“It’s like a dream come true.” There is no word in the dictionary that describes the emotion and the feeling of millions of Colombians who will see the Tricolor play the Copa America final. In Miami, entire families arrive early to settle outside the Hard Rock Stadium to wait for the great sporting event, in which There are also compatriots working there, such as Pedro Villabona, who, in addition to having an important job broadcasting the match, cannot believe that Colombia will be playing a final against Argentina.
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Not only in the coffee nation, but also abroad, there is a fever for ‘La Sele’, something evident in the large yellow stain that has been observed in the stands of the stadiums in previous games, even, many Colombians have come to mention that “it seems like the game is being played in Barranquilla”, due to the large number of fans of the Tricolor.
But the Colombian presence is not only in the stands, because There are compatriots who ‘put on the number 10’ to work in the Copa América final. Pedro Villabona is one of them, an electronic engineer from the District University who is responsible for broadcasting the sporting event.
The general director of the final broadcast is Colombian
Villabona has more than 30 years of experience and has worked on important events such as the Super Bowl, Miss Universe, international football finals, and more. But this time is different, as she has a great responsibility in the transmission of the final in which her country plays.
Although in the past he had the opportunity to work on the friendly match between Milan and Colombia that was also played in Miami in 1994. Now, it is different, because “it is a final against the best in the world,” as he himself mentions.
Technically I have to be very professional, but personally I will scream or cry.
“In the technical aspect of the broadcast with cameras, I have to be very professional, but personally I’m going to scream or cry,” Villabona confessed in an interview with EL TIEMPO.
He has all the training and experience, but he does not deny that the emotions are different when it comes to recording the plays of the Colombian National Team and its rival Argentina. He recalls that in 1994, watching the Tricolor play against Milan, he was crying. Now, he describes that he does not know with precision what his emotions are on this occasion, 30 years later.
“It’s the final and against the world champion, I’m speechless. I’m happy for my family and friends here in Miami and in Colomba, I wish I had words,” says the engineer graduated from the District, who has been working on the installation for four days with his team of engineers.
It’s the best selection I’ve ever seen in my life.
Villabona has been following the Colombian team’s movements. “This team -for me- is incredible. It is the best team I have ever seen in my life. When they make changes to a player, a good one leaves and another one comes in who is just as good or better.”
He had the opportunity to be close to some of the players in the run-up to the final, something unusual in his profession, because “there are many limits and because of everything they have under control” they cannot share with them, as some believe. Although, in the brief chance meeting in a stadium, he did not hesitate to send them the best energy to win the final.
“As much as I would like to be with them, it’s not possible. Although this time I was able to exchange a few words with some of them.”
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The feeling for the Tricolor is lived in the streets of Miami
It’s a party around the stadium
Colombians have not stopped supporting ‘La Sele’. In the streets of Miami, the yellow fever is alive and the “Colombian energy” is felt as if they were playing at home.
The Argentines are also making a strong presence in the United States. “Here, before the games, people go and have barbecues in the parking lot. They arrive four or five hours early and bring their friends. It’s a big party around the stadium,” says Villabona.
“Argentines and Colombians share, it is a very beautiful ceremony.”
The engineer carries a Colombian flag in his car, a reminder of his homeland. When he drives through the streets of Miami, other vehicles honk and shout at him, announcing their happiness at meeting another compatriot. “From the beginning, I felt that Colombia was going to make it to the final and I was going to work there. One of those things that you feel is going to happen.”
“I never forget my homeland. Whenever people come, I try to make them feel at home,” says the man, who has lived in the United States for 35 years, having moved there to access the medical technology that the North American country offers. His eldest daughter was able to live longer than doctors in Colombia predicted, due to a terminal illness from which she ended up dying.
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“I have been in Miami for 35 years and I am very grateful to the United States. Those who do things well do well here. When professionals come legally, with all their documents, they do very well,” says the engineer.
“There is all the talent in Colombia. People who want to come can succeed. Obviously, when they come legally, it is complicated otherwise. Those who study electronic engineering should know that our curriculum is equivalent, they do not have to take the exam, they only have to have the curriculum and degree translated and they will give it equivalence,” says the man, recalling his arrival in the US.
However, he has not forgotten the land of coffee and aguapanela, as well as his lifelong love for the Colombian national team. “I am confident that we will be champions. Football lights up the country and makes people happy, it is something magnetic.”
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