STARTING XI
REMAINING SQUAD MEMBERS
3 best players not in the squad:
Chile finished 3rd in the World Cup in 1962 - 4 players make it from this side. The country's greatest achievement was winning their first 2 Copa Americas in 2015 and 2016. Claudio Bravo was instrumental in these wins, and deserves the 3rd goalkeeper spot here. Despite the Copa wins and strong World Cup finish, 6 players in this squad peaked in the 1970's, more than any other decade. 4 of the 6 players represented from this era were defenders, so it could be explained by Elias Figueroa's influence during that period. They reached the Copa America final in 1979. Figueroa stood out as the best ever Chilean defender, and Chile's greatest ever player, while Quintano was famous for his partnership with him. Luis Eyzaguirre was another easy pick as one of South America's best ever right-backs, while 1962 World Cup captain Sergio Navarro narrowly made it ahead of Hector Puebla on the other side. Ruben Marcos just made the XI ahead of Jaime Pizarro, who can be his back-up, while Valdes is enough to cover the other midfield 2. I started Hormazabal over Zamorano because I don't think that Leonel or Alexis could play out wide in a 4-4-2 formation, so this was a more reasonable team to pick. Carlos Caszely can act as a reserve right-wing option on the bench, while Arellano can cover the left. Arellano died at the age of 25 so didn't achieve what some other players not in the squad did, but he was still considered a fantastic player in his best years, although I was close to picking Eladio Rojas as an extra midfielder ahead of him. Zamorano and Toro are the back-up options upfront. Players by Decade: 1970's (6), 1990's (5), 1960's (4), 2010's (3), 1920's (2), 1950's (1), 1940's (1), 1930's (1) Top 10 Chilean Players of All-Time (World Class Players in Bold - 8)
(& their all-time positional rank)
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