at least he got some balls played to him this game. last game vs peru he was all alone up front (not his fault, barely had 13 touches) with Malexis playing 60yds from goal (and losing the ball 31 times) and never getting the ball up to BBD. as a chilean, winning a game gives one a queer and unusual feeling suddenly. it's been sooo long....the calculator is still our friend, as they say. keep hope alive! well done Ben!

it's a two way street. i understand Blackburn have to abide by the rules imposed upon them by the league and government. but Blackburn have demonstrated no interest in cooperating with the Chilean FA regarding some kind of compromise, like some other English teams did with other affected FAs. the statements this week by Mowbray saying BBD would not be made available for October's qualifiers demonstrate a lack of good will. the whole "red country" bullshit is just an excuse, a convenient if binding cover. if Chile are removed from this "red list" in the next week, would that change Blackburn's mind for October qualifiers? No. (why Chile is on that "red list" i do not know). if Blackburn doesn't want to play ball, i think it's fair for Chile to enforce Fifa rules as much as it sucks for BBD. BBD's value will go up as a player when he takes the field against Brazil, not against Luton Town or whatever. Players have to be made available for interantionals on fifa dates. Them's the rules. BBD should have done what Vidal and many other south american players in similar situations did, which was just go play for your country anyway and deal with the consequences when you return. Players face consequences when they break the rules, and teams do too. it is a shit situation to be in. for Blackburn, for Chile, for BBD. Chileans are upset not because he wasn't able to make the trip but because Blackburn Rovers (whoever it is that is in charge of such things in the organization) are seen to be doing everything possible to impede his trip, that is, Rovers are not seen as innocent bystanders who are being forced into a decision they don't want to make by forces greater than themselves. When a team takes that attitude towards a national player, people get upset. Rovers are seen as the villains, fairly or not. When your team doesn't win, doesn't score goals, and is sinking down the standings, it is even more upsetting. So much of football is about emotion, isn't it? You want rational fans, go watch chess. Rovers have their interests and Chile fans do too.

Chile is desperate. No doubt. "Another Brereton" has been named to the Chile squad in American & half chilean Robbie Robinson who scores goals for David Beckham's Inter Miami.

There is talk in CONMEBOL of cancelling the upcoming qualifiers since England and Spain have announced they would not cede players for the upcoming int'l dates with France & Italy possibly following suite. This whole thing is one big coviddy clusterfuck.

Expectations were (are?) high in Chile for BBD's participation in the upcoming qualifyers against Brazil [in Chile w/fans present] and at Ecuador and Colombia, especially with Alexis Sánchez out with injury for the Nth time and lacking options up front. Here is a screenshot of a BBD story on Chile's national news titled "Brereton +10 others for the triple qualifying date" Chile's national news and other national broadcasters have now begun to cover Blackburn Rovers results in their sports coverage, especially if BBD is involved. This still is from a clip featuring the fan reaction to his goal.

Given the UK restrictions and the 3 games BBD would be forced to miss upon his return from Sudamérica, I find it hard to believe he will be making the trip to play for Chile, much to my disappointment. The Covid situaiton is "manageable" in Chile, which had one of most successful vaccination roleouts anywhere, with over 80% of the target population vaccinated and continually falling rates. Football fans have returned to the stadiums. But BBD would have to play in Ecuador and Colombia too (places where covid still runs wild) and the restrictions places upon him on his return to England are more than fair, unfortunately. Covid is such a hassle. CONMEBOL is squeezing 3 games instead of 2 for the next two rounds of upcoming qualifying games now in September and then in October, in order to make up for the two cancelled games from earlier this year, presumably for Covid-related reasons. There are plenty who say that those Spring games were really cancelled because Argentina and Brazil decided they didn't want to play each other before June's Copa América. Given how these two countries routinely put their thumb on the CONMEBOL scales, this corrupt scenario seems more plausable than the official Covid excuse for cancelling the March games.

I know not everyone makes it to the Ben Brereton thread but you are aware of "Breretonmanía" arent you? It hit Chile and parts of the UK in June. The man has 900k followers just on instagram alone [i am not one] . He has enough fans in Chile [who are not necessarily fans of the Championship or Rovers--and have probably only seen him for Chile in Copa América] who produce dozens of fan videos weekly and BB [BBD?] doesnt need anyone doing PR for him there. He has inspired people to even write songs about him. It's loco. By the by, have you seen his Pepsi commercial?

