Iquique finished as runner-up to the champion Cobreloa in the Promotion and will be part of the semifinals of the league that will define the partner of the Loíno team in the First Division. The northerners avoided the quarterfinal round of the mini-contest and will try to return to senior football after two years in B. Diego Orellana, midfielder for the light blue team, clarified the conversation with AS.
“We are also preparing in Santiago to achieve more filming. We are a team from the depths of the country and it helped us to play some friendly matches. The club made a commitment to us and made We are committed to the club with more action for the league,” said Orellana.
– How are they? In the semifinals of the league, they are the team with the least frequency of competition.
– What it is for conditions us all. For the same reason we are in Santiago so as not to lose the rhythm. We have won two or three games in a row and the idea is not to lose the thread this time, because we finished very high in the championship. We want those friendly matches to keep us at our best.
-How do you experience the uncertainty of not knowing which rival you will meet?
– We assimilated that and now we believe it is better, because before, there were many expectations to play again in the final. We will have semi-final matches and we will also have preparation matches. Since the Pan American Games also caused the First Division teams to stop, we were able to play friendlies against them and that allowed us to focus on decisive duels as well.
– On the last date, sometimes they go up. What was important in the great final stage you had in the championship?
-There is an individual development and that goes hand in hand with the collective. When each player increases his level, the performance of the team increases as well. I think it’s a combination of things, because we also know what our risks are. The squad that we also have an impact on, has high-ranking players. Ultimately we all guide ourselves to achieve what we achieve. This is not a direct promotion, but it is an important area.
-How does the squad feel for the future?
– Look, more than anything we need to prepare well for the future. We must have hope that we can face anyone. It will depend on who wins, we don’t have a fixed opponent. But whoever it is, we are ready to face it.
– They finished second in the tournament and always define at home. how are you
– People’s support is important to that, which has always been there since I was here. Unfortunately, in the first home game, we cannot count on our fans, but we know that people will support us from everywhere.
– Are people excited?
– Yes, and what also happened is that Iquique is a soccer city. Iquiqueño is very passionate. You walk down the street, you meet people and they tell you things, which we have to climb. For example, things happened to me in the same building where I live. They told me ‘they have to win’, so you can experience the atmosphere differently.
– What is your assessment in 2023? Or everything will be conditioned on how the season ends.
– I am not very good at making assessments of what will happen in the end. I think the club has been in these positions for a long time. We didn’t finish, but the most positive thing is that we competed all year. However, the most important thing is to achieve the current goal of the league.
– Is the Promotion tournament more attractive than the current one in the First Division?
– Yes, but I don’t know how to compare it to First Class, because they are different levels. It’s a competition, like someone wants to be on top and the next date comes and they lose. It is very attractive in that sense, there are also many goals.
