INTERVIEW WITH THE HERO WHO SCORED THE GOAL THAT QUALIFIED COSTA RICA FOR ITALY 90 WORLD CUP. He let known his opinion about the performance of the National soccer team
28 years later, Pastor Fernández, remembers that goal nostalgically. He became a hero during the World Cup Qualifiers in 1990 when he scored a goal against El Salvador which led Costa Rica to participate in a Soccer World Cup for the first time. After that, he retired from soccer in 1995. In an interview performed by one of the local news portals, he expressed his opinion about the players and the performance of the current national soccer team.
- What is the difference between yesterday’s and today’s soccer?
There’s no difference. Soccer hasn’t changed a lot, you have to play well to score; physical preparation is a must though. Also, the way to recruit talents has changed, since the figure of the soccer scout didn’t exist 28 years ago. Nobody signed a contract for you; nobody had a representative or a supervisor. But as I said, those things have changed nowadays. Now, representatives record the players and offer the videos to the international market. This factor improved soccer teams in Costa Rica, that’s why the country has participated in two straight World Cups.
- What do you think about the current National Soccer team? Do you think we can be in the Russia 2018 World Cup?
“Costa Rica has what it takes to do it. They have to win the following two matches to get 13 points, which puts them at the gates of the World Cup. Luckily, we have very good players in the team. Yet, I find it hard that Costa Rica gets a ticket for the next World Cup in Qatar because I think that we currently don’t count on a good new generation that can stand in for the current one in a few years”
“However, I have to add that this is a top-quality team. These players can play against any team and win. Keylor Navas, for example, is a key player because of his successful career in Europe with his team, Real Madrid”.
- How can you analyze the structure of the national soccer team?
“Education has played an essential role in the professional development of each one of the players that are part of the national team since in the past they were not educated in the discipline they practice. Now, this generation has even had the opportunity to elbow with other international soccer figures and learn from experienced coaches”.
“Playing for important Soccer franchises increases the chances to grow professionally. We count on many more full-time soccer players than we did some decades ago, and that’s good for soccer in Costa Rica”.