Colombian team plays a match and a half: obviously, better to avoid Uruguay… (Meluk tells him)

Colombia plays a game and a half this Tuesday in the America Cup. The first, the obvious one against a Brazil always powerful, despite its recent weaknesses. And the other half of the game is to avoid a confrontation against the fearsome Uruguay, in the quarterfinals,

So, the best, obviously the best, for Colombia is to maintain its lead in Group D with a win or a draw to play the quarterfinals against Panama, which last night beat Bolivia, the shameful team of this Copa America and of South America. The host United States, which Colombia beat on the eve of the tournament, was eliminated.

The best thing to do is to avoid Uruguay.

And although in football two plus two does not always equal four, it is better to avoid Uruguay, one of the ‘bogeymen’ of the tournament. We are not going to lie or fall into the folklore of the fan in the Palacio del Colesterol who shouts excitedly: “To be champion, you have to beat them all, Cheers!”

That is not always true. In this Copa America alone, on the other side of the draw, Argentina has a path made of petals and not thorns on the way to the final, without Brazil or Uruguay from the group design for the game schedule, with the idea that Lionel Messi will arrive at his new home in Miami ready to lift the cup again.

It is obvious that it is better not to play Uruguay in the quarterfinals. For the younger ones, I will tell you a little story so that you have just one example: the fantastic German team, world champion in 1974, with Beckenbauer, Müller, Maier and HoenessAmong others, it played in the first round of that World Cup against the other Germany that existed at that time, the German Democratic Republic, the one on the communist side of the Berlin Wall.

And the powerful West Germany of that time lost against all odds 1-0 despite having the foundation of what was the best team in the world at the time, Bayern Munich, three-time winner of the European Champions Cup (today’s Champions League, 1974, 75 and 76).

And with that defeat they went from second in the group and avoided facing the immortal Holland of ‘total football’ before the final. Cruyff, Neeskens, Rep and Rensenbrink. And in the final Germany beat them 2-1! Of course that was the best.

Colombia, with its best team

Today, Colombia must draw or beat Brazil to avoid Uruguay. And to do so, logic suggests that they must field the best team, the starting team, including the three players who are on yellow cards (Lerma, Ríos and Córdoba), even if they risk another warning that would keep them out of the quarterfinals. I would rather play against Panama without Lerma and without Ríos than face Uruguay with Lerma and Ríos.

Now, let’s suppose that Colombia advances from the second round and has to face Uruguay: what will be left is the closest thing to walking on hot coals: Uruguay in the quarterfinals, Brazil again in a probable semifinal and Argentina in the hypothetical final. Colombia is ready to play the semifinal. It will have fulfilled its duty.

The best thing would obviously be not to lose against Brazil, although saying that so simply sounds like saying that you have to comb a lion’s mane.

Obviously it’s better to play against Panama than against Uruguay. Well, then… Today Colombia is playing a game and a half.

Meluk tells him

Gabriel Meluk

Sports Editor

@MelukLeCuenta

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