Marcelino Núñez’s mysterious departure from the Chile squad had to have been serious for the Ipswich Town midfielder.
That’s at least the opinion of a man who has known him since he was a child at Universidad Católica, Mario Lepe. He’s moved to defend the Ipswich Town man after the controversy this week.
For those that don’t know, Núñez returned to Ipswich prematurely this week after an apparent falling out with coach Nicolás Córdova.
Sport Witness have reported how he was seemingly left annoyed with the manager’s decision to leave him sat on the bench for the recent clash with the USA.
That, it seems, led to confrontations behind the scenes, which ultimately led to Núñez’s being sent back to Ipswich before the international break is finished.
Ipswich Town man defended
He’s faced a tonne of criticism since that point, which is usually the case in these circumstances. But it seems he has one man in his corner, Lepe.
He insists that something serious must have happened behind the scenes for the player he knows to have reacted in the way that he has.
“When something like this happens, it’s because there is a serious issue. That is undoubtedly the case; he wouldn’t just leave simply because he felt like it,” he told Deportes 13.
“He is a well-mannered young man. Very humble and down-to-earth. He has faith in God and a good head on his shoulders. To me, this is unexpected. We need information on what actually happened, because a player can’t just up and leave out of nowhere without saying a word—without any explanation.
“And the national team hasn’t released any information yet. I don’t believe Marcelino made this decision just because someone told him he looked bad or played poorly. No, the situation must have been quite complex for him to take such a step.”
| Every Ipswich Town signing 26/27 | Previous Club | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Julio Enciso | RC Strasbourg | £26m |
| Emersonn | Toulouse | £24m |
| Abdul Fatawu | Leicester City | £20m |
| Exequiel Palacios | Bayer Leverkusen | £19.3m |
| Sindre Walle Egeli | FC Nordsjælland | £17.5m |
| Abdoul Ouattara | RC Strasbourg | £17m |
| Zian Flemming | Burnley | £17m |
| Florentino Luís | Burnley | £16m |
| Saša Lukić | Fulham | £9m |
| Kjell Scherpen | Union Saint-Gilloise | £8.5m |
| Issa Diop | Fulham | £8.5m |
| Daizen Maeda | Celtic | £8.0m |
| Chuba Akpom | Ajax | £7m |
| Kayne van Oevelen | FC Volendam | £3.4m |
| Cédric Kipré | Stade de Reims | £2.16m |
Take it seriously
He is also keen to insist that journalists reporting on the matter don’t turn it into a trivial issue and instead treat it like the serious issue that it is.
“I consider this extremely serious,” he added.
“I hope journalists don’t trivialize it. A player selected for the national team -for whatever reason – cannot simply walk away from the squad.
“It must have been something very serious; that’s where we need to look into it, talk it over, and take action.”
And he also wants to hear more from the Chile manager too. So far, he’s been left unimpressed by his response to the incident as well.
“I think he made a bit of a mistake with some of his comments,” he concluded.
“I believe many players didn’t like certain things. Some of the examples he cited didn’t sit well within the squad. That’s why one has to be very careful when making statements, because it involves a lot of people.
“There must be a stir within the national team as well; there must be some sort of problem. Hopefully, it isn’t serious enough to tear the team apart, because there is still a match left to play. We have to play it, and we have to do it well.”
