Johnny Herrera defends Lucas Assadi amid Superclásico rumors

Former Universidad de Chile goalkeeper Johnny Herrera has strongly defended player Lucas Assadi against recent media reports suggesting he might miss the upcoming Superclásico match against Colo Colo.

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Start digging, who is telling them? The president, the former president, some member of the coaching staff? Does he normally cover the field, does he have contacts of who?

Reports indicated that Assadi could be excluded from the game to facilitate an imminent transfer to Swedish club AIK. Herrera, a legendary figure for Universidad de Chile, voiced his strong disagreement on TNT Sports' program "Todos Somos Técnicos." He directly accused individuals within the club of attempting to tarnish Assadi's reputation.

"Start digging, who is telling them? The president, the former president, some member of the coaching staff? Does he normally cover the field, does he have contacts of who?" Herrera questioned, implying a deliberate leak of information. "I understand that sources are untouchable, but who is telling them this from inside the club? Could it be someone who wants to harm Lucas Assadi, for example? Then it's digging, spreading the information that the player doesn't want to play, I think that's serious."

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I understand that sources are untouchable, but who is telling them this from inside the club? Could it be someone who wants to harm Lucas Assadi, for example? Then it's digging, spreading the information that the player doesn't want to play, I think that's serious.

Drawing on his extensive experience as a professional footballer, Herrera refuted the notion that Assadi would lack the desire to play in such a significant match. "Someone who was a footballer only wants to play, especially when you grew up in your team. Imagine if this is Assadi's last game, in a classic, with a full stadium, being the best player. So, throwing out bombs just to throw them out, to harm someone, is not right," he concluded.

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Someone who was a footballer only wants to play, especially when you grew up in your team. Imagine if this is Assadi's last game, in a classic, with a full stadium, being the best player. So, throwing out bombs just to throw them out, to harm someone, is not right.