Chile to push 2010 finalists to limit

"Swashbucklers," as the Webster's English dictionary definition goes, are "swaggering or flamboyant adventurers" - a popular label for pirates on the high seas, the term often pops up to describe football teams with that special swagger.

Historically, the World Cup hosts Brazil leap to mind as the archetypal, flamboyant Latin American exponents of the beautiful game - but they might just be upstaged on home turf by "The Red One," Chile.

Many South American competitors familiar with the Chileans have tipped the team to be the continent's surprise package, courtesy of their intrusive combination of power and raw speed of play.

In recent years, the Chileans have won a reputation for innovative tactics and pleasing football - first through former coach Marcelo Bielsa, and now present boss Jorge Sampaoli.

The respected Times columnist Gabriele Marcotti wrote: "He (Sampaoli) seems to approach the game with a sort of ascetic, monk-like, messianic zeal that mirrors his life off the pitch."

Despite being a disciple of the "Bielsa way" - named after Chile's coach from 2007 to 2011, who implemented the team's popular style - Sampaoli's "messianic zeal" is still something of a step down from the wackiness of Bielsa himself, whose Spanish-language nickname is simply "El Loco."

Failed flirt with pragmatism

The base 3-4-3 or 4-3-3 formation Chile nominally employs is more use on paper than on the pitch. Like Bielsa before him, Sampaoli expects his players to adapt to the strengths and shape of their opponents, regularly rotate positions, and press high up the pitch when working against the ball.

There was an ill-fated interim to this swashbuckling style, during the first half of Chile's World Cup qualifying campaign under the stewardship of Claudio Borghi. He abandoned Bielsa's foundations for a more pragmatic playing style, racking up three consecutive defeats, shedding a bucket-load of goals, and winning himself the sack by November of 2012.

Sampaoli was the popular appointment, joining from an impressive domestic club in Universidad de Chile, who had adopted similar principles as the national team during their 2011 Copa Sudamericana triumph.

Bundesliga fans will be familiar with one of Chile's most prominent players in European football, Arturo Vidal, who began his career on the continent with Bayer Leverkusen. The midfielder has travelled with the squad to Brazil, but there are concerns over his fitness for the first match.

A reported transfer target for Real Madrid, the 26-year-old midfielder has cemented his place in the current Juventus side and is widely regarded as one of the most technically and physically rounded players in his position.

He played over 130 times for Leverkusen before his switch to Turin in 2011, where he has since won back-to-back Italian league and cup doubles.

"There's only one Messi. He's unique. But we can say that Vidal is the Messi of midfielders," Sampaoli told Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport. "There are few like him: he is flexible, lethal, an expert in stealing the ball."

Chile's incisive attacking play is orchestrated through FC Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez, the high-in-confidence player who sits at the apex of the system.

He's generally supported by the possession-focused Jorge Valdivia; a useful foil to the pacy Sanchez who prefers to charge from deeper positions.

While Sanchez and Vidal are the two most recognizable names, each player at the heart of the team - Gary Medel (Cardiff) and Carlos Carmona (Atalanta) to name a selected pair - is crucial to the "Bielsa way" because of their versatility and technical competence.

Spain and the Netherlands will be tested to the limits against the Chileans, on their home continent, with a huge support at home in Santiago. As credible "dark horses," the Chileans should provide their opponents in South America with a demanding and gruelling test.