately, despite the talent in their ranks, this victory did not kick-start a new glory period in the club’s history. In 1987, after eight years of disappointment, the club found itself leading the Peruvian championship with a few games left to play. The team was galvanized with a generation of young stars affectionately known as “los portillos” roughly translated as ‘the ponies’. They came from lower divisions and young players spotted in the street and they constituted a new hope not just for Alianza but for the Peruvian national side that had been in decline following a disappointing performance in the 1982 World Cup.

On December 7^th 1978, the title contenders travelled to Deportivo Pucallpa, a club based in the jungle in the east of Peru, and maintained their championship credentials with a 1-0 win that sent them top of the league. The Alianza players were keen to return to the capital as soon as possible after their victory to celebrate with family and friends. The club chartered a Peruvian Navy Fokker F27-400M plane to take them back to Lima but had to wait until the next day.

The plane took off early evening on the 8^th December from Pucallpa airport at 18:30, as the plane neared its destination, the captain Peruvian Navy Lieutenant Edilberto Villar and his co-pilot could not confirm if the landing gear of the plane was locked down. The aircraft then completed a successful fly-by to confirm the wheels were indeed in place and turned around to attempt another landing. The plane carrying 44 people including; players, coaches, fans and crewmembers plummeted into the Pacific Ocean at 20:05 in the evening as the pilots flew the plane too close to the water and the impact was fatal.

After a few days of searching for bodies it was confirmed that everybody on board the plane had died, apart from one man: the pilot, Edilberto Villar. Sixteen players of Alianza Lima were dead and many of the bodies were never recovered from the ocean. The star of the team was Luis Escobar, who had made his debut at just fourteen years old and at the time of the accident was still only eighteen and was having a fantastic campaign. Francisco Bustamante (21 years) and José Casanova (24 years) were popular players for the national team also fell victim. Others included top goalscorer Alfredo Tomasini, who survived for many days as he was one of the few who could swim but drowned just before the rescue of the pilot.

Coach Marcos Calderón, arguably the greatest Peruvian coach of all time was a great loss for Peruvian football going forward, this man revolutionised the national side in the 70’s and was at the helm for the Copa America triumph in 1975 and the world cup campaign in 1978. During the season there was always talk that this team could form the base of a decent Peruvian national side again, perhaps with Calderón guiding them once more. He certainly still had a lot to teach and give.

National mourning and grief followed the deaths. Naturally the stars of Alianza Lima were the ones adorning pictures, t-shirts and newspaper headlines but this tragedy including fans, coaching stuff, referees and cabin crew. Mass crowds gathered on the beaches, in the street, in the bars and in the stadiums all united together in grief. The President of the Republic Alan Garcia and Ministers of State attended as many funerals as they could. Officially there were three days of mourning in honor of those who perished and it took three weeks until the national championship resumed.

As the news broke across the world, in England, Bobby Charlton made public his sadness at the news of the tragedy, remembering the crash suffered by the club Manchester United, February 6, 1958, which caused the death of eight players, the coach, a fan and eight journalists. Uruguayan and South American champions Peñarol played the final of the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, with black ribbons on their shirts as a sign of solidarity with their Peruvian counterparts.

Controversy followed the incident and many theories are still about today not helped by the fact the Navy and government kept the information and reports on the accident hidden from the public. It’s claimed they actually fired shots into the air when bereaved family members went to try and speak to them about the accident. Many a conspiracy theory was created, two popular ones in particular.

The first controversial theory is that the plane was part of a drug trafficking operation and whilst flying back to Lima, the players caught wind of this and it started an argument on board which ended with a couple of the players being shot, this theory is supported by various reporters who claim two things. One is that there were two other planes that came from Pucallpa in the days leading up to the accident carrying large quantities of Coca. The other is that they made sure the bodies of some of the players were never recovered because the clothes which had been recovered allegedly had evidence of bullet holes. All this commotion on board the plane led the pilots to crash the plane, perhaps on purpose to create a story and then flee the country. It is true that Villar did in fact flee to Australia as soon as possible and has never returned to Peru since the accident, a major fact supporting this theory.

The second theory is another one of heroic team action. All on board became aware of a mechanical problem with the plane and were told there was a risk that the plane might end up hitting a slum near the airport. All the passengers decided that it is best the plane is crashed into the sea to avoid a greater catastrophe on land.

The more likely explanation is that the plane was in substandard condition but also the pilots had very little experience and were struggling with the controls as neither could read or speak English so therefore they couldn’t understand the manuals. Lieutenant Villar had failed a special training course which could have prevented the accident. It was dark by the time the plane hit the water and the pilots records show very little flying time at night.

