Six months have passed since the painful elimination of the Guatemalan National Team heading to the World Cup, but the wound remains open. This was made clear by the president of CSD Municipal, Gerardo Villawho recalled with obvious annoyance the sporting and economic consequences of that defeat against Panama.
The top Scarlet leader assured that the elimination not only hit national pride, but also the finances of the red club, which stopped receiving a millionaire sum for the participation of its footballers in the final phase of the tie.
“US$2 million was what would have represented Municipal for the players who were participating in the national team. It definitely hurt us because that was going to translate into infrastructure.“Villa highlighted.
Municipal was the team that contributed the most soccer players during the decisive stretch of the qualifying process of the Guatemalan National Team, so the economic impact was considerable for the scarlet institution.
The direct dart to Santis
But the red president’s statements were not limited to the financial aspect. Villa also shared responsibilities for the elimination and, although he avoided directly mentioning Oscar Santismade it clear that his criticism was directed at the forward, remembering the clear scoring opportunity he wasted against Panama.
“Pity for a player who boasted that Clover was his playground; He had it to take it to Panama and all of us who were there are still remembering it because of the inability to be able to really do what he was given in his yard.“Villa launched.
The leader made reference to previous statements by the footballer about his comfort playing in the Municipal stadium, words that, as he hinted, ended up working against him after failing at the most decisive moment.
“I’m just telling an anecdote. What happens is that when you want to make fun of something, sometimes it bounces back and it bounces back. In fact, I said at the time that it was very easy for him to score goals there, but unfortunately it was not given to him.”, he stated.
Villa’s words revive a controversy that seemed over, but that continues to generate echo among the Guatemalan fans, especially for a play that many still consider the moment that changed the destiny of Guatemala in the tie.