It is, of course, no coincidence that the two Barcelona superstars have received more passes than any other player at this competition, and nor is it that third place on this list with an impressive 292 passes received is Valdivia. El Mago is Chile’s undisputed ‘go-to guy’, dictating the tempo and making La Roja tick. “He’s a player who’s great at reading the game, he’s so good at visualising attacks,” said Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli, to the extent that Valdivia, along with Messi, tops the tournament’s assist buy fifa 15 coins account charts with three.
“The most important thing about getting back into the national squad is being in good physical condition,” said Valdivia back in November 2014, when, recently signed by Emirati side Al Wahda, he declared himself once again available for national-team selection. Having stepped away from the scene following Brazil 2014, this third return to the Chile fold was quite different from the previous two his comebacks in 2009 and 2013 both resulting from the lifting of heavy disciplinary bans.
Now 31 and despite being plagued by muscular niggles in early 2015, Valdivia’s perseverance enabled him to achieve the peak fitness levels required to be a part of Sampaoli’s high-intensity Chile XI. “They need to be fit enough to pressurise constantly: that's non-negotiable in this team,” he said.
His playmaker has not disappointed, showing the stamina needed to press when Chile do not have the ball, as well as remaining clear-headed enough to find opponents’ weak points when in possession. By way of an example, there was Valdivia in the 81st minute of the quarter-final versus Uruguay, showing the sharpness of mind to supply Mauricio Isla for the only goal of the game.
There were not many football followers, even in Chile, who would have predicted such a state of affairs pre-tournament, www.utfifas.co/fifa-15-ps-account-coins just as Pastore was often singled out as an easy target for criticism in Argentina. Yet after five games in the Copa America, and whatever happens in Saturday’s final, both have won their particular battles.