Whatever the truth is, the more controversial theories came about due to social class tensions in Peru. The players very much represented the poor communities they grew up in and the public found it hard to accept this was just an accident and believed that the players knew something, the government didn’t want people to know as it was in the midst of defending itself in a guerrilla war that was gripping the country involving the maoist organization Sendero Luminoso (The Shining Path) and had lost further legitimacy with the public by nationalising the banking system in the same year as the accident.

As for Alianza Lima after the crash, unfortunately they lost out on the title, having borrowed players from Chilean club Colo Colo and also got some old favourites out of retirement; the club struggled to recover initially from the disaster and nearly suffered relegation the following year. It took the club 9 years to fully recover and regain the Peruvian championship ending another 18 season wait. Nowadays they are searching for their first title since 2006, they finished third in the 2010 campaign. In a recent poll they were found to Peru’s most popular football club and the legacy of the ‘portrillos’ is said to be one reason for that.

A Latin American Soap Opera – Starring – Paraguay’s national hero, a Mexican gang boss called ‘JJ’ and Miss Antioquia 2008

On January 25th 2010, a footballer in his prime was shot in the head in a bar in Mexico City. Miraculously he survived but his football career has not and he sadly announced his intention to retire recently.  A year on from the attack I take a brief look at the career of Salvador Cabañas and how his life is shaping up in the aftermath of the horrific attack.

I would imagine Salvador Cabañas is glad to see the back of 2010. A year in which his football career was ruined, his world cup dream taken away from him, tax problems surfaced in Mexico, his former agent is suing him and his wife has made a few unpopular moves and comments back in his homeland of Paraguay.

Cabañas is not a footballer that well known outside of Latin America, as he never made a move to Europe, despite some strong rumours of a transfer to Sunderland. He started out in his homeland of Paraguay, and then it was onto Chile before heading north to Mexico to earn a greater salary and reputation.

His career took off when he had a prolific season with Audax Italiano in the Chilean Primera Division in 2003. He then won his place back in the Paraguayan national team and then earned a big money move to Mexico where he made quite a name for himself with his scoring exploits. He first joined Jaguares de Chiapas before going onto Club America, a big force in Mexican football and based in the Capital.

He had been enjoying the moniker of ‘King of America’ in Mexico, a title reflecting his hero status with the fans of Club America. He had scored 66 goals in 115 games for America. Then, one fateful night in a toilet in a bar in Mexico City, he was shot in the head whilst enjoying a drink with his wife and his life was dramatically turned upside down and the drama had just begun.

He has hero status as well back in his homeland. He was top scorer for Paraguay as they qualified for their first World Cup since 1998 and when the tragic news came through thousands gathered in the national stadium to hold a vigil for Cabañas. After 30 days he regained consciousness and was talking away within minutes, astounding doctors and the police, although he remembers nothing of the actual incident.

The wife of Salvador, Maria Alonso, has been very vocal since the attack and has criticised the Mexican club for not paying his wages. In turn many citizens in Paraguay have been critical of Salvador’s wife’s pleading of poverty at first and the fact the government has granted them a welfare pension, usually only reserved for the very poor in Paraguay. She has now rejected the offer from the government and says she is prepared to work and just wants justice for her husband. This has brought about much argument in Paraguayan society but it seems the Cabañas family are on the brink of bankruptcy, brought about through tax evasion, and have sued his former agent José María González and Club America for breach of trust and fraud in relation to breaking contract agreements and failing to notify him of his tax issues, however Cabanas is also being sued by his agent for these claims.

As for the shooting incident, I would like to introduce to the story, José Jorge Balderas Garza or ‘JJ’. He is the probable perpetrator of the crime of attempted murder and he has been found and arrested recently, bizarrely with the help of Facebook. A location update posted by his Colombian model girlfriend Juliana Sossa (Miss Antioquia 2008!) alerted Mexican police to his whereabouts. You can only conclude that Ms.Sossa must either be very naive or looking for revenge of some kind.

JJ is an alleged associate of the infamous purported drug lord Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as “La Barbie,” who was arrested last year and all kinds of different rumours circulate around the pair and just why they shot Cabañas. JJ claims Cabañas was acting violently that night but denies carrying out the shooting, instead blaming his bodyguard. JJ and his six associates were arrested soon after the Facebook update. They were carrying false IDs, along with what appeared to be bags of cocaine, guns and ammunition. He had been in hiding since the incident.

