El País, Spain's biggest paper, has an article on Ben Breton today. Here is the original article: https://elpais.com/deportes/copa-america-futbol/2021-06-29/ben-brereton-el-necesitado-gol-ingles-de-chile.html Here is the same article in English from a different source: Ben Brereton: Chile's (Needed) English Goal https://pledgetimes.com/ben-brereton-chiles-needed-english-goal/

O Globo is Brazil's biggest & most important paper. That said, chileans are flattered [and amused] BB would be listed in a best 11 by a Brazil's biggest paper but nobody really believes of course BB belongs on that team.

Brazil's most important media group, O Globo, have Ben Brereton on their "ideal 11" team after the 1st round of Copa América, playing center forward alongside Messi & Neymar. https://ge.globo.com/futebol/copa-america/noticia/neymar-messi-e-cia-ge-monta-selecao-da-fase-de-grupos-da-copa-america.ghtml

Last chance to see Benjamín Bréreton Díaz with Chile for a while will be 1am Saturday morning in the UK or Friday, 8pm ET/USA. Barring covid wiping out the current Brazilian team (not out of the question), Chile will likely lose badly to Brazil and end BB's participation with the team at least until the next CONMEBOL world cup qualifying games in early September. I can't see anyone beating this Brazil team. They should win the Copa América without breaking a sweat. (As trivia, Brazil is the only country to knock Chile out of a world cup the four times they've advanced to the knockout round. They beat Chile in the semi's of the 1962WC 4-2, and in the round of 16 in the 1998WC 4-1, in the 2010WC 3-0, and in the 2014WC on penalties 1-1.)

He was gifted the shirt by the press chief, £70 price tag, XXXL, last BB shirt in the store.

Real Sociedad confirmed their interest in Ben Brereton but they also stated they would NOT be pursuing any forwards because Swedish attacker Alexander Isak will stay on another year. It was the threat of Isak's departure that prompted Real Socieded to look at Brereton. https://cadenaser.com/emisora/2021/06/28/radio_san_sebastian/1624833039_954084.html

Perhaps, but I didn't get that sense. I think they were laughing more at the "hate each other to the death" (se odian a muerte). I don't get a sense the panelists are familiar enough with English geography, rivalries, the Championship and "minor" Premiere league teams to find it amusing that Rovers rivals play at a higher league. But i may be wrong.

I just saw this. Let me see.... So the reporter at Ewood park is just relaying basic info on Rovers to the people in the studio (and wider audience), they ask about the BB shirt he is holding, was there a store, how much was it (size XXXL, only one left in store at UK$70 BB Rovers shirts have all sold out). He points to the Rovers emblem and explains the importance of the red rose. Beginning min 16:10..."Rovers was the champion of the Premiere League, something very few small clubs have done. This is a very small club. The 'clasico'/derby for Rovers is with Burnley, which is the neighboring city. They hate each other to the death, I was told by the Rovers press chief [a little chuckle from the studio]. Burnley is in the Premiere, Blackburn is in the Championship, therefore they're down below. They're struggling. It's true, they're struggling a lot." He then goes on to relay his attempts to obtain the sold out Brereton shirt with his face on the Chile flag and was given the only shirt they had left which is 5 sizes too big and he'll find someone to gift it to.

Damn these double posts! Still getting a feel for posting on the forum....

And it appears Leeds United will NOT be making a move for Brereton this transfer window. https://www.footballfancast.com/leeds-united-transfer-rumours/leeds-united-transfer-news-ben-brereton-marcelo-bielsa-victor-orta-blackburn-rovers-premier-league

Sorry , double post.

