The technician Costa Rica national team, Gustavo Alfaro He spoke directly to all those who believed the Ticos would be beaten in three games. America’s CupAlfaro highlights the work of young people In the 0-0 draw with Brazilasking for respect for the team being built and assuring that while there is still a lot of work to be done, they are not just hanging out at games.
Gustavo Alfaro experienced first-hand the Costa Rican national team’s match against Brazil in its 2024 Copa America debut. (BUDA MENDES/Getty Images via AFP)
This is a test of fire for many players. How do you feel about it?
– We tested most of the guys in the group. With the exception of Francisco Calvo and Joel Campbell, for the others it was one of the first fights of this nature. I think our bet was 80 to 20, we knew the difference was very big.
“However, on the pitch we had to do everything to match him. We did it when we didn’t have the ball, but not when we had it. Sometimes we had the ball but when we broke through the first line of pressure, it wasn’t that Brazil didn’t retreat, it was their strategy because they played with four players vertically. When we broke through the first line of pressure, we shouldn’t rush.
“We still have some areas to improve. I told the players that I hope this lesson will help us grow and I hope that in the future we can meet Brazil in another tournament and show that we have learned something.”
– It’s a great prize for the boys. If they see the admiration when they ask to change jerseys, or when Vinicius greets them one by one, it means something to them. In a good sense, they idealize a character like Vinicius.
“It was a very big test for these kids who were just starting out. I told Hakimi Kyrgios, who had to mark Vinicius, that I was in a position to face him and in the end he told me it was possible.
“However, this result does not change any of our ideas, the needle of the construction we are in does not move us at all. I said I was looking for answers at the Copa America and those answers also lie in the maturity of the players in this situation.”
Do you think they will look at Costa Rica differently now at the America’s Cup?
– I hope they start to respect us because we are a team that will maintain order, will fight to the end and in the most difficult moments will show the culture of the Ticos, which is to never give up and get the best.
“We hope that these results command respect. However, it would be wrong to think that by drawing with Brazil we have all the answers. That is the starting point for what we have to build. There is still a lot of work to do, we are only laying the foundations and can say that we have a team, but we have to find a team and there is still a lot of work to do.
“We showed that we are not here to take a walk. We can lose all the games, but we will play all the games like the finals, and that is the attitude that we will not negotiate.”
How to attack more against opponents like Brazil?
– At halftime I told the kids whether they wanted me to tell them the truth or lie to them. They asked me to tell them the truth and I mentioned that if we continued to play like this, we would most likely lose the game.
“If Brazil is not forced to concede, they probably won’t last 90 minutes. Brazil can overpower you because it has the ability to do that, but you have to force it to play uncomfortable.
“A very similar thing happened to me in the Ecuador qualifier against this opponent and I said it was like this, out of 10 games, 9 and a half were lost. After that game we had more games with different developments because we explained how to push him down. I feel like I’m going through something similar now in Costa Rica.”
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gruponacion/6ZSSNI654FC6LDB2OWGYIVDULE.jpg)