As for Cabañas, he needs to go back to Mexico to give evidence for the prosecution of JJ, however there is an arrest warrant out for Cabanas to. He is wanted by Mexican authorities for those unpaid taxes since 2007. The case rests on a knife-edge.

It’s a Latin soap opera that I have been following for awhile with many unbelievable episodes but I hope Salvador and his family find some solace and peace soon.. He has recently been given some hope that he might be able to play football again,  although with the bullet still lodged in his head this carries a risk and after all his been through already it’s debatable as to whether it is a risk worth taking.

Related Links (In Spanish)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRewsxSzmO4 – News report from the day of the attack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap2x1pHuzGo – Top Ten Goals For Club America

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LizIWS4lE2A – You don’t need much spanish to enjoy this one

Copa América 2011 and the Decentralisation of Argentine Football

July 1^st 2011 will see the start of the 43rd Copa América* and the 9th to be hosted in Argentina. It was no real surprise Argentina was chosen as the host nation for the Copa América. There was a surprise however, when the Argentine FA announced the cities and stadiums to host the tournament. A decentralisation of Argentina’s most popular sport has possibly begun.

Football in Argentina is currently centralised by the fact that the Argentine club game is concentrated in Buenos Aires, the city and the province (confusingly the city isn’t part of the province of the same name). Currently there are 20 teams in the Primera División, only 3 clubs in the top flight are based outside the capital Buenos Aires and the BA province. This season sees Colón and Newell’s Old Boys in the Santa Fe province and Godoy Cruz in the city of Mendoza competing with the BA clubs. This isn’t just a current situation, historically theclubs based in 3 cities in the east of Argentina, Buenos Aires, La Plata and Rosario are dominant. These also include the oldest clubs as well, due to the location of the cities near ports and rivers and the railroad tracks all populated by British workers in the late 19^th century bringing with them their entertaining sport. During the time it took building up the infrastructure in BA and beyond, they formed football clubs as well. In turn the railroad tracks made it easy for supporters to travel home and away once the Argentine league was formed in the 1890’s and the game grew enormously in and around the capital in the early 20^th century.

The last time Argentina hosted the Copa América in 1987, only 3 cities were utilised by the Argentine FA. Matches were played out in Cordoba in the midwest, Buenos Aires and the passionate city of Rosario, which is just 4 hours from the capital city. Further to this, in the 1978 World Cup, only 5 cities were chosen to host matches, well below the average for the greatest international tournament in football. To date, Uruguay in 1930 and Chile in 1962 are the only nations to host the World Cup with fewer host cities chosen and they are far smaller countries. The clubs in these cities benefited from the World Cup matches being played in their stadiums and cities whilst many of the other cities and clubs in Argentina were left wondering where their slice of the pie (or empanada perhaps) is.

In 2011 however the member nations of CONMEBAL, plus invitees Mexico and Japan, will play matches in Salta, Jujuy, Mendoza, San Juan, Córdoba and Santa Fe. The only game to take place in Buenos Aires is the final. Additionally La Plata, the capital of the Buenos Aires province will host the opening ceremony and 5 other matches during the event.

With this decentralisation there has also been some interesting organisation of which nation plays where. Chile will play all their matches in Mendoza, a pleasant city just a few hours drive across the Andes, weather permitting, from the Chilean capital Santiago. Thousands of fans of Las Rojas will be expected to make the journey for matches against Uruguay, Peru and Mexico.

Paraguay and Bolivia will play in the northern cities of Jujuy and Salta which means cheaper travel for the fans of those respective nations. Although with this being a huge continent, it will still take them whole day to make the trip. Uruguay will play Mexico in La Plata which can be easily reached from the Uruguayan capital Montevideo by ferry.

As for the hosts, they will embark on a small national tour. Starting in La Plata against Bolivia they then host Colombia in Santa Fe and their final group game is in Córdoba against Japan. The 47,000 capacity Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba will also be the scene for their quarter final match if they were to win group A. It’s then back to La Plata for the semis. Lastly they will hope to be partying long into the night in Buenos Aires on the 24^th July after the final in Estadio Monumental, home of River Plate.

Copa América 2011 is  being anticipated in South America as one of the more competitive editions of the competition. Argentina will be confident of winning the Copa América on home soil. You can never write Brazil off but the current holders are very much in a transition stage and building for the huge pressure which will face them in 2014.  Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay will carry a threat  judging by their performances in South Africa. Most Argentines were happy with their group, it’s worth noting that their last matches against Bolivia and Japan ended in defeats albeit away from home.