Saw this. Just part of what will be continued Chilean interest in the entire Rovers organization (South Americans love your stadiums....so much glass. So shiney. Alas we/they are decades away from that. Hooliganism and savagery hasn't gone away there). Mowbray is described as "an experienced old fox" who has obviously coached many important teams. In the interview with Mowbray, he say he sees and preferrs Brereton playing on the left while making diagonal runs towards the middle, which is where he also thinks he should play for Chile. Near min 3:20, he says Brereton can play many positions up front and is versatile but he most likes him running up the left flank, cutting in diagonally towards center and shooting with this right foot. He says it's his best position because he can cut in dribbling, face players, and shoot with his right. If he plays on the right it's different because he likes to run in diagonally but would be attacking with is weaker foot. Min 3:40 "the left side is addictive for him. He loves running up that side, cutting in, and shooting for the far post, like the goal he scored against Bolivia". The whole thing started with the interviewer asking Mowbray where he would like to see him play, and Mowbray told him to wait a minute and went for his paper and marker to illustrate his points. Min 4:40 Mowbray explains why he does not use BB as an attacking 9. He says he could have used him there but chose not to because that position because BB needed to "develop his body" further in order to play there. "That position is more physical, with stronger forwards. BB has prepared himself to play there but I believe he has more potential as an attacker on the left" says Mowbray. (Both the interviewer who visits Ewood Park as well as several of the panelists go to great lengths to verify the veracity of Leeds United's interest in BB) What I like is that around min 8:30 BB's buddy Bradley Dack completely contradicts Mowbray and says he sees BB playing best as an attacking center 9, a box player, due to his size and speed. "He plays well on the left, because he's fast and cuts diagonally. He's played mostly on the wings at Rovers and in a few games he's been tried as a 9. I would like to see him as a number 9 for chile, with Alexis and Vargas accompanying him. I think Ben can contribute most the Chile national team as a 9".

Hence my specifying "American dialect" 😉. I spent 4 days in Londres betwixt xxxmas & new years in 1997. And i have heard all of the Ricky Gervais/Karl Pilkington xfm podcasts so i understand more than the average Yank. But as in Spanish, using "other people's" expressions is a bit like wearing someone elses clothes. You can get away with it in front of strangers but it feels uncomfortable and fake. I think i used "taking the mickey out of" in the Brereton thread and it made me feel....dirty.

Nearly 45yrs in the USA works wonders for one's American dialect😉. Thanks.

No connection. Not obsessed. Just informed, of late. I am Chilean. That is my angle. He now plays for the Chile team and like all of Chile's internationals I am interested in where each play and how each is playing in their respective leagues. I joined this forum in order to convey a different perspective as a South American and an American, who is plugged into Spanish language media and likes football. I am skeptical of Brereton. He hasn't wowed me but he has shown promise. And I have seen him play at Rovers and I see what any Rover fans sees and it isn't pretty. He has been a dud and has not lived up to his potential. There is no doubt there. And every skeptic is totally justified. That said, it is what people who are not me and are not Rovers fans have seen in him that makes me give him a second look. I also dismissed fan chatter of a Bielsa connection because he did not seem like a player Bielsa would bother with. But well placed and credible sources say othewise, and no, it is not mere gossip. Bielsistas know what he can do with a diamond in the rough (and i am not saying Brereton is that, but perhaps Bielsa is). Beyond that, Chilean media also reports from the training grounds and from coaches and again, it is these people who are in positions to see what players do and how they fit in with the team that are singing his praises for what they've seen in training and for what he has the potential to do, once he better understand the chilean system, players, and language. This is what I mean about arrogance. Brereton has been highly regarded by South American coaches, managers, and sporting press. Not just by desperate Chilean fans. Yet this is dismissed as hysteria, flavor of the month, agents trying to make money, press trying to sell papers or clickbait. Not the thoughtful analysis of sports professionals. South America is behind in many things but understanding football and spotting football talent are not among them. My "defence" of Brereton has more to do with what professionals who know and see much more than me have to say than with any personal feelings I have for him, though of course i want him to succeed.

Dude, you've got to let that fee shit go. He wasnt bought 6wks ago but 3yr ago. There is a certain amount of arrogance in your posts. You seem to think that somehow BB or his agent have pulled a fast one on these poor ignorant backwards South Americans. There are reasons Brereton was scouted beyond his ability to obtain a chilean passport. There are reasons Marcelo Bielsa [one of the best coaches in the world who does not follow young players willy nilly] has scouted him for Leeds not based on his last 2wks but for the last 2yrs. There are reasons he has been personally recommended to Real Sociedad by their former coach & current chile manager Lasarte, who sees what he does on the practice pitch against players far better than his Rovers team mates. There are reasons he has earned the respect of his fellow players on the Chile team. And there are reasons he has become a household name all over South America. They all have to do with Brereton's attributes both on and off the pitch. He has EARNED it all himself. And all without speaking any Spanish and coming from a completely alien footballing culture [from a Chilean perspective]. Rovers have been a stone in his shoes. Rovers have had him for 3yrs and still dont quite know where to play him. He is surrounded by mediocrity from top to bottom. That is on Rovers. He will thrive anywhere else, as he is showing. How easily you rubbish the South American opposition he has faced, another example of your arrogance and i will add ignorance of what South American football is actually like. Mid table CONMEBOL is top table everywhere but UEFA, and even there it's still 2nd tier & able to beat 1st tier teams. Even Bolivia would routinely qualify for the world cup anywhere else and would certainly make most EuroCups. Having balls & being gutsy on your first appearance for Chile vs Argentina is not nothing. Scoring on your first international start is not nothing. Getting an assist on your 2nd internatioanl start vs Uruguay is not nothing. But i get it. Rovers overpaid 3yrs ago. Boo hoo!

