2 hours ago, Rogerb said:

Picture posted by Lord Baltimore suggests may have been a Cessna citation.

Chilean news from Friday night actually provided quite a bit of detail on the flight to get the players to Europe and the plane itself.

"Flight of Joy"

The plane is a Bombardier Global 5000.  13 passengers, top speed of 950km/hr. 

"The private jet that took the stars of La Roja to Europe"

8 minutes ago, only2garners said:

Is the the ceramics background a reason why Ben’s mum has ended up living in Stoke, the UK’s pottery capital?

Yes.  I have a longer article i found in August that i have not posted on here that gets into more details regarding his family, plates, and the UK connection.  When the Chile dust settles i'll translate it.

57 minutes ago, only2garners said:

Well it will make a change from O’Higgins everything Lord Baltimore!

No doubt.  On his mother's side, because Andrea's grandfather [Ben's great grandfather] founded a ceramic's factory in the south-central town of Penco, there are several streets in that town named after some of Ben's maternal relatives.

Here's another pic  of Ben Brereton street with the guy who did it.  He lives on Benjamín street and following the Paraguay game he asked himself "why the fuck not add Brereton to my street name?", so he did.  He works in advertising which is why he was able to nail down the font on "Brereton" so well.

3 hours ago, arbitro said:

Did anybody hear the rumour doing the rounds yesterday about the cost of getting Brereton back for his fifteen minute cameo yesterday? The rumour suggested that a private jet brought him back from Chile, he is in rented accommodation over Chorley way and a hired luxury vehicle with perspex screens was used to ferry him to Ewood and back. The same vehicle will be used to take him to London and back next week. It was said the total cost would be £85k.

As I said it's a rumour going around so don't shoot the messenger.

At least as far as the private jet is concerned, that much is true.  However, it was paid for by several European teams interested in getting their players back quickly [flight left 3am Santiago time].  It was NOT just Rovers paying for Ben.

On the flight were Alexis Sánchez & Arturo Vidal [both Inter Milan Italy], Enzo Roco [Elche FC Spain], Tomás Alarcón [Cádiz FC Spain], Claudio Bravo [Real Betis Spain], and of course Big Ben from Blackburn  My understanding is all of those clubs chipped in for the flight.  This is pretty common for South American players with a tight schedule.

Here is Vidal's picture from the flight.  Caption reads "on the way to continue conquering Europe".

I forgot to add this earlier this week but BBD was on the Conmebol "ideal 11" team following the 2nd game against Paraguay.  What a lethal duo up front!

Argentina's most popular sports newspaper, Olé, has an article on Ben.  It's in Spanish but google translate does an ok job these days.  The title translates to:

Ben Brereton, all the rage in Chile: three goals with La Roja and a street with his name

https://www.ole.com.ar/futbol-internacional/america/ben-brereton-furor-chile-calle_0__IIzYM7Ng.html

Obviously, at this point this is NOT an official street name.  The street in Santiago is simply called Benjamín and someone has added Brereton to the street sign.  Still, at this rate it won't be long before a major thoroughfare or some other piece of infrastructure bears the name Ben Brereton.

4 hours ago, PotterLog said:

You should only need a VPN if you’re in the UK, the majority of games are available to overseas subscribers on iFollow or the club service.  

So after I registered with the official Rovers site i have access to RoversTV et al and can actually watch the games now 😃.  Glad  it's on demand too, so i don't have to watch anything live.  I have passed that on to my friends in Chile who have also been wondering how to watch the games.  

If BBD stays on at Blackburn, their official site at rovers.co.uk may have to add a Spanish-language version of their site for their new audience.  

On the national news last night, the nation of Chile ponders the important questions facing the country, such as "Why we Chileans love Ben Brereton".  

All of Benjamín's touches vs Venezuela.  I could do w/o the music but it is what it is....

BONUS

The entire stadium chanting "Dale Brereton!" [Go-on Brereton!] "Brereton! Brereton! Dale Brereton!"

The announcer says min 00:04-00:09 "It's crazy the amount of love the people have for the Blackburn footballer"

1 minute ago, bluebruce said:

You should be able to get it on the Rovers website. Not available in the UK as it takes away from bums on seats here, but living in most other countries you can.

We no longer use ifollow for this, Rovers are doing their 'own' now. As I say I think you should be able to find it on rovers.co.uk

thanks for the tip.  we will see if it works.  unfortunately tomorrow my 3yr old has "soccer" 20mins before kickoff and i'll have to be mind his no-talent ass instead. 😕

57 minutes ago, PotterLog said:

 

Someone hook a brother up, you lot must have iFollow or something similar?

i looked into it and it looked promising.  then tucked at the bottom of the ifollow page i see this:

We are therefore unable to provide subscriptions to fans of AFC Bournemouth, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bristol City, Cardiff City, Charlton Athletic, Derby County, Forest Green Rovers, Fulham, Harrogate Town, Leyton Orient, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest, Plymouth Argyle, QPR, Reading, Salford City, Sheffield United, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion and Wigan Athletic. Please contact your club for more information.

i don't follow....but i will investigate.

9 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

But I bet a fair few of them would pay a reasonable price to watch the streams if pointed in the right direction.

I dont know how to watch Blackburn games here in the US but i would be willing to pay a reasonable fee for access.  So would many others.

A bit of hyperbole....

I have read several places that Ben's performances have also been watched by many in Spain, specifically in Seville.  Here is an article from Spain regarding Spanish interest in BBD.

