CColombia will once again have the opportunity to play in a Copa America final on Sunday, This time, against the world champion, Argentina, the same team that was not present in the last edition in which the National Team reached the final stage, in 2001.
According to the criteria of
That team from 23 years ago, led by Francisco Maturana, won the Cup playing at home, with a record that has not yet been matched: they won all six games they played and did not concede any goals.
In the group stage, in Barranquilla, they beat Venezuela 2-0, with goals from Freddy Grisales and Víctor Aristizábal; Ecuador 1-0, again with a goal from Aristi, and Chile 2-0, with goals from the then Cali player and Eudalio Arriaga.
Then, in the round of 16, they beat Peru 3-0 in Armenia. Aristizabal scored twice and Giovanni Hernandez sealed the win. In the semi-finals, they won 2-0 against Honduras in Manizales, with a great goal from Gerardo Bedoya and another goal from Aristi.
The final was played in front of a full house at El Campín, against Mexico: It was a tough, tight match that was decided with a free kick from Iván López and a header from Iván Ramíro Córdoba. The 1-0 scoreline was enough to shout “Champion!”
The first precedent: the 1975 Copa América final
Colombia’s first final was played 26 years earlier, in 1975. That year, the Copa América was reactivated and a format was tested without a fixed venue, with three groups of three and the reigning champion, Uruguay, going directly to the semi-finals.
The Colombian team, led by Efraín ‘Caimán’ Sánchez, first beat Ecuador and Paraguay with a perfect campaign: it started with a 1-0 against Paraguay in Bogotá, with a goal by Ernesto Díaz; it continued with a 1-3 against Ecuador in Quito, with goals by Willington Ortiz, Eduardo Retat and Ponciano Castro; then, in a real war in Asunción, they won 0-1, with a goal by Ernesto Díaz and the game was suspended due to aggression, and finally, they won 2-0 at home, with goals by ‘Teto’ and Oswaldo Calero.
Then, just like in this edition, they beat the Uruguayans in the semi-finals. They were thrashed 3-0 at El Campín, with goals from Édgar Angulo, Willington and Díaz, and lost 1-0 in Montevideo, in a game in which Pedro Zape saved two penalties from Fernando Morena, who had scored the goal.
The final was against Peru: 1-0 victory in Bogotá, with a goal by Ponciano Castro; 2-0 defeat in Lima, with goals by Juan Carlos Oblitas and Oswaldo ‘Cachito’ Ramírez, and, as the regulations of the time dictated in the event of a tie in points, extra game, in Caracas: There, Colombia lost 1-0, with a goal by Hugo Sotil.
Colombia will now play against the world champions in Miami on Sunday at 7pm. The goal is the title.
Jose Orlando Ascencio
Sports Deputy Editor
@josasc
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