Glad someone posted this here. at min 00:18 Ben orders a CHACARERO, which is a chilean sandwich made with thinly sliced steak or pork, topped with tomatoes, green beans, a few chili peppers, and optional mayonaise, served on a round bun. it's my american wife's favorite sandwhich and, it seems, was named by the american Time Magazine as one of "The 13 Most Amazing Sandwiches The World Has To Offer". (i don't care for the green beans) I like how the girl at min 00:23 yells "Pass it to him!" ("pásasela!"), underscoring what many chilean fans felt--that BB was not given enough passes by his team mates. Good for him. Enjoy your moment. Get paid.

Blackburn Boss Tony Mowbray On The Benefits Of Ben Brereton's Chile Impact https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/19419161.blackburn-boss-tony-mowbray-benefits-ben-breretons-chile-impact/ Some BBD fanboy from Chile put together this compilation of Brereton in action at Copa América. It has the eye-rolling title of "The Reason Ben Brereton Made The World Fall In Love With HIm" (the reason BB enamoured the world).

Which real world is that? Is education or are educators not valued in England or UK? Asking as a foreigner.

The unusual story of how BB ended up in South America this winter [July is winter in Chile]. How Blackburn Rovers Season Ticket Holder Helped Make Ben Brereron A Chile Star https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/19418434.blackburn-rovers-season-ticket-holder-helped-make-ben-brereton-chile-star/

Even in defeat, BB's stock continues to rise among Chileans. Chilean fandom liked that BB always wants to go forward while others only want to play side to side. They liked that BB never tired of waving his arms and asking for the ball and conversely they disliked the perceived selfishess of some of his team mates for seeming to "boycott" BB and not give him enough passes. Still, Chile only scored three goals and Brereton was involved in 66.7% of them. And hit the crossbar against Brazil. Not too shabby for a newbie. They also loved the "death stare" BB gave Brazil's Gabriel de Jesus after he planted his cleats firmly in the face of Chile's Eugenio Mena and was deserveldy ejected and hopefully jailed. The Twittersphere (I do not...Tweet) declared him to be the best thing about this Copa América for Chile (that doesn't mean he was the best player). An article in Spanish with some good pictures titled: "We don't deserve you": Ben Brereton Given Title As The Best Thing For Chile In This Copa América https://www.adnradio.cl/la-roja/2021/07/02/no-te-merecemos-ben-brereton-recibio-el-titulo-de-lo-mejor-de-la-roja-en-la-copa-america.html

I think if BB had scored that goal aginst Brazil that went off of the crossbar he would probably have been issued his own postage stamp (for anyone who still uses them). Brereton should have been in the starting line up. Alexis Sánchez had been sidelined with [another] injury and tried hard to recover in time for the 2nd round. For as much as Alexis doesn't want to stay away from the pitch, Chile's coach Lasarte should have had the balls to keep him on the bench or even off the squad entirely. He was not in any condition to play and Brereton would have made more of an impact early on. Chile did well the 1st half (goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, widely viewed as a "flop" in England ,has been superb). They frustrated Brazil with possession but Chile didn't have enough up front. And all that went to waste just 1min into the 2nd half, after BB had come in for Malexis after halftime. Brazil played a man down the last 42mins but you wouldn't have known it. BB's team mates again came in for some heavy criticism post game for not passing him the ball enough. Chile's inablity to center a ball or successfully threaten towards the end of the game was beyond infuriating and speaks to the lack of attack on this Chile team (and part of reason BB parachuting onto this team out of nowhere has caused such a stir). As always in South America and especially when Brazil/Argentina are involved (even more so if VARzil hosts), there was some shady shit afoot, from a Chilean perspective. The ref was Argentine and logic dictates he has no reason to favor Brazil but the number of times he seemed to hand free kicks after a Brazilian flop were too many to count. Legit fouls for Chile were ignored. Brazil was in an unusually theatrical mood, even for Brazil, and was often rewarded for it. Neymar handed out a slap to the face away from the ball to a Chilean player, which could have been a red, but it was ignored (the Brazilian origin of the TV feed ensured no replays were shown). There seemed to be a possible penalty against Charles Aranguiz for Chile around minute 69:43 and both the ref and VAR ignored it and Brazilian feed once again did not even show a replay. It felt like Brazil was there for the taking and once again it did not happen for Chile, who played better than expected. The important thing is for Argentina to not win the Copa América and that Messi never lifts a trophy with his adopted country (many Argies say he's really Catalan after all this time).