Ben Brereton Díaz, preparing to make a jump to Champion's League-bound Sevilla FC

https://www.estadiodeportivo.com/sevilla/2021/10/15/posible-once-sevilla-celta/360004.html

Real Madrid legend claims Stokie Ben Brereton Díaz's shirt as goal streak continues

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ben-brereton-diaz-ivan-zamorano-6067048

Ben gifted his game jersey to chilean legend Iván Zamorano last night.  Bam Bam Zamorano was over the moon!  Next shirt for Marcelo Salas?  Another gesture that raises his stock even higher with fans.

7 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

BBD can only deal with whats in front, his job was to get a decent shot on target and he did that well.

I do not think much of a lot of the South American keepers.

¿WTF?

you're entitled to your opinion.  even if it's a stupid one.

so latin american goalies suck....the goalie is short....the goalie crouched.....the goalie trimmed his nails that morning.......pff.  It was a great fucking goal, no if's and's or buts.

Ben's goal vs Cubazuela to make it 3-0.  What a great run!  What a goal!  Icing on the cake.  The pass into space for Ben wasn't bad either.

So what does Ben Brereton Díaz want?

Does he WANT to continue playing for Blackburn at all, regardless of whatever contract he is offered, or does he want to move on to another club?  I'm only asking because I don't know.  Maybe someone here does.

I don't mean to be overly dramatic, but one thing that needs to be considered is that the Ben Brereton of May 2021 is not the same man, let alone player, that he is now in October 2021.  He is a new man and a new player.  His rebranding of himself as Ben Brereton Díaz now is proof of that and indicates to me that the player also thinks of himself differently too.   

Up until this northern hemisphere summer (Copa América is played in winter from a southern perspective) he was just a young man from somewhere in England struggling to make it.  Now he has been catapulted to international fame as the entire Spanish [and Portuguese] speaking football world knows who Brereton Díaz is, not because he is a novelty anymore but because he scores goals and is a DIFFERENT player.  The consensus is that his value is going up and up for every ball he touches when he plays for Chile and his exploits for Blackburn Rovers as Brereton Díaz have not gone unnoticed.  He has also put Blackburn Rovers on the South American map, as only the Premiere League is followed by most.

Would someone whose professional and personal life (general good fortune) have changed so much in 6 months want to continue playing for the same team as Brereton or does Brereton Díaz want a new team to go with his new identity?  Regardless of what he has done in the past, he is having a wonderful present.

I would love to know what you, who have known him so long, think HE would want to do.

BONUS

Another Chilean commercial starring BBD, this time for Top, which is an underwear & clothing company.  

The advert is titled "Ben Brereton's Story".  Top is the brand name but the word "top" in chilean spanish also means "great" or "the best" or "wonderful".  One of many English-language influences on chilean spanish.

In the ad,  the narrator says:

"From a young age, 2 things were clear to Ben: that he would have a Top [ie, great] life and a great beard.

"One Christmas he received a gift that would change his life, and they would be inseperable.  Truly inseperable.

"Ben was destined to be Top [the best], not only due to his great talent but also to his super smile.

"One day he received a call from a far away place, where he found his roots [holding crockery/plate, which was his Chilean family's business] and the love of an entire country.

"There is no doubt:  Ben was born to be Top [the best]."

At the end, Ben himself voices "Siéntete cómodo, siéntete Top." Feel comfortable, feel Top [great].

Good article from ESPN on Ben, and another from The Sun.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/chile-chi/story/4496635/chile-hope-england-born-ben-brereton-diaz-can-salvage-world-cup-hopes

Chile hope England-born Ben Brereton Díaz can salvage World Cup hopes

"The Blackburn striker is supplying exactly what the ageing Chile side have been lacking -- thrust and energy and youth. Seeing that he can thrive at the level has clearly done wonders for the confidence of a player who had previously been struggling to live up to expectations with his club after being transferred from Nottingham Forest for a substantial fee."

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/16346867/stats-england-chile-ben-brereton-diaz/

Stats show Ben Brereton Díaz is a different player after swapping England for Chile and he has "South American Edge"

I was reading about how BBD has won over his team mates in the locker room, in addition to winning over the fans.  Several players praised his attitude, his guts/balls when facing opposition, his work rate, that he is quiet [language limitations no doubt] and is humble, not seeking the limelight which has found him.

Carlos Caszely, [Chile's best player in the 70s & early 80s, awarded the 1st red card in world cup history in '74 & infamous in Chile for missing a penalty in the 82WC] said that Bréreton Díaz is doing what Arturo Vidal does for the team in transmitting a certain energy to everyone around him.   BBD "transmits the same as Arturo Vidal. He runs, he fights, he runs to the endline, he does not give up lost balls. He dlivers a lot of energy. That is positive, because it is contagious to teammates ”. 

You can see how much he's grown into the team since the Copa América a few months ago.  He's finally getting passes & his team mates are looking for him.  You can feel the love in the way his team mates mobbed him after he destroyed the Paraguayan net with his blast.

Someone on here a few days ago predicted the chilean fans and/or media would turn against BBD if chile doesnt qualify or if he misses a key penalty or something.  That shows a lack of understanding or appreciation of how much BBD is loved & how he is thought about.  He is thought of in a way that is different from any other player, different than anyone i've ever seen play for Chile.  The love is unconditional, like the love for your child.  It's weird to put it in those terms but BBD can literally do no wrong.  He could miss the penalty that costs chile a place in the next world cup and it would not be held against him.  That he doesnt speak the languages adds to his aura.  He has endeared himself to chileans like no one i have ever seen.

In case anyone had doubts, Breretonmanía continues unabated in Chile.....and beyond?

From Chile's national news last night.

All of Benjamín's touches vs Paraguay.

min 00:25 shot by BBD.

min 00:45 for play leading up to BBD's goal at min 68.  

min 03:15 foul on BBD leads to paraguayan red card.