Edmundo Valladares, president of Club Social y Deportivo Colo Colo, spoke with captain Esteban Pavez about his controversial statements praising Universidad Católica as the country's best institution. Valladares highlighted Colo Colo's historical greatness and defended the player's performance. He also revealed two options for the ambitious new Estadio Monumental project.
Esteban Pavez, one of Colo Colo's captains, has been providing explanations for his statements positioning Universidad Católica as “the best institution in the country”. These remarks drew opposition from fans, historical players, and a response from Aníbal Mosa, president of Blanco y Negro, who downplayed the comment.
Edmundo Valladares, president of Club Social y Deportivo Colo Colo—the parent entity in Macul—revealed he held a dialogue with Pavez on the matter. “We understand that the club is the most important, it is the largest institution, for what it historically represents for the Chilean people, for its sports branches, for its achievements, for the number of members, for a thousand reasons, for us Club Social y Deportivo Colo Colo is the largest institution in the country. We also discussed it internally with Esteban”, Valladares clarified.
Regarding criticisms of Pavez's playing level, Valladares acknowledged: “There have been many criticisms of Esteban, starting with the football aspect. They may be valid or not, but I think that in general in the institution, and in our squad, there have obviously been problems and complex situations. The football performance has not been as expected, but I don't think it depends only on him”.
On the new Estadio Monumental project, Valladares addressed an alternative adding to the plan presented in April during the club's centennial. “There are two alternatives. One, with a capacity of 60,000 spectators. There is another that is a bit more limited, with a capacity of 51,000 spectators. And that is what will need to be reviewed in detail, regarding how to move forward”, he explained. He added that there is a will to advance, building on the previous work of Alfredo Stöhwing and Aníbal Mosa, so that what has already been done does not go to waste.