Rodrigo Tello (44) was one of Global66’s guests at the farewell ceremony for the five Chileans who were chosen by the Bayern Munich to train for a week in Germany with the youth team of the Bavarian giant. Although the winners of this experience practically did not see him play live, the Chilean left a mark on soccer in our country. He was a bronze medalist with Chile in Sydney 2000champion with the U that same year and appears in both Sporting Lisbon as Besiktas, where he became an idol.
After the event, Tello attends with a smile to AS Chile, with whom he talks about his new life after retirement. “It’s been almost eight years since I retired. I gave myself some time to focus on my personal life, put aside day-to-day training a bit, and a while later I started playing in a league, so I’m moving relatively every weekend. “Football hasn’t left me yet,” she says with a laugh to this medium.
“Personally, I opened an agency for players, always young, trying to help them in every way possible. It is a small agency, but we have players in professionalism, like Vicente Conelli, Gabriel Norambuena and Thomas Gillier which are the ones who are standing out. “I am very happy to support them and see how they are growing,” he says about his current work.
– What do you miss most about your time as a professional soccer player?
– You miss the dressing room, being with your teammates, the competition obviously. I have always been a very competitive guy who wanted to win as well as lose many times. It is missed, but we understand the step that is coming and that football is not forever, so I prepared for that moment, I chose this path (player representation) and so far I have no regrets.
– Today he represents young players with potential. What was it like in your time when you were their age?
– The truth is that at that age we are not representatives, but rather mentors who try to guide them as best as possible so that they reach professional football and can internationalize their careers. I had a great career and I don’t regret that, but I always tell the boys that if I had had a mentor at the age of 16-17, maybe I would have reached other places like Spain, I really like England too. They are lucky now and even the competition makes you try to support them together with the family, which is very important. Afterwards, the players sell themselves, I always say that. By playing they will become visible abroad and at some point be exportable.
– How do you convince players to work with you?
– The point of view is super simple: yes they have conditions, but not only that, which is very important. In the end it is the work, the perseverance and the mentality that is fundamental and what leads you to be a professional player and, if you want, have an international career. For me, it is divided by divisions. There are players who are for Chile and others for more South American markets, but anyone who wants to reach Europe needs enormous work and a lot of sacrifice. We instill that. We know that not everyone makes it and through my experience I transmit to you everything I had to do to become a footballer and stay in Europe.
Rodrigo Tello’s emotional relationship with the U and two clubs in Europe
– They remember him with great affection at the U, Sporting and Besiktas. What do you think?
– It’s very rewarding. You don’t realize it when you’re playing, but when I go to Turkey, even now, people welcome me with a lot of love, in Portugal too. I spent almost 10 years on those two teams, there are not many players who have been on the same teams for a long time and that is felt even with the University of Chile. I would have loved to return to the U in my last year, it was not possible, but people always remind me of the moment in which with my goal I was able to give the club the two-time championship (in 2000). It is gratifying that they also remember me for the Olympic Games and that is what we try to do.
– In Besiktas it became a reference even when the language could be an impediment at the beginning…
– He caught me in good football and mental shape. At 27 years old, I joined a large team and the response was immediate. The people welcomed me with great affection, I tried to do my best as long as when you become champion in Turkey, you are remembered forever. I had the opportunity to do it with a great year, we had a great team, a great coach, it was an unforgettable experience.
– Is it easy to be recognized on the street when you go there?
– Yes I think so. If I don’t grow a beard like them, I think so (laughs). I have great friends there, I spent eight years there, then I went to Eskişehirspor and with that team I also achieved things like qualifying for the Europa League. Where I was in Europe I had good teams and at the same time being in great teams requires great pressure because you always need to win and fortunately I can say that in the teams I was in, I was able to win championships.
