LThe arrival of Radamel Falcao García to Millonarios marked a very high point for the BetPlay League. The all-time top scorer for the Colombian national team, who is on the list of players called up to face Bucaramanga at El Campín this Sunday (3:30 pm), joins several players from one of the most important generations of Colombian football who have already come to contribute their talent and experience playing in front of an audience that has followed their performances abroad for years.
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Many of these experienced players, who experienced Copa Americas or World Cups, such as Brazil 2014, have already bought return tickets and the vast majority have had an extraordinary performance: Carlos Bacca He was a league champion with Junior and the top scorer in Colombian football, Hugo Rodallega and Daniel Torres They led Santa Fe to the final last semester, Teofilo Gutierrez He helped Deportivo Cali become champions in 2021 and is now trying to return Real Cartagena to the A and Dayro Moreno He is now the top scorer in Colombian football, thanks to his return to Once Caldas…
Three more World Cup players joined this semester: David Ospina will play again with Atlético Nacional after 15 years, Christian Zapata will reinforce the champion Atlético Bucaramanga and Eder Alvarez Balanta joined the América squad.
What does this return mean for them and for Colombian football? Abel Aguilar was one of the first to experience this. After playing for 11 years in clubs in Italy (Udinese), Spain (Xerez, Hércules, Real Zaragoza and Deportivo de La Coruña), France (Toulouse) and Portugal (Belenenses), in 2016 he signed his return to Deportivo Cali. And then, after a stint in the MLS, he closed his career at Unión Magdalena.
“Surely, their feelings of many years bring them back here. When one returns, one does so with great enthusiasm, especially to a place where one has been happy. When I returned, I did so to Deportivo Cali, the club where I was trained, which I love with all my heart, and which was very important for my career and for my process,” Aguilar told EL TIEMPO.
Abel Aguilar
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Macnelly Torres, who played in two qualifying rounds and was also part of that process, was another who went and came back. He played for Colo Colo, San Luis of Mexico, Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia and Libertad of Paraguay. And when he returned, he did so with good performance, to the point that he won the Copa Libertadores and the Recopa Sudamericana with Nacional.
“The fact that they are back gives status to Colombian football. As for Falcao, it is a dream that he is here, that he joins the team he loves, and that spices up the League. The old guys are there scoring goals, Dayro, Bacca, Rodallega, Adrián Ramos are already there. That helps us all in the football environment. The clubs, because we will have more people in the stadiums. It is a winning thing,” said Macnelly.
Macnelly Torres
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Carlos Valdés was part of the San Lorenzo squad that won the 2014 Copa Libertadores and also had the experience of returning. “At this point, they have more to contribute, especially through experience, than through losing. They are thinking about enjoying football and the experience will allow many of their teammates to grow and assimilate the experience and knowledge they gained abroad. This will give the League a leap in quality,” he said.
Carlos Valdes
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Aguilar also believes that the contribution of the experienced players also comes from a personal point of view. “Bacca, Rodallega, Daniel Torres have contributed a lot since their return. They have worked hard on themselves, on their personality, and that is why they have obtained results. That is why it is important that they return, not only for the football message they are going to give, but for the personal message, which is what we are needing. They are good role models,” he insisted.
There were cases that did not turn out well. Like that of Fredy Guarín, who arrived with great expectations at Millonarios in 2021 and left through the back door, or Juan Fernando Quintero, who was announced with great fanfare by Junior but an injury prevented him from shining. But, in general, the golden generation of Colombian football in the past decade has returned with great force.
Jose Orlando Ascencio
Sports Deputy Editor
@josasc
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