Guarello’s Column: Azerbaijan

On Wednesday, while Universidad de Chile was “local” against Coquimbo Unido at a time as inappropriate as half past three in the afternoon, from different places, including the Elías Figueroa stadium, and in several WhatsApp groups, he was commenting on the game. As the platform imposes, short phrases, that do not interrupt the attention on what was happening on the Valparaíso field.

I go to the archive and search, without giving names because, among them, there are former players, coaches, prominent commentators… I throw some on the table: “I don’t remember a worse game”, “The worst game of the Diego López era”, “It’s an embarrassing game for our tournament”, “I had seen bad games and this one from U-Coquimbo”, “Everything very poor”… I launch mine: “Primera B of Azerbaijan”.

The exercise is not complex or novel: put an extract of the average of the match, change the jersey of the twenty-two players for others except any (red and white lists for the U, pale green for Coquimbo) and that the match is played on a small court neighborhood, with wooden stands, no gallery behind the arches, just trees. If someone said “Look, they are playing Moik against Energetik of Birinci Dasta (the Azeri promotion)”, it would not seem strange. No one hits three passes, raffled balls, changes of front that go the sideline, excessive deep passes, a lot of friction in the divided, slaps in the aerial balls, goalkeepers who do not receive a direct shot, shots on goal ten meters above the crossbar, unintentionally quilted centers. Tip up. Eyes ached.

Fernando Díaz can argue that, playing on the road, with the loss of Joe Abrigo and the urgency to add whatever, he cannot be too blamed for the 4-4-2 where all the midfielders were cut (Galani, Carmona, Gatica and Cabrera). When he put Nicolás Gauna in for Fabián Carmona, he was able to win Coquimbo, but three good saves by Cristóbal Campos prevented it. Diego López, with the inevitable cassette, the trusty old lady, was “satisfied with the team’s performance.”

They fired him minutes after those statements.

Two days before, the president of Azul Azul, Michael Clark, defended himself like a cornered cat in a not very sharp interview. He did not see any relevant reproach to his management at the helm of the club. The squad was well formed, López had all the confidence, he guaranteed that the U would not go down, Huachipato did not have preferential treatment… In short, a total divorce with reality that even the most uncritical blue fan can see. The previous week Rodrigo Goldberg, former sports manager of the U, had denounced that he was offered Ignacio Tapia for 400 thousand dollars and did not accept it. Months later, with Tapia relegated in Huachipato, Clark and Rogerio paid twice that price for 50% of the pass. Not in Azerbaijan.

I close with that guarantee that Clark gives that the U does not descend. Have you already talked with your direct rivals that you are so sure? Did the witch throw the cards at him? Did Basualto sign it to Etcheverry in the tight of Jadue’s former adviser to the referees? I don’t understand anything anymore.