Covid changed all of our lives, and in every way. Even in football. Since the pandemic arrived, FIFA allowed five changes to be made to the teams, a measure that remained definitive, leaving behind the three substitutions that were made in the past. The problem, in some leagues, like the Chilean one, is that The amount allowed is not consistent with the number of substitutes on the bench, since only seven players sit and wait for their opportunity (six field players and one goalkeeper), something that draws attention to some of our football technicians, such as Jorge Almirón.
The coach of Colo Colo attended a press conference at the Monumental Stadium and was consulted about the situation of Alexander Oroz. The forward, who underwent surgery and is gradually returning to work with the ball, has been summoned to a couple of Copa Libertadores matches, but has not yet added any minutes, much less in the 2024 National Championship. His recovery must be calm, although in Chilean football he has few opportunities to do so.
Almirón explained that the Arrow “is recovered. We put it in little by little, I see it very strong. He had no chance to play football. He is great for projection, he also has no chance anywhere else, only in the first team. He only trains with us, Unfortunately the regulations do not allow it. You could gain minutes in projection, but it is prohibited. “I don’t understand that regulation.”
But it didn’t stop there. Immediately afterwards, Jorge Almirón continued shooting against the bases of the tournament, because he aimed at “the 18 players, that other coaches have complained about.” There, the trans-Andean mentions the 18 players allowed in the summons, an issue that was also mentioned at the time by the Universidad Católica coach, Tiago Nunes. The thing is that, with this number of footballers, the options are scarce and, furthermore, it does not go hand in hand with the promotion of young players.
Jorge Almirón does not understand the rules of Chilean soccer
The Colocolino coach lamented because, as a union, “we have no strength for anything.” Thus, later, he made a new criticism of the Chilean soccer system because “It hurts to have seven players on the bench. That gives young people few opportunities. On the one hand, there is the obligation to add minutes and on the other, options to enter are reduced.”.
The truth is that Almirón is correct. The Chilean championship is the league that has the fewest players cited per game, something that many link to the economic issue. The fact is that expanding the list of footballers in each delegation would mean a greater outlay of money for travel, lodging and operational issues.
How many substitutes are allowed in the different South American leagues?
- Argentina: 12
- Brazil: 12
- Paraguay: 12
- Ecuador: 12
- Venezuela: 12
- Bolivia: 12
- Uruguay: 10
- Peru: 9
- Colombia: 7
- Chile: 7
