Who is blackburn rovers manager

He focused on building up his upper-body strength and picked apart his game with his biggest critic and ally: his father, Martin. Sometimes I do need a telling off, or whatever, and to keep going.

He took that into the campaign, started well, and it was around November that interest from Chile started becoming apparent. The lads didn't believe me, but my mum came over to England when she was young and ended up with my dad.

I suppose that means I'm eligible to play for Chile, right? It was true: The Diaz family moved to the UK and Stoke when Andrea was young, as her father Ben's grandfather was in the pottery trade. There, Andrea would later meet Ben's father, Martin -- a policeman and amateur football player -- and there's a whole Chilean community in Staffordshire.

But that little nugget of information peaked Blackburn fan Mark Hitchen's interest. He is a researcher for Football Manager, the popular management sim, and having read the article, he verified Brereton Diaz's Chilean roots and had it added to the game's database as his "second nationality.

He started a social media campaign " BreretonALaRoja," which gathered traction. Chilean flags started popping up on Brereton Diaz's Instagram, and eventually, the campaign caught the eye of Brereton Diaz's mum, Andrea, who kept her son informed on the family WhatsApp group.

Around the same time, as the legend goes, Brereton Diaz's agent, Olly Henry, received a WhatsApp message from scout Ben Corbyn son of ex-Labour leader Jeremy , who does some consulting for Chile saying they were monitoring the striker. The notification came as Blackburn were preparing to visit their local rivals, Preston North End, in November, Brereton Diaz knew about the interest, and went on to score and assist a goal.

Brereton Diaz had already represented England at youth levels, but as Chile's interest grew, it took him four months or so to acquire a Chilean passport. In May , he was called up to the national side. Now, how big a part Football Manager played in his call up depends on who you talk to.

Those closest to Brereton Diaz are skeptical, pointing to how well he was playing and how Chile were monitoring him around the same time the social campaign was in full flow. But regardless, Brereton Diaz himself is appreciative of his supporter's efforts. I'm thankful for the people who made it clear I can play for Chile," he says.

But when we got the call [from Chile], it was serious: now we've got to make a decision. What a great country, what a great team that won two Copa America titles It was a no-brainer.

He was an unused substitute, but still made it into their Copa America squad. And then, in the 77th minute of their opener against Argentina , Brereton Diaz got his chance, replacing Carlos Palacios. Despite being around some of the sport's biggest stars, he resisted the temptation to swap shirts: He was keeping that first Chile shirt for his mother. First bet only. Free bets expire in 7 days. Payment method restrictions. Online UK customers only. First bet must be on Sports. Payment restrictions apply.

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