Doubt it since Mowbray and many of the Rovers staff are in daily contact with him, according to sources inside both Chile & Rovers. Seeing him in person wont be the problem. But Rovers coaching is dragging him down.

BenDiez is now being looked at by Real Sociedad in Spain on the personal recommendation of chile's uruguayan coach Lasarte, who coached at Real Sociedad between 2009-11. https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/transfer-news/nottingham-forest-ben-brereton-leeds-5577296

Thanks. Speaking of which, UK article that addresses Chile's struggle to pronounce his name: Leeds United Link As Chile Debates How to Pronounce Ben Brereton https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/ben-brereton-transfer-leeds-stoke-5572412

In the US it'd be either the way it is spelled with that middle R clearly proniunced and some would probably change that end T to a D [Brereden].

Two nights ago following the team dinner, there was the traditional "baptism" for players making their debut for Chile in this Copa America. It consists of the kid standing on a chair, loudly stating his name, age, and club (usually followed by cheers & jeers), and he is made to sing a song of his choosing in front of the entire delegation. All the new debuts sang reggaeton songs (which BB had better get used to...poor guy!). But not Brereton. He was deemed too tall to stand on the chair (they feared he'd hit the ceiling). Standing on the chair next to him is an English speaking coach for the chilean team to help him out.

Can someone clear up how exactly to pronounce his lastname? I have heard it pronounced both the way it is spelled, "BRE-re-ton" and I have heard the player himself pronounce it "BRE-ton", omitting the middle syllable. I understand there are strong regional & social differences in pronounciation around England. But is Ben Diez's pronounciation of his own surname regional or would everyone in England pronounce it "BRE-ton"?

Terrible game by Chile, deserving their 2-0 loss to Paraguay. The consensus is that it was the worst game Chile have had in years and certainly in the Lasarte era. The team couldnt string together 3 passes. Neither BB or Vargas saw much of the ball but at least Ben Diez got his first yellow card. Brazil looms in the 2nd round one way or another. Chile had injuries but that doesnt explain the forgettable display. The team has a bye for the last first round game and does not play again for another 9 days. Due to the horrible training grounds & medical facilities in Brazil, the team will train back in Santiago until 48hrs before their 2nd round game.

As an outsider, not someone who has watched Brereton struggle to find the back of the net and his slugging it out even for a starting position for the past few seasons as Rovers, i obviously have a different perspective on BB. While I don't think he's God or some prodigy, he has something special. He played well enough as a teen to score goals for the England U-20. He seemed to play well for Forest and Rovers paid a hefty sum to obtain him. And he was a dud for 2yrs and showed promise this last season. Not much bang for your buck. Beyond what he has or has not done at Rovers, I think some people here under appreciate what he has done since leaving England to train with Chile. He speaks NO SPANISH (i've seen the tapes). He is a 100% English player in South America. Do you know what that means? English! He is physical, he runs, long ball, and not very technical. This is completely different to the South American game and to the way Chile and the Chilean players....play. Plenty of talented South American players flop when they get to England (or Germany, etc..."blond Europe") because they have difficulty adapting to the style of play, their team mates, and/or the local culture (much easier to adapt to Spain or Italy in that respect). The footballing winds were not at his back. And yet he made the final team cut, has gotten on well with his team mates, has somehow adapted well to the style of play, "no le pesa la camiseta" ("the national shirt did not weigh him down"), and he has impressed with what he has done against very talented international sides. Plenty of Chilean football insiders, privy to what goes on off the pitch in the trainings and with the coaches, have spoken at length about Brereton's footballing attributes and what he can bring to the national team....AND ANY OTHER TEAM provided he has the right coaching. Chile is not Brazil or France. Nor is it Scotland or North Macedonia. For someone like Brereton to have come in from nowhere and made the cut, make first team, become a national sensation and hero in Chile, to be talked about all over Latin America, and now to be seriously scouted by one of the best managers in the world......but but but...he doesn't score for Rovers. England U 20s. Chile's starting team. Scouted by Bielsa. The problem is Rovers. Sad to say.

Chilean national news last night also reporting on Biels's interest in BB. "Bielsa Seeking Brereton" reads the headline.