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Soccer Canada Magazine Preview
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Colombia have qualified for their third successive finals with a side bearing a remarkable resemblance to the one that played in the 1990 and 1994 finals.
Just as in 1990, their team revolves around captain Carlos Valderrama, now 36 but playing with the same apparently pedestrian style -- and sporting the same unkempt mass of hair -- as eight years ago.
Freddy Rincon, Valderrama's sidekick in midfield, Antony de Avila, Leonel Alvarez, Wilson Perez, Adolfo "the train" Valencia and Wilmer Cabrera are other 1990 survivors who were present in varying degrees during the qualifying competition.
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World Cup Record: Three previous finals - 1962, 1990, 1994. Best Performance: Second Round 1990. Three stars to watch: Faustino Asprilla, Carlos Valderrama, Anthony DeAvila. Though they had a brilliant team at USA 94, they fell apart under the pressure of high expectation. They will be inspired to make amends and dedicate their efforts to the unfortunate Andres Escobar (who was shot for having scored an own goal). But they can fall without their fanatical home support and Group G will be too strong for them. Tip: Elimination at the group stage. Best international result: 4-0 v.s Venezuela (1979) Worst international result: 0-9 v.s. Brazil (1957) Most capped player all-time: not available Area: 1 141 748 Sq. Km Population: 27 867 000 Capital: Bogota Founded: 1924 Affiliation to Fifa: 1936 Number of clubs: 3 700 Number of registered players: 188 000 Number of registered referees: 2 060 Major stadiums:Metropolitano, Barranquilla (70 000) Atamasio Girardot, Medellin(55000) National colors: yellow, blue and red |
De Avila scored arguably Colombia's most important goal when he struck four minutes from time to give Colombia a 1-0 win over Ecuador in a game which had become crucial to their chances.
The match, which brought Colombia coach Hernan Dario Gomez up against a side coached by his mentor Francisco Maturana, ended a run in which Colombia picked up one point out of a possible 15.
Colombia, unbeaten in their first seven games, were runaway early leaders of the South American group but then found themselves in danger of being caught up by a pack of teams below after losing to Argentina, Peru, Chile and Paraguay and drawing with Uruguay.
The defeats against Argentina and Peru, which were at home, dealt a further blow as they ended the myth that Colombia are invincible in the steamy Caribbean port of Barranquilla, where they stage their home games.
Home wins against Bolivia, by a flattering 3-0 scoreline, and minnows Venezuela, by a paltry single goal, in the next two matches saw Gomez's team into their third successive finals.
Striker Faustino Asprilla was the team's topscorer in the qualifiers with seven goals, six of which came in the team's first five games, including a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Chile.
Colombia's soccer fortunes had spiralled and tumbled in the last two decades. Until the early 1980s, they were among South America's soccer also-rans, and had never qualified for the World Cup apart from a single appearance in 1962.
Maturana, coach from 1987 to 1994, is largely credited with inspiring a soccer revolution as he led the team to the 1990 and 1994 finals.
By 1994, following a 5-0 win away to Argentina in a qualifier, Colombia were looked upon as one of the favourites to take the title and were tipped as the team who could set the tournament alight. Instead, disaster struck. They lost 2-1 to the United States, shortly after death threats had been faxed to the team hotel, and were eliminated in the first round.
One week after they had returned home, central defender Andres Escobar, who scored an own goal against the United States, was shot dead outside a restaurant in Medellin.
Colombia's campaign in the qualifiers for 1998 showed they are now firmly established as one of the stronger South American nations, even though many of their performances were uninspiring. Their erratic form in the competition could also be a blessing, as it avoids the lifting of expectations and the attention which preceded the last World Cup.
NEXT ROUNDS: Round of 16 || Quarter-finals || Semi-finals
GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan