Nicolás Córdova, interim coach of Chile's national team, said on Monday that Marcelino Núñez left the training camp for personal reasons and denied expelling him. He made the remarks at the press conference ahead of Tuesday's friendly against Mexico, the final match of the North American tour.
According to Cooperativa, the coach dismissed reports of a heated argument with the midfielder after the defeat against the United States. He also backed the official statement issued by the medical staff and the federation.
"Many versions emerged, but he decided to leave the squad over a personal matter. I found out the day after the match against the United States," Córdova explained. He added that Núñez trained that morning and "on returning decided to stay behind so he could leave for England."
Asked about a possible altercation, he was direct: "It was his decision. It's not that I kicked him out of the national team. It's not that I had an argument with him." When asked about the exchange, he replied: "You have to ask him that, not me."
The sources do not include a public statement from Núñez. La Tercera, however, published an account that differed from the coach's. According to the newspaper, the player from England's Ipswich Town left the squad after an argument with the coach, having played no minutes against the United States and expressed dissatisfaction with some of Córdova's remarks.
The coach declined to give his interpretation of what happened. "My perception in this case doesn't matter. He made a decision and I accept it because it is an adult's decision," he said. He acknowledged that "it is not pleasant when a player leaves," but called for the focus to remain on the available squad.
Córdova also discussed his own situation. He recalled that his position is technical director of the youth national teams and that he took over as interim coach during the transition after the team failed to qualify for the World Cup. "If we had qualified for the World Cup, I probably wouldn't be here. I'd be in Croatia with the Under-17s," he said, denying that he had considered resigning.
On the opposition, he warned that Mexico "has brought back 19 players from the World Cup" and has used three different teams in its matches. Chile, coming off defeats against the United States and Canada, faces Mexico on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Cooperativa listed kickoff at 22:30, while BioBioChile and La Tercera reported it as 23:30.
