Colombian team, champion of the 2001 Copa América, gathered to sing and encourage today’s

Almost 23 years have passed since the only time the Colombian National Team achieved an official title: On July 29, 2001, the team beat Mexico 1-0 in El Campín and won the most important trophy in the history of Colombian men’s soccer, the Copa América.

“That Copa América united the country. The most important tournament, with the most tradition, is the Copa América. It turns out that tomorrow or the day after, the aliens will come and analyze the football phenomenon: they will find that here there was a team that won the Cup, that did not concede any goals and that won all the games,” recalled Francisco Maturana, their coach, in an interview with EL TIEMPO in 2019.

Colombia had a perfect campaign in that tournament: they won all six games they played. In the group stage in Barranquilla, they beat Ecuador 1-0, Venezuela 1-0 and Chile 2-0. Then, in the quarterfinals, they beat Peru 3-0 in Armenia. And in the semifinals, they defeated Honduras 2-0, in Manizales. In the end, a goal from Iván Ramiro Córdoba sealed the duel against Mexico.

“We toured the Coffee Region by bus: at 2 in the afternoon you would meet the workers in the streets and they would take off their caps and laugh. I said, what are they laughing about, at this time and with this sun, and It was the joy they had to see the National Team pass. You can take anything away from it, but the joy we gave to the country was undeniable,” he added.

Colombia has not won the tournament again since then. He reached the semifinals in 2004, 2016 and 2021. Now, with a renewed team and undefeated in 23 games, 20 of them under the command of Néstor Lorenzo, the National Team will seek its second continental title starting Monday, in the United States.

A good part of the squad that won the Cup in 2001 and coach Francisco Maturana met at the Entrepués restaurant in Sopó (Cundinamarca) to commemorate their victory and send a message of encouragement to the National Team, which is already training in the United States.

Among the players who attended the meeting are Víctor Hugo Aristizábal (top scorer of that Cup, with six goals), Gerardo Bedoya, Fredy ‘Totono’ Grisales, Eudalio Arriaga, Roberto Carlos Cortés, Elkin Murillo, Óscar Díaz, Óscar Córdoba, Fabián Vargas and Iván López.

In the meeting, which lasted about three hours, the players and Maturana recalled anecdotes and recorded a song based on the music of ‘Life is a Carnival’, performed by Celia Cruz.

The lyrics of the song performed by the 2001 champions

“Anyone who thinks that Argentina is going to win

You have to know it’s not like that

That Colombia is going to give melo today

Let’s go guys

Anyone who thinks that Colombia is going to win

You have to know that it is like that

that Colombia was champion

With Maturana

Aaaaaaaaa, we are going to win

That Colombia is a carnival

And again we lift it ooooaaaaaa

Aaaaaaaaa, we are going to win

That Colombia is a carnival

and with Lucho we raised it”

SPORTS

More Sports news