Good UK article on BB and his Copa América adventure: No Fairytale Ending For Ben Brereton But The Blackburn Rovers Ace Returns As Chile's Noble Hero https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/football-news/blackburn-rovers-brereton-chile-brazil-2096173

Benjamín's header against Brazil. Replays are shown after the play stops.

You're right, of course. I overheard a lazy journalist say they hadnt lost.

Nor can Chileans. Chile have never beaten Brazil in Brazil. And i think this Brazil team has not lost a game since being eliminated by Belgium at WC 2018. In the end, it's 11 vs 11 and it is hope against overwhelming odds that makes us all love football and keep watching.

I don't mean to keep overhyping Ben Brereton, it's just that in the UK you're not seeing what i'm seeing here in the US on Chilean and Spanish language media. I'm only sharing the tip of the iceburg available in English mostly. He is a legitimate celebrity in every sense of the word. And no matter what happens tonight versus Brazil, the Chilean fans (about 90% of the population of 19M) will continue to follow his every move (and have their eyes on Rovers too). And it just doesn't stop. He is the gift that keeps on giving. Even the shirt off his back. This week a boy named Cristobal went viral with a home made Brereton #22 Chile jersey. And yesterday Ben Brereton sent Cristobal a video message telling him he would be mailing him an official Brereton Díaz shirt. That gesture has further endeared him to an already adoring Chilean public. Needless to say Cristobal was over the luna.... Here is an article in Spanish about it: https://www.lacuarta.com/deportes/noticia/ben-brereton-sorprendio-pequeno-fans/648097/

The daily dose of Ben Brereton....three more English language articles on BB. Ben Brereton Hoping To Outshine Neymar And Brazil To Keep Copa América Dream Alive https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/brereton-blackburn-neymar-copa-america-24446875 From Blackburn To Brazil: Ben Brereton Is Shining At The Copa América https://www.planetfootball.com/in-depth/from-blackburn-to-brazil-brereton-to-take-on-neymar-with-chile-at-the-copa-america/ The Fairytale Rise of Ben Brereton: How The Man From Stoke Became A Cultural Phenonemon In Chile https://theathletic.com/2685423/2021/07/02/the-fairytale-rise-of-ben-brereton-how-the-man-from-stoke-became-a-cultural-phenomenon-in-chile/

Who can forget this Brazilian display?

Yeah, pre 1980s Brazil was something else. But too much south american talent gets exported to Europe at such a young age that they end up being more european and less "south american". Messi has been a Barça boy since age 13....until his contract expired on june 30.

Interesting. It always seems like there are more south americans in English football but that prob has to do with some distorted optics out of the top premiere league teams recruiting big flashy names. It feels like every team has a token brazilian.

Forgive my ignorance but how common have south americans been at Rovers? I know Roque Santa Cruz played a bit ago but social media was not really there yet. I think some other Paraguayan at some point? What about Spaniards?

Two English-language articles from today about Ben Diez: Meet Ben, The Englishman Who Doesn't Speak Spanish Playing For Chile In Copa América https://the18.com/soccer-entertainment/why-does-brereton-play-for-chile From Blackburn to Brazil: Chile Revelation Brereton Lighting Up The Copa América Along With Messi & Neymar https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/from-blackburn-to-brazil-chile-revelation-brereton-lighting/1o7uva13bqpr1wjp3r703jcwt

when i read the English language article it quickly became obvious it was some sort of Google-Translate lazy copy-paste writing from the original El Pais spanish article. The spanish word used for "bellows" is fuelle and it is one i have never heard in my life, most likely an iberian word not used in latin america. I don't even know what a bellow is in English, lol. "He lost steam" or "He lost momentum" would have been better, but again, Google Translate.