Diego Sánchez has become one of the most recognizable goalkeepers in Chilean football. His presence stood out especially during the great campaign that Coquimbo Unido had when they became champions, with the goalkeeper being one of the team's main pillars. Although now with the pirates he has not been able to stay in the top zone of the Primera Liga table, he does hope to add a new title in the League Cup. Amid all this, Sánchez held a conversation in the new edition of the Sifup magazine, where he recalls his beginnings and goes over some anecdotes from his career. There, he took the opportunity to remember his early days in the Third Division. "The ideal is not to take such a long route. That's how it happened to me. I spent three years in the Third Division, when it was very difficult in economic terms, in sporting terms, and in terms of organization. It was very tough, but I always had the support of my family. I believe that if I hadn't gone through those years in that category, I wouldn't have the personality or the mental strength I have now. I owe a lot to those three years," he acknowledged. According to him, what marked him was "the economic issue, because I was already the father of my daughter Dominga, who had just been born. I wasn't doing well financially, so my dad and my family often supported me. I didn't have enough to live on. My salary wasn't enough. The anguish of making it to the end of the month was the hardest part. The other thing is what life is like in the Third Division: bad pitches, clothing that isn't adequate, that isn't always clean or dry. I spent two years in Temuco, where it rains all year long. But it was beautiful. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Maybe it's not appropriate to spend three years there, but in my case it gave me the psychological preparation to face what was coming." But once that stage was over, and after a stint at Unión San Felipe, he was welcomed at Unión Española, where he played under José Luis Sierra. It was in that first contact with the coach that he experienced one of his great anecdotes. "I brought down a ball with my chest and started playing by throwing it behind my back. It was a clownish move. And there, el Coto, who is a gentleman, said to Ronald Yávar, who had brought me to Unión: 'Is this clown what you brought me? Seriously? Is this how we're going to present ourselves this year?' And Ronald replied: 'Calm down, calm down, we'll shape him up and he'll deliver.' And at the end of that year we became champions," he recalled. He then admitted that "I didn't take seriously where I was. I hadn't grasped where I was standing. I came from San Felipe making a lot of saves, I was doing really well. Later I realized that everything was more serious, but I still didn't change my way of being. This is how I feel most comfortable, and that's how things come more easily to me. I take the pressure off myself." As for his later relationship with Sierra, he highlights that "I adore el Coto. We're nothing alike. He was a gentleman, he gave me a lot of security and a lot of affection. He let me be the 'Mono.' He accepted me as I was, he backed me when I conceded goals. He's one of the great coaches I've had. I have tremendous affection for him." The fascination of being the Mono. Photo: Photosport. JONNATHAN OYARZUN/PHOTOSPORT Sánchez also explained that there is a dichotomy between Diego and the Mono. "In everyday life, in the day to day, I'm Diego. I'm calmer. Diego is a dad, very much a homebody, I like being at home, I don't go out much. The Mono is more about the pitch, the stadium, the show. There I let out everything I keep inside during the week," he confesses. "Many people think it's a character. But I don't know. I feel it as such a part of me that I feel I'm in my habitat. When I'm on the pitch I'm the Mono, that's what I always want to be. Then, when the whole show ends and the curtain comes down, at home the calmer Diego arrives, the one who spends time with my kids, watches television, and cooks," he added. On the other hand, he acknowledged that one of the great shortcomings of his career was not having joined a "big team. Many people tell me to play abroad, but to get there you have to be in the elite of your country. And I think that's what I was missing: being at a big team in order to make the leap." Finally, he talked about his recent years at Coquimbo Unido. "It has been crazy, a dream. I never thought it would go so well for me. I thought my ceiling had been Unión Española, but Coquimbo found me at a footballing maturity that not many have. It gave me a second wind in life and I make the most of it every day," he said. "I think Coquimbo is the love after the love. The joy I've experienced here I haven't lived with any other team," he added. Photo: Photosport. JONNATHAN OYARZUN/PHOTOSPORT This performance has also led many people to suggest that he run for mayor of the commune, just as another pirate figure, Alí Manouchehri, did. "A lot of people tell me that, they've asked me. But you have to have a vocation and respect for the city. I love it very much, so I would be afraid of letting it down. I would be afraid of making a mistake. I would like to help the city with sports matters, but being mayor... it's not that I couldn't do it, obviously I could, but I respect the city so much that I wouldn't accept it. Politics has never been a priority for me," Diego Sánchez concluded. NEWSLETTER El Deportivo Monday, 8:45 AM A special selection with coverage and analysis of the most important sporting events of the weekend, by the Sports team of La Tercera. By subscribing you are accepting the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies of La Tercera.