Almost a year and a half after taking over as head coach of the Diablas, Cristóbal Rodríguez is reaping the first fruits of his successful process, following an impeccable undefeated qualification for the Women's Field Hockey World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium, which will take place from August 15 to 30. The draw at the beginning of the week left him satisfied, as he will face the Dutch, who are the best in the world, along with Australia and Japan. In fact, they recently surpassed both of these teams in the Pre-World Cup held in Chile.

“I think it was a good draw because we have already played against two teams that we have beaten before, and it gives a bit of hope to be able to play in a match on equal terms,” he says. Is Chile in a different position compared to its debut four years ago? Yes, we are going with more experience, we have more games under our belt, but we also have to be cautious because just because we have done well now does not mean the task is done.

We have to take it game by game; it will be very difficult. How has this process been at the helm of the Diablas? Honestly, I have felt quite comfortable.

It is a process that has taken a long time and has had several hands involved. In fact, I was even an assistant coach before Cacho, working with Ronald Stein, and there are some players who have been around since then. I practically knew all the players beforehand, so I have felt very comfortable and well integrated into the group as well.

Has your experience during this time been important when returning to work with the Diablas? Yes, of course. I have be…

In Europe, there are also different concepts and methodologies. So, one gains a lot of experience, and I try to bring that experience here and change some of what was being worked on. I mentioned in an interview that I felt the team lacked a bit of simplicity in passing and receiving.

We have been working on passing and receiving for a year and a half now; it has improved a lot, and we will continue to work on that because we have already seen progress in terms of the number of passes and being able to create a more positional game concept, so I am happy with that. Has there also been a different approach to short corners? The short corners we have were already in place before, but we have introduced a couple of new plays and have emphasized direct short corners, giving them more work.

Previously, we had one drag flicker, and now we have three of high quality. We have also worked on defensive short corners by introducing new first runners, which have also improved, and we will continue with that. How much did the Diablas evolve under Cachito Vigil?

Was there a leap in quality? I believe the leap came before. For a long time, the federation has been doing a very good job, and what it has done is to popularize and decentralize hockey in general.

What Cacho has done is a bit of a mindset change, making these players believe that it is possible, but the technical and tactical work has been coming from several processes before, and it is our job to continue it. How much has the change in infrastructure in Chile helped the Diablas? A lot, because it opens doors and windows; there are players training from regions in the junior and adult national teams, and that obviously gives you greater volume, allowing for much better work because, in the end, the more competition there is, the better the level of play.

What is your main aspiration leading this group? The goal we set when we arrived was to qualify for the World Cup, and that was achieved; to win a Pan American medal, which is next year; to be in the top ten in the world, which we are knocking on the door of, and an Olympic qualification, which is everyone's dream because we would be the first team sport other than football to achieve it. Do you feel you are closer than ever?

The more of a team we are, the more we become a collective unit, putting egos aside and playing for each other, the closer we will be. In the end, this is not about luck; it is about work and consistency, and this group is prepared for that. So, the final answer would be yes, but I want to take a long route to say that I think it is important to always keep our feet on the ground, be humble, and continue working as hard as we can to achieve that goal.