Women’s football in Colombia was in a period of transition, after being eliminated in the group stage of the 2006 Copa América, where John Agudelo was the coach. There were still many things to be organized.
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Between 2008 and 2010, a group of young girls revolutionized women’s soccer in Colombia forever. It was the birth of the legend of the Powerpuff Girls, many of whose members are still alive today.
The South American youth tournaments in CONMEBOL were still in their infancy. The U-20 tournament began in 2004, with four teams, not including Colombia, which appeared for the first time in 2006. In the first two editions it played, it did not make it past the group stage.
The 2008 U-17s, the first champion of a Conmebol tournament
The U-17, on the other hand, had its inaugural edition in 2008, and Colombia sent a team led by Pedro Rodríguez, who trained in Cali. There were already names that were beginning to stand out, such as Yoreli Rincón, who was only 14 years old at the time. Also the twins Natalia and Tatiana Ariza, Natalia Gaitán (who was already taking the captain’s course), Ingrid Vidal, Liana Salazar, Lady Andrade, Gabriela Huertas and Laura Cosme.
The tournament was a world to explore, and Rodríguez travelled to Chile, the venue of the tournament, full of optimism. “It won’t be easy, as the days are exhausting due to the closeness of the matches, but the intention is to show the best game,” the coach told EL TIEMPO before the trip.
The Ariza twins, Tatiana and Natalia.
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Colombia’s first phase was almost a perfect campaign. Except for the first match, in which they tied 1-1 against Ecuador, with a goal by Yoreli, the team advanced to the final phase with great detail: they beat Argentina 3-0, with a hat-trick by Tatiana Ariza; they tied with the local team 1-1, with a goal by Ingrid Vidal, and they beat Bolivia 5-0.
The final four began with a 3-1 defeat against Brazil, a result that was, in theory, normal given the development that women’s football had already had in that country. But Colombia picked itself up from the blow, and how: with two thrashings, 4-1 against Argentina and 7-2 against Paraguay, it not only qualified for the World Cup, but was also crowned champion. What a joke!
The media began to take an interest in the subject and there appeared the life stories of the players, which a month before were completely unknown to many. For example, that of Tatiana Ariza, whose family had to appeal to a tutela action so that he could undergo a catheterization that he needed to correct a heart murmur.
“There were two options for surgery: one was open heart surgery, and although it was the only one covered by the EPS, I opposed it. The other, less risky, was the implantation of the device, but that was not covered by the health plan. In the end we won the ruling, they operated on her and look how she is, scoring goals!” sa
id Tatiana and Natalia’s father, Luis Fernando Ariza.
Natalia Gaitán, who had to undergo chemotherapy as a child to overcome acute lymphoblastic leukemia, also won the match against death. “It is still a mystery exactly what caused her leukemia. We do not know if it was genetic or a virus. The truth is that, thanks to God and the care we took with her, today she is where she is: winning and celebrating, as she did in Chile,” said Natalia’s father, Guillermo Gaitán.
Natalia Gaitan
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The first ever Women’s World Cup for Colombia was a learning experience for everyone. It was the inaugural edition, and FIFA awarded it to New Zealand. The team bowed out in the first round after two draws, 1-1 against Denmark and 1-1 against Canada, and then a 3-1 defeat against the local team. It was the beginning.
There were still organizational issues that needed improvement. In 2010, with the base of that under-17 team, Colombia played at home in the South American Under-20 Championship, which took place entirely in Bucaramanga. Ricardo Rozo took charge of the national team and found in women’s football the possibility of revenge after having retired as a player at the age of 30, after receiving few opportunities.
In the first phase, the team was overwhelming: they won all four matches, 3-1 against Ecuador, 2-1 against Chile, 2-0 against Argentina and 1-0 against Bolivia, and thus advanced to the semi-finals. The 2-1 victory against Paraguay put them in the final and secured qualification for the World Cup. Finally, Brazil won the title by winning 2-0.
“These girls, despite their young age, are very professional in their work. They are focused on what they want, and every day they go out to give everything to achieve their goals. In Bucaramanga they felt at home and the support of the people played a decisive role in the tournament,” explained Rozo.
Where did the nickname ‘Powerpuff Girls’ come from?
The team had already been dubbed the Powerpuff Girls. When did the title of that cartoon series, in which Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup use their superpowers to defeat their arch-enemy, Mojo Jojo, become the hallmark of a soccer team played by women?
Many people attribute the nickname to journalist Andrea Guerrero, who has her version of the events: “I was a big fan of those little dolls at school. One day we were in an editorial meeting at RCN with José David Rodríguez. I don’t usually use the word ‘girls.’ We were talking about the team and I said that they had superpowers, that they are super powerful. ‘Well, they are the Powerpuff Girls,’ said José. That was while I was writing a script. And we started using it.” he explained.
Against all odds, a book by José Orlando Ascencio.
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The base was maintained to go to the U-20 World Cup in Germany in 2010. The goalkeeper joined her Catalina Perez, who came to the team in a curious way.
“I lived in the United States. When the Colombian National Team won the South American Under-17 and qualified for the World Cup in New Zealand, that was in the newspapers. My dad showed them to me and I got even more excited. It was a cool awakening. In 2009, someone from the United States recommended Pedro Rodríguez to me and I went to try out. I passed and they told me they would contact me. Then there was a tournament and due to family issues I couldn’t play. Afterwards, I don’t know what happened, I never heard from the National Team again,” he said.
“In 2010, I found out that they had changed the coach and that they hadn’t shared the data, my data was lost. I went to Colombia to do trials again: I contacted Ricardo Rozo, I introduced myself to him, and they told me they had no reference for me. I had to do the trials again, but with the under-20s. They asked me if I could stay the whole summer. In the end, they selected me among the 23 players who were going to the World Cup. It was a dream,” she added.
The first World Cup semi-final for the women’s team
The experience of having played in the U-17s a couple of years before was very useful for Colombia, who were gaining confidence. They started out with a 1-1 draw with France, then lost 3-1 to the locals and, finally, beat Costa Rica 3-0.
The surprising victory against one of the powerhouses, Sweden, 2-0, with goals from Daniela Montoya and Yoreli Rincón, left Colombia in a historic semi-final, in which they lost 1-0 against Nigeria. South Korea beat them by the same score in the duel for third place. It was the best performance by a Colombian women’s team in a Fifa tournament until the U-17 runner-up title in 2022.
Captain Gaitán recalled what happened in that World Cup during the draw for the U-20 World Cup in Colombia: “At that moment it was a combination of emotions that collided. Although it was a great performance for us, which we have not yet managed to repeat, there was a lot of joy, but seeing ourselves so close to the final and not making it was a bit of a relief. Looking back, I look at it from a positive perspective because what we did was great, but at the time it felt like we were missing very little. We had the talent and the unity of the group. It was very nice,” he said.
These Powerpuff Girls are still an important part of the senior team today. They gave a definitive boost to what was to come in the following years.
The book
Against all odds is a journey through the history of women’s football in Colombia, from the late 1940s to the 2024 Paris Olympics. In it, the pioneers give their tes
timony, which was collected by the generations that are now frequent visitors to the World Cups. The book is available for pre-sale at https://https://www.tiendaeltiempo.com/contra-todo-pronostico-promo.
Jose Orlando Ascencio
Sports Deputy Editor
@josasc
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