2024-07-21 20:22:18
Carlos Jara Saguier shared his thoughts ahead of Paraguay’s return to the men’s soccer tournament at the Olympic Games.
The national coach will be in Paris for his second Games. This time, he arrives with the title of South American champion, after winning in Venezuela. “It was a very committed group. From the beginning of training, they committed to giving their best performance in each game. They set out to give their all and try to achieve the objective, which was to play all seven games. They were the best in terms of dedication, not leaving anything to chance,” said the coach about last season.
The coach said that his team is aware that it must seek “excellence” and continue along the path that led them to the second pre-Olympic title in the history of Paraguayan football.
Paraguay’s debut is scheduled for Wednesday, July 24, against Japan in Bourdeaux. The next match will be on Saturday, July 27, against Israel and finally, in the group stage, on Tuesday, July 30, against Mali. These last two matches will be in Paris, at the Parc des Princes stadium.
The veteran coach then revealed that, although he finds many similarities, there is a “small” difference between the 2004 squads and the current one. “In that (2004) the majority were U20 players. They were under 20. Some played in the First Division, most in the reserves. They were aware (2004) that a great effort had to be made to fight for the top spots, and that is what was done. Many of this group (2024) are playing abroad. At 20 they are already professionals, some are in Europe. That is the small advantage,” he said.
El Bambino highlighted that the 2004 feat resulted in “Paraguay’s only Olympic medal” and “now, after 20 years, we are returning to the Olympics.”
“We are here again, hopefully with better luck. We will reach the final against Argentina again and now it’s our turn to win the gold medal,” he concluded.
2024-07-21 20:22:18