At the beginning of this year, Several youth players from the University of Chile left the Azul Sports Center and they went on loan to other clubs, with the idea of adding experience. One of them was Cristóbal Ronaldo Arriaza, a forward who joined General Velásquez and that until now has shown interesting things in the Second Division. At the end of the first round, the young man has 12 games and three goals.
Arriaza needed to regain confidence and what better way to do it than in San Vicente de Tagua Tagua, his commune. César Bustamante, coach of General Velásquez, explains how the signing of the 19-year-old attacker came about. “He is an interesting player. “I saw him play here in the neighborhood, in the summer, and he caught my attention, so that’s when we started making arrangements to bring him.”he says in conversation with AS.
-How would you define Cristóbal Arriaza?
– He is a center forward with good definition. He has struggled a little in the category, because he is a 2005 boy, but he is strong and fast. What caught my attention the most about him is that he has very good unchecking.
– It’s a good project, so…
– Yes. He has played just over 750 minutes, with three goals, and in almost all the games he was in, he started. I think he is on the right track. If he continues to do things well, he can reach the top. And if he keeps scoring goals, he could easily be playing in Primera B.
-And what should be improved?
– He must improve everything that comes with being a young player: having more minutes, which is what he is having, and quickly continue with the topic that is being instilled in him here, of nutrition, physique, and that he must take care of himself in the game. feeding. We must generate those indices that high-performance football is demanding today: 54% muscle mass and 18% fat, hopefully less. When they come from training, sometimes they are fulfilling it, but sometimes they are not on the right track.
– How was he in those parameters?
– We believe that he was right in that part, so we have been instilling that in him, so that he is prepared when it is his turn to take the leap. I think that a player with his characteristics, if he scores goals, they will easily want to take him to another category, which is what happens in the Second Division. A player who scores nine, 10 or 12 goals is always tempted to go to another category.
– Outside of football, what advice have you given Cristóbal?
– Normally we talk a lot with the players, including him, and we try to guide him, because it is not an easy career. Sometimes they have to play and sometimes they have to be outside, especially when they are young. We try to guide him in that process, because we need players who are capable of handling this, because the frustration today, in a young player, is very high. Maybe the same thing happened to him at the U… he wanted to play, he didn’t play much, and he ended up leaving the institution.
– It’s a whole process…
– We must try to make them (young people) realize that this is competitive. There are 30 players on a squad, 18 are called up, and they must be prepared when it is their turn.
– The last one, and perhaps as an anecdote. Has Cristóbal been teased about his middle name, which is Ronaldo?
– Yes, they have always called him Ronaldo here, the handsome Ronaldo. Besides, he arrived a little overweight at first, but now he is much better. He has given us the possibility of having a center forward… There are several players in that position, but he has already more than earned it. And not only because he gives us the option of complying with the minutes. If he continues to establish himself in the category, he can perform much more.
