"We want to remain in the history of CONMEBOL Copa América as three times champions" said 'Rey' Arturo Vidal, soul and spirit of the two-time champions Chile, who will be seeking their third consecutive final against Peru in the semi-finals of Brazil-2019 this Wednesday.
"We want to be remembered as three times champions, that's our dream. That's the reason to play the best match of the Cup against Peru, it's historic for us if we make it to the final and that's our goal", Vidal said at a press conference in the host city, Porto Alegre
"We must play a perfect match, win it with confidence. Peru is a very collective team that plays well, very similar to Colombia, that's why it's going to be a very difficult game and very nice to play", he added.
Chile and Peru reached the semi-finals on penalties: Chile defeated Colombia 5-4 after a 0-0 draw in the 90 minutes of a game they dominated. Peru, with the same score, overcame Uruguay in a penalty shoot-out.
"We faced Peru in the United States not with all the team we have now, but it has shown a lot of growth after Russia's World Cup qualification", Vidal said in reference to the friendly that "La Roja" lost 3-0 last October in Miami.
Vidal stressed the work of midfielder Charles Aránguiz, another of the architects of those two titles and a member of the so-called Golden Generation of "La Roja" with Gary Medel, Alexis Sánchez and Eduardo Vargas.
"We've played a lot with Charles and won a lot of things. He gives you confidence, he has a lot of quality. He doesn't talk much, but he's a first-rate player", he said.
Chile can raise its third consecutive CONMEBOL Copa América after winning in 2015 and 2016, both finals against Argentina, a confrontation that could be repeated in 2019.
AFP