It is no doubt going to be a lot of fun for many fans across the country in the cities outside Buenos Aires. Getting a taste for high quality football and a chance to cheer on their national heroes in a Copa América match will be a first for most fans inside the stadiums and should make for some excitable crowds. It is hoped that the clubs in all these cities will recieve a boost in attendances and also stadium improvements after the Copa has taken place. We’ll have to wait and see if the pressure gets to Messi and his chums in July but whatever the outcome, many will be hoping this decentralisation will be a huge success for this football obsessed nation.

*Copa América has been the name of the competition since 1975, previously it was called the South American Championship.

Adam Brandon

@caniggiascores

Caniggiascores.wordpress.com

For a map of the cities, dates, format and fixtures please see this page on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Copa_Am%C3%A9rica

Enemy Number One In Chile: Jorge Segovia

 

Not winning many friends in Chile

The darker mood inside El Monumental lifted by Sanchez opening the scoring

Black shirt or pale face? That was the question on the lips of the thousands of supporters planning to go to the El Estadio Monumental in Santiago on Wednesday as Chile took on Uruguay in a friendly.  It was originally planned as a party, celebrating 100 years of Las Rojas however the mood was darker as Chile said ‘adios’ with thanks to the most popular Argentine in the country. His name is Marcelo Bielsa and this match was the mourning of his resignation as coach of the Chilean national team. Black trousers, black shirts and black balloons were the order of the day as supporters protested against his departure.

It’s a club versus country argument within the Chilean FA that has caused his resignation. Bielsa refuses to work with the newly elected Chilean FA president Jorge Segovia as he feels he doesn’t have the national team’s interest at heart. The fans angry at the loss certainly made their feelings known with some choice songs about Segovia throughout the match. Meanwhile outgoing president Harold Mayne-Nicholls was given a hero’s send off inside the home of Colo Colo at half time with the supporters thanking him for all his work alongside Bielsa as songs of a more loving nature were sang and a video played out on a big screen remembering his time as coach with Las Rojas.

So just who is Jorge Segovia? He is a 48 year old Spanish businessman, yet to gain Chilean citizenship. Segovia won the FA presidential election by six votes, most importantly including the votes of the “big three”, champions Colo Colo owned by Chilean President Sebastian Piñera, Universidad de Chile and Universidad Catolica. Segovia is the owner of Unión Española, a club that had a golden spell in the 1970’s and he is looking for more investment for all the professional clubs in Chile but it’s also not clear what else he has in mind over the next four years. He was dismissive of the chants against him in the El Monumental on Wednesday night and claims to have done everything he could to keep Bielsa. He has had to deal with death threats against him and his family and many a call not to give him Chilean citizenship.

Many of the supporters of the national team are not just blaming Segovia but the president of the country Sebastian Piñera. This is the most interesting aspect of the FA election for me as FIFA have stated many times they don’t like to see government involvement in football associations of nations. It has to be argued that Piñera’s ownership of Colo Colo, the biggest and most successful club in Chile is a interference to some degree.

This was Marcelo Bielsa’s 50^th match in charge and the last and he received a very warm and emotional send off from the 45,000 fans present in Santiago. Chile recorded their 28^th victory under his tenure. One fan near me who was dressed all in black apart from a pair of white socks to signify the little bit of hope that Bielsa will make a u-turn and this was not the end of the love affair. Their play in the World Cup won them the support of many neutrals. The high tempo and attacking style and formation that Bielsa has used really is a joy to watch and the performance and result was a fitting tribute to the man.

Chile ran out 2-0 winners over a Uruguayan side that offered little once they were reduced to ten men just before half time when Walter Galgano was shown a second yellow card for a studs up challenge on Mark Gonzalez. Uruguay, despite the best efforts of Golden Ball winner Diego Forlan never quite found their rhythm in this game that saw them reach the semi-finals in South Africa.

Chile took the lead through their star man Alexis Sanchez in the 38^th minute and then preceded to miss a series of chances in the 2^nd half. That was something of a frustrating feature of Chile in the World Cup but on this night they finally sealed the game in the 74^th minute with a long range effort from Arturo Vidal. Uruguay keeper Fernando Muslera said the ball was worse than the Jabulani as he tried to defend his poor handling on both the goals.

Chile and Uruguay will meet again next year in the group stages of the Copa America in Argentina and it will be interesting to see if these sides can carry on the huge progress both these nations made in 2010.

Adam Brandon

caniggiascores

For more on this story, I was near reporter Gideon Long in the stands and he was reporting on the feeling inside the stadium for the BBC’s ‘World Football Phone In’. Available via podcast.