Oh, archer! Oh Marquinez! The goalkeeper of the Colombia Sub-20 team gave a rebound with butter hands and came the goal of last night’s 0-1 defeat against Uruguay, in the opening of the final hexagonal of the South American Youth that will give four places to the World Cup in Indonesia next May. On the other side of the field, the Uruguayan goalkeeper suicidal and flying in four balls and kept his goal at zero. Here they did it and there they won the game. Simple.
(You may be interested in: Colombia, with the goal behind their backs: they lost to Uruguay in the hexagonal)
Individuality once again marks the fate of football, a similar one in struggle and dedication, of alternating dominance of both teams throughout the game and in which the striker from there put it in to win and the one from here did not put it in again.
And the crack?
Colombia is a team without cracks, without a real ‘warm’. They will have good players like Puerta and Ocampo (the brand midfielder and a marcapunta, go see!) and other performers, but a crack, a seriously talented or an artilleryman, well there aren’t any.
He even stole the lyrics of a superclassic salsa by maestro Julio Ernesto Estrada, Fruko, who sang with his Tesos: “Where is it? Manyoma? Hey hey hey!
I ask God to return, the tribe cries for you, Manyoma”.
(Read also: South American sub-20: this was the goal with which Colombia lost to Uruguay)
Now, with that Colombian careerism, with those airs of superiority so typical of our monumental and gratuitous soccer ego, I have been reading, hearing and seeing on the radio and TV and the fans on social networks, that qualifying for the World Cup is ‘papita pa ‘l parrot’ because the first 4 of this final hexagonal will go, and how can we not be at least fourth among six!
To the facts…
Reality is above tropical jingoism. Let’s get to the facts: since 2001, 10 finals of these U-20 South Americans have been played with this ‘final six’ format, to call it that.
(Also read: Dani Alves collapses: receives another blow in a few days, video)
In five of them, that is, in 50 percent, Colombia has finished fifth (penultimate) or sixth (last): last in 2001 with Rueda and Araújo as coaches, last in 2007 with Lara as coach, fifth in 2009 also with Lara, last again with Lara in 2011, and again last among six in 2017, with ‘Piscis’ Restrepo as technical manager. Come? That being at least four out of six is easier than breathing is the traditional jingoism of this land.
More facts to be clear about the panorama: the historical average of points to be fourth is 8. Colombia has four games left (12 possible points). They will have to win three or, failing that, win two and draw two… They are already on the ropes. And more if the goalkeeper fails and there are no crashes and there is no scorer and everything remains in the fight and will of the midfielder and the scorer. It’s football: that’s how sometimes titles have also been won. But it is not ‘papita pa’l loro’ as is believed from wild chauvinism. Reality has already given us five slaps in the face… May this not be the sixth!
Meluk tells him
GABRIEL MELUK
Sports Editor
@MelukLeCuenta
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#Colombia #Sub20 #crashes #ropes #Meluk #tells