At the age of 30, Juan Jaime is one of the leaders in the Deportes Copiapó dressing room, fighting to avoid the fall of B in Chilean soccer. The Argentine, who in December will start the procedures to adopt Chilean nationality, has been playing for ‘León de Atacama’ since 2017, so he has become a beloved player among the fans and within the club.
“I am completely grateful, because this is the club that believed in me and opened doors for me so that I could show myself here in Chile. Now I am focused on leaving the institution of the First Division,” he said to AS Chile from the north. And to that end, he has an important challenge this Sunday. Jaime and company will receive the U at the Luis Valenzuela Hermosilla stadium.
The man from Tucumán was excited. The reason is the unbeaten record in five games with a draw against Colo Colo at Monumental. “We did well, I think we need to improve in terms of closing games and achieving home wins, which gives us motivation to fly from the bottom,” he said.
– The arrival of Ivo Basay has given them greater strength in recent times…
– I think we have an increase in terms of performance and this is also reflected in the results. We have drawn a lot, but we have also won many times and they tied us in the last moments with a penalty against us or because of our own mistakes. I think we were selective: We played a lot of the right games, well, and they got away from us in the end.
– What do you think they did better today?
– With the desperation of wanting to win the game and not saving what we had, in the end we were left empty-handed and now we think differently. In the end, a point is useful for us and if we don’t win, we have to add what is needed. The coach also helped us at that point, so I’m happy with the team’s performance. There are a few dates left and we must continue on that path.
– I asked you about the U. In the Superclásico he showed a different face compared to the previous games. Do you think it could be a turning point for them and thus be a bigger challenge for Copiapó?
– We work on the weaknesses of the opponent, all this week we work on where we can hurt them. We watched a lot of videos, we analyzed a lot, but we didn’t think about how he did it in Colo Colo, because it doesn’t benefit us to talk about what happened, but to work where we can. can be dangerous. We know what their weak points are, and where they can hurt, so we know what the opponent can do. It all depends on us. If we are diligent, if everyone knows the work he is assigned to do, we will surely have a good result in our favor. And well, it’s special because in the short history of this club, this team as big as U has never come to our stadium… I hope we win, because we want to continue making history.
– Can you imagine a different match than the first round in Valparaíso? It’s 0-0 and there’s little chance to score…
– It was a long time ago and with another technician. It is difficult for us to adapt to the category. The numbers and the goals they scored against us were obvious. That is a game with some situations, where two goals are not allowed and I think one of them is legitimate. The important thing is that we stand on equal terms with a rival who has a great hierarchy and visitors. And we do it in a good way. Sometimes we see them as bad. We have to continue here at home, we have to express ourselves and play as if it is the last game to achieve victory.
– What are the strengths of U?
– They have a good aerial game, I think that can be seen in the Colo Colo game. They will certainly retreat to fight us, but we must be ready for attacks. We have a good plan, well armed and it will depend on us, the concentration we have for this game.
