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Zamorano's swan song We had no answer to Chile, says French coach
SANTIAGO (Reuters) -- France coach Roger Lemerre, who said earlier this week that his team had come to Santiago for a lesson in South American football, admitted they got exactly that in Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Chile. "We still have difficulty against the South Americans, their technique and their short-passing game. It's a combination of different styles," said Lemerre. "We were beaten by a good Chilean team." Although admitting that his side suffered because of a five-hour time difference, he dismissed suggestions that they had relaxed or played below par. Instead, he preferred to focus on the merits of his opponents. "Chile were extremely good on a collective level and we weren't capable of answering them," Lemerre said, pointing out that Brazil were beaten 3-0 in the same stadium a year ago. Lemerre predicted that other European teams would encounter similar difficulties when playing South American teams on their own soil. "The Europeans have to understand that world football has two important centers -- Europe and South America," he said. "We have to come to this region more often to learn more about this type of football." Visits by Europe's top national teams to South American have become extremely rare recently. The Netherlands were the last major team to venture to the continent, playing two matches in Brazil in 1999. Germany's last visit was in 1992 and England have not made the trip since 1984. Zamorano says he gave everything for ChileSANTIAGO -- Ivan Zamorano, who on Saturday ended what he described as "14 years of memories, excitement, emotion and some disappointment" in a Chilean shirt, said he gave his all for his country and left without any regrets. "It's been very difficult for me to sleep in the days leading up to this game," said the striker who has done more than anyone to put Chilean football on the map. "A lot of things have crossed my mind but I couldn't have dreamt of anything more marvelous than today. I'm very happy and content," he said wrapped in a Chilean flag after a memorable 2-1 win over world and European champions France on his international swan song. "When you're 34 years old, you look back and you see what you have done and I think I've done things the right way," said Zamorano, who has had a turbulent relationship with his country's football directors. "I don't regret anything. If, at some moment, I did something in the interests of the team and my teammates and I made mistakes, then I'm sorry. Wounds heal with forgiveness. My conscience is very clear." A capacity 60,000 crowd watched Zamorano's international retirement, which was brought forward after his country's chances of reaching the 2002 World Cup effectively ended with a home defeat by Uruguay in April. Zamorano, who started his career with Cobresal in a desert mining town in northern Chile before playing for Real Madrid and Inter Milan, is a national hero in his country. President in crowd Chilean politicians fall over themselves to be seen alongside him and President Ricardo Lagos was in the crowd on Saturday. "It's difficiult to describe my sentiments when I left the field," said Zamorano, who was substituted to a standing ovation in the 87th minute. "In the Chile shirt, I've had 14 years of memories, excitement, emotion and some disappointment. It's been marvelous. "I know that on the field I have given everything I could and nothing more. "Football has given me almost everything. The passion I have for this sport cannot me equaled. Football for me is everything and I hope I can remain connected to this profession for a long time. "For me, the national team is like a brother to whom I'm saying goodbye but who I know I will meet again one day in the future." Zamorano, who will continue his club career in Mexico with America, leaves at a difficult moment for the Chilean game, less than two weeks after the directors of the football federation resigned en masse. "We have to be a bit more optimistic," Zamorano said. "We need a long term job with capable people. The next [federation] president needs to be a responsible person who likes football, does things professionally and puts the interests of football above his personal interests."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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