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Alfaro: Paraguay's football system, not players, needs to show maturity
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Sports

Alfaro: Paraguay's football system, not players, needs to show maturity

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Paraguay's national football team coach Gustavo Alfaro defended his players after their historic qualification for the round of 16, emphasizing that the team's maturity must be reflected in the local football structure.
  • Alfaro criticized the Paraguayan football system for its obsession with immediate results and lack of patience, stating that constant changes hinder project development.
  • He highlighted the need for a national project and consistency in Paraguayan football, suggesting that the current focus on short-term outcomes prevents growth.

Paraguay's national football coach Gustavo Alfaro stressed that the team's success is a testament to their maturity, and it is the local football system that needs to demonstrate similar growth. After the Albirroja's historic qualification for the round of 16, Alfaro used the press conference to advocate for a national project and criticize the prevailing culture of "immediacy" in Paraguayan football.

I didn't need any response from the players; the players always gave me the responses, that's why we have the relationship we have.

— Gustavo AlfaroParaguay's national football coach defending his players after their historic qualification.

"I didn't need any response from the players; the players always gave me the responses, that's why we have the relationship we have," Alfaro stated, defending his squad. He recounted how captain Gustavo Gómez was speaking to the younger players in the locker room about conduct and behavior befitting national team players. "For me, I didn't need anything. I think the demonstration of maturity must come from Paraguay's football," he added.

I think the demonstration of maturity must come from Paraguay's football.

— Gustavo AlfaroCoach Alfaro's call for systemic improvement in Paraguayan football.

Alfaro lamented the tendency in Paraguayan football to get caught up in "small talk" and constant analysis, leading to a lack of consistent progress. He described the situation as being stuck between viewing the team as "third-level" or "first-level," arguing that the truth lies somewhere in between and that consensus is key to growth. "We can't always be at a new beginning," he urged.

We can't always be at a new beginning.

— Gustavo AlfaroCriticizing the lack of continuity in Paraguayan football projects.

The Argentine coach also pointed to the instability within local club football, noting that only 20% of first-division coaches last long enough to manage 20% of the matches. "It's very difficult to have a project when you only bet on the result; at some point, it traps you," he explained. Alfaro expressed empathy for his fellow coaches, stating, "When they fire a coach, it hurts me because I put myself in their place; I've been fired, and I know how ungrateful it is."

It's very difficult to have a project when you only bet on the result; at some point, it traps you.

— Gustavo AlfaroExplaining the challenges of developing long-term projects in Paraguayan football.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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