Colombia enchants, excites… (Opinion, Last Tango)

Watching Jefferson Lerma tackle, watching Dávinson Sánchez jump to head the ball, Daniel Muñoz swallow Vinicius in a sandwich and then score a goal, watching James Rodríguez commit, agile and brilliant as never before, Lucho Díaz unloading two hundred and twenty volts of his electricity on the Brazilian defenders, everyone playing, but also running, putting in, as it should be, enough of innocence that later you get beat…! You win with play, not with play. Aesthetics is linked to the soul, courage to the heart. Winning produces joy, playing well generates pride. We imagine that for Colombians it must be beautiful to live it, to feel it.

May he forgive us Tino Asprilla, excuse me Valderrama, Willington Ortiz, the Valencia Trainall the past tense: I have never seen a Colombia like this. It may not be champion or even lose on Saturday against Panama, but it will not change our concept. This Colombia plays and scores, they do not get ahead of them. And the temperament is also playing well. In football I have no country, I am one of those who play the best, and this Colombia seduces you, it makes you fall in love, it is everything: football, courage, endurance, intelligence. It has what it takes to aspire to the title, without fearing Uruguay, Brazil or Argentina. It is not just coming from the draw with Brazil, it comes from the previous matches, from the Qualifiers, from the friendlies it won against Germany (with luxury), against Spain, against Japan. It is another Colombia, with a different mind, stronger, more convinced of its abilities.

Solvency

They won the most difficult group of the Copa America, beating Brazil and sending them to play Uruguay. They led with authority, defeated Paraguay, beat Costa Rica and tied with a Brazil that did not create a single goal situation. The Brazilian goal for 1-1 was a free kick by Raphinha. Apart from that, the Verdeamarilla did not get close. And to really know how a team played, you have to count the dangers in front of goal. Colombia never allowed them to get close. Plus: the shot that led to Raphinha’s magnificent goal was an unnecessary, imprudent foul by James Rodríguez on Joao Gomes when he had his back to the Colombian goal.

Meritometer.

Colombia deserved more than a draw. They had twice as many shots on goal as the Canarinha – 13 to 7 – and had four chances to score against none. Beyond that, they exerted a greater emotional presence in what was perhaps the most exciting match of the Cup, along with Ecuador 0 – Mexico 0. More similar to the Euro Cup clashes, vibrant and unpredictable.

Figure

But what can we blame James for? He emerged as the best on the pitch alongside Daniel Muñoz. One of the best performances we have seen James give in his entire career. Plugged in, dangerous in every cross (his are a deadly weapon), intelligent, good at fighting for every ball, good at asking for them all, creative, conductor. He is clearly the best player in the first phase of the Cup. Even without scoring goals, he is having a consecrating tournament that confirms him as a historic player for his national team. This shows that all his problems were within himself. He only had to solve them by training hard and giving everything on the field.

The one…?

Right-back is one of the most obscure positions in football, there have been no great stars defending that line. On the left, yes, many. Right-handed, just Dani Alves, Carlos Alberto, Cafu, Billy Bremner, Bergomi, Zanetti, Berti Vogts… But, except for Dani Alves, with little brilliance, not artists of the position. Daniel Muñoz is demanding recognition. He is a fantastic full-back who first marks and then goes up to try to score or attack deep. As the manual says: defend and, if possible, attack. With immodesty, we must admit, we anticipated that we were eager to see Vinicius against Daniel Munoz. Muñoz had it for lunch. He is a discotheque goalkeeper, brave, rough, the typical mastiff who, if you get within a metre and a half of him, leaves the ball and walks away, without wasting time. And after warding off the danger behind, he goes forward to hurt. He scored a fantastic goal against Spain in March, another against Paraguay in the debut of this Cup, now against Brazil. We are in the presence of an extraordinary footballer who is capable of more than Crystal Palace. He deserves a Tottenham, a Manchester United. The best right-back in the world…? If not, tell us which one.

Lawrence

There are still those who believe that a notable goal scorer is better than a good coach. Not even close. Every successful project in football depends on a great manager. Colombia’s is the monumental work of a coach, even if they lose on Saturday to Panama. Lorenzo has changed the minds of Colombian footballers, he has given them a style, he has empowered them, he has made them believe in themselves. They say that an Argentinean should be bought for what he is worth and sold for what he says he is worth. Néstor Lorenzo should be bought for the first and bought back for the second. It is business anyway.

And Brazil…?

There, there… It’s Brazil in that delicious free kick from Raphinha that slipped into the corner despite Camilo Vargas’s eagled flight. It’s not Brazil in the dominance of the match, in the lost style, in that confidence of before when they scored a goal they didn’t equalize. It’s a Brazil with discreet names, without the phenomena of the past. Vinicius wants to be – or they want to make him – a phenomenon, but he is irregular. He had a terrible game against Costa Rica (he lost 18 balls and was substituted), a very good one against Paraguay with two goals and this one against Colombia in which he was inconsequential. However, it is imperative to point out that Muñoz committed a penalty against him that neither the referee nor the VAR sanctioned. Muñoz brought it down without touching the ball at any time. By the way, there was a goal by Dávinson Sánchez that the VAR did not validate. It seemed a monumental injustice, but a later photo makes it clear that it was perfectly annulled for offside.

Classic

Colombia’s courage allowed them to retain first place in the group and send Brazil to a match against Uruguay. There will be lightning and thunder there. One of the favourites will go home early. And Brazil will be without Vinicius, who received his second yellow card against th
e Colombians.

Unusual.

These are five cents apart, but it is worth pointing out that Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay set a record that may not be repeated in a century: the four of them did not win a single match. With one aggravating factor: of the 12 matches they played, they lost 9, scored 4 goals and conceded 22. All four are in intensive care, bed by bed.

Last Tango

Jorge Baraza

For the time

@JorgeBarrazaOK

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