Amid great expectations, Ricardo Gareca arrived in Chile to seal his appointment as coach of La Roja, which will fight to regain places in the South American qualifiers.
During his first hours in Santiago, the “Tigre” met with the leadership of the Chilean Football Association (ANFP) to sign his contract that binds him until the end of the qualification.
“Ricardo, happy to be in Chile?” “Very happy, with high expectations,” said the former coach of the Peruvian team in response to a question from the press waiting for his presentation at a hotel north of Santiago. The confirmation came hours later, “La Roja” announced through his social networks what was already an open secret: “Passion and experience: Ricardo Gareca will lead the way for #LaRoja in his next challenges.” Welcome, Professor!”, it says in the message with a photo of the Argentine.
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Gareca's debut with the Chilean diver will take place on the FIFA date in March. The duel with France is confirmed and the other opponent would be Algeria. Of course, his official first game with his new team will be nothing more and nothing less than against Peru in the group stage of the 2024 Copa América.
As it will be recalled, Gareca made history during his time with the Peruvian team from 2015 to 2022. With him on the bench, the “Bicolor” qualified for a World Cup after 36 years, finishing third in the Copa América 2019 and In addition, the playoff for Qatar 2022 was agreed, which is why the news of his arrival on the Chilean bench was among a group of Fans who expressed harsh criticism of the Argentine strategist were not particularly well received.
It should be noted that Chile did not have a good start to qualifying after the first six rounds. The record is three defeats, two draws and one win, which adds five points and is in eighth place in the table for the 2026 World Cup. Today the southern country is placing all its hopes on the “Tiger”.
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“May it go well, except against Peru”
Speaking to the media, Yoshimar Yotún was asked about the arrival of Ricardo Gareca as the new coach of the Chilean team. “I’m glad he’s doing what he likes again. The teacher is able to lead any team. I wish you all the best and may everything be well except Peru. Now he is on the other side, but we still have a lot of respect for him, and on the field each of us will defend our colors and try to win.”