Augustine Julio He will not miss this Sunday’s match between Tolima and Santa Fe, which will define the finalist of the League. He will be sitting at the Manuel Murillo Toro stadium, he is not sure who he will force, perhaps neither or both. They are two teams that he carries in his heart, he saved in both. The former goalkeeper, now 49 years old, away from football for a moment (he was sports manager of Santa Fe until 2023), plans new projects. Meanwhile, he talks about Tolima and Santa Fe, his two loves in soccer.
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“Whoever qualifies will be the champion”says Julio, who has admired the football of both teams this season. “Santa Fe is a great team, but it cannot leave aside Tolima, which is going from strength to strength in this phase. It is no secret the love I feel for Santa Fe, and also love and respect for Tolima. In my football life there are two phases, like a mother and a wife, that happens to me, they are two different loves: a love for a Santa Fe that made me known and a Tolima that gave me the opportunity again to be recognized; Personally, there are mixed feelings, but whoever wins will be well represented,” he says.
“When you reach these stages and believe that everything is already settled, that is where the mistake is made, in confidence, because Santa Fe puts its confidence at a defensive level, they have not scored a goal in the home run, that is where the confidence of the people and the players, one says that one must be attentive, distrustful, concentrated, but there comes a time when one believes it because things have gone well and it is not a lie… Tolima has a lot of possession, very dynamic players in the attack, Their scorer is a midfielder, because they come from behind and Santa Fe with its line of 5 will try to close spaces…” he warns.
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Marmoleo and Volpi, under Julio’s magnifying glass
“They have similar styles, very technical: Volpi has better ball handling with his feet. I had envisioned Marmolejo for a while, in 2019 I was going to bring him to Santa Fe, the endorsement was not given. “I know his conditions, what happens is not strange, he has experience and, despite injuries, he has good consistency, and Volpi, when he was in Pasto, I had the opportunity to bring him, he is technical, he has a good serve, he is agile,” says.
“Just as you remind me of Wilder’s goal in 2010, I have the memory of 2007, when Santa Fe was given the penalty 7 meters away and I covered with Tolima, with VAR I put the referee in jail! I fought it, I argued, Things happened before the game and someone outside of football says ‘no wonder that happened’, they are things that happened. That’s what football is, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, the idea was to give everything. As a manager we won a final against Tolima. When Wilder scored my goal, the team was set to be champion, we made decisions that not even the coach knew about, in favor of the team that was mature… it didn’t happen, but in 2012 with a young group the title was won. Now Santa Fe is a strong candidate, but there is a great rival in front,” he analyzes.
PABLO ROMERO
Editor of EL TIEMPO
@PabloRomeroET
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