With a strong 2-0 win on Friday the Colombian national soccer team has announced itself as contenders for the World Cup 2014.
Colombia has arguably been irrelevant in world soccer for years. Back in 1994, they were contenders to win the top prize at the World Cup, but an unfortunate own goal by Andres Escobar ended Colombia's hopes and Escobar's life. In 1998 they made it to France, but were eliminated in the group stage. 2002 passed, as did the 2006 and 2010 tournaments and Colombia was nowhere to be seen. Would they ever become a contender again?
Before September's two matches, Colombia's relevance was still in question. They were out of the top five on the CONMEBOL table going into tough matches against two of the top teams in the confederation. But they made Uruguay look like amateurs in a 4-0 win that saw the re-emergence of Radamel Falcao and the tremendous play of Teofilio Gutierrez. The two would come back for more (and were joined by a stellar James Rodriguez) in the following match against favorite Chile in a 3-1 win that not only cemented them in the CONMEBOL, but put them into the top 10 on FIFA's World Rankings just 10 days ago. Colombia is currently considered the 9th best team in the World according to those standings and Friday's win could help them remain in that standing for the next few months.
The latter win over Paraguay was more of the same from this brilliant Colombia squad and more. The defense was not leaky as it was in other matches. The midfield generated chances time and again. And Falcao scored 2 goals on beautiful strikes. On his first one, he faked out a defender on the right side of the box. He cut to his left foot and propelled the sphere into the back of the net. The second goal was even more daring as he cut inside yet again, but this time outplayed two defensemen and delicately chipped the ball past an onrushing keeper. The striker is considered among the elite (some consider him the best in the world) and has continued a strong season with Atletico Madrid. It is widely believed that a transfer to England is in store for the Colombian and this would only increase his potential.
The other two components of the trio are Gutierrez and Rodriguez. Gutierrez is known for his eccentricities as the player assaulted a referee and taunted opponent's fans during a match for Racing. He has also fought with teammates and lied to his club about playing for the national team in order to take a vacation. He has breakneck speed and his edginess helps him create for himself and his teammates. Rodriguez currently plays for Porto and is a tremendous playmaker that has looked inspired in the last three qualifying matches. At just 21 years of age, the best is yet to come for this young man and in two years he may be among the elite in the world.
Because of these three, Colombian soccer icon Carlos Valderama has stated that this team can be better than the team he played for back in the 90s. "They can be better. They started younger than us veterans. I remember I went to Europe at the age of 26 and James is 21 now and went to Europe when he was even younger. The same happened with Falcao, (Juan Camilo) Zuniga and (Pablo) Armero. This generation can be better," said the former star.
It is essential to consider that this buzz has only been created from the last three victories and there is still a long way to go before Colombia can be declared a true contender. Brazil is not in the competition as in past years (as hosts they do not need to qualify) and their absence has given Colombia more space with which to operate in the standings. Colombia still has seven matches to go, including one in Argentina as well as another in Uruguay where the Celestes will be looking for vengeance over the 4-0 loss. There is a great deal of room for error, but one cannot over looked Colombia's surging offense (9 goals) and rigid defense (1 goal against) in the last three games. Colombia finally looks ready to weather any storm. And if they do, then they will finally be contenders once again.
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