SB Nation CONMEBOL 2014 World Cup Qualifying
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Claudio Borghi threw five players out of the Chilean national team as punishment for breaking curfew. The drama continues to increase as both sides throw insults at one another.
There are some very good reasons to punish players: Drunk driving. Sleeping with the coach's daughter. Missing training. But sometimes, you have to wonder whether the coach is looking out for the best interests of his team, or simply trying to assert his power.
Claudio Borghi, coach of the Chile national football team, set a 10pm curfew for his squad. Arturo Vidal, Jean Beuasejour, Gonzalo Jara and Carlos Carmona were allowed to leave the training base to attend a christening hosted by Jorge Valdivia. The five returned to camp 45 minutes late, prompting (in my imagination) a red-faced Borghi meeting them at the gate, steam bellowing from his ears as he used a few choice Spanish curses.
The result? The players, who all started in Chile's 4-1 defeat to Argentina last month, were sent home, tucking their tails between their legs at the shame of being ousted for celebrating a religious event. Granted, I don't know the full story -- perhaps the squad is lacking discipline, perhaps these players had already been causing trouble? But on the surface, it seems a foolish decision.*
I can understand instilling discipline in your team. I can understand the need for the players to have focus. But this is patently absurd. Chile have World Cup qualifying matches against Uruguay and Paraguay coming up in the next week. To drop five players and replace them with players from the Chilean domestic league is simply shooting yourself in the foot. But hey, at least Alexis Sanchez played a few minutes for Barcelona this weekend...
*Reports are the players were drunk, which makes the punishment a bit more understandable, but still rather excessive.
Suspended Chile Players Protest Claudio Borghi's Punishment
While yours truly was sleeping, things in Chile got awfully hot. Yesterday, the news broke that national team coach Claudio Borghi suspended five players - Arturo Vidal, Jean Beausejour, Jorge Valdivia, Gonzalo Jara and Carlos Carmona- after they had violated curfew. The five were given permission to attend a baptism hosted by Valdivia's family, but returned to training camp 45 minutes late. With Chile already struggling with player discipline, Borghi decided to make a statement and send all five players home.
Soon, all kinds of stories came flooding forth: The players had been photographed at a club. The players had been drunk when returning to the training base. Other players, including Humberto Sauzo and Claudio Bravo, lectured them on their behavior. Valdivia threw a punch at teammate Gary Medel.
The players, of course, have fired back at the reports coming out of Chile, and at their coach. The five did apologize to the fans, but also hit out at Borghi, calling him a liar and unfair. Their side of the story is that they did come in late, and they had drank a little bit, and that they should not be punished so harshly.
While Jara is injured and Beausejour suspended for the match against Uruguay, both Vidal and Valdivia were projected to start. With the news that Alexis Sanchez has re-injured himself, things are looking very bad for Chile.
Special thanks to Juan Arango for tweeting the Chile press conference.
Nov 10 11:38a by Kirsten Schlewitz - 0 comments