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Colombia national football team

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 83.199.153.52 (talk) at 18:50, 26 March 2015 (→‎Current squad). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Colombia women's national football team.

Colombia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)[Los Cafeteros] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (The Coffeers)
Association[[[Colombian Football Federation|Federación Colombiana de Fútbol]]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (FCF)
ConfederationCONMEBOL (South America)
Head coachJosé Pékerman
CaptainRadamel Falcao
Most capsCarlos Valderrama (111)
Top scorerArnoldo Iguarán (24)
Home stadiumEstadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez[1]
FIFA codeCOL
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current3 Steady (12 March 2015)
Highest3 (July–August 2013, September 2014–March 2015)
Lowest54 (June 2011)
First international
 Mexico 3–1 Colombia Colombia
(Panama City, Panama; 10 February 1938)
Biggest win
 Argentina 0–5 Colombia Colombia
(Buenos Aires, Argentina; 5 September 1993)
Colombia Colombia 5–0 Uruguay 
(Barranquilla, Colombia; 6 June 2004)
Colombia Colombia 5–0 Peru 
(Barranquilla, Colombia; 4 June 2005)
Colombia Colombia 5–0 Bolivia 
(Barranquilla, Colombia; 22 March 2013)
Biggest defeat
 Brazil 9–0[2] Colombia Colombia
(Lima, Peru; 24 March 1957)
World Cup
Appearances5 (first in 1962)
Best resultQuarter-finals, 2014
Copa América
Appearances19 (first in 1945)
Best resultChampions, 2001
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Appearances3 (first in 2000)
Best resultRunners-up, 2000
FIFA Confederations Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2003)
Best resultFourth Place, 2003

The Colombia national football team represents Colombia in international football competitions and is overseen by the Colombian Football Federation. It is a member of the CONMEBOL and is currently ranked 3rd in the FIFA World Rankings,[3] and 5th in Elo World Rankings.

Since the mid-1980s, the national team has been a symbol fighting the country's negative reputation. This has made the sport popular and made the national team a sign of nationalism, pride, and passion for many Colombians worldwide. Colombia is known for having a passionate fanbase.[4][5]

Colombia had its strongest period during the 1990s. A 1993 match resulted in a 5–0 win over Argentina which caused a special 'mutual respect' rivalry between both nations.[6] The goalkeeper René Higuita achieved fame from his eccentric scorpion kick clearance against England at Wembley in 1995. Stars from Colombia's team included Carlos Valderrama and Faustino Asprilla. During this era Colombia qualified for the 1990, 1994, and 1998 World Cups, only reaching the second round in 1990. Following the death of Andrés Escobar after the 1994 World Cup, Colombia's team faded in the latter half of the 1990s. They were the champions of the 2001 Copa América, which they hosted and set a new Copa América record of conceding no goals and winning each match. Prior to that success they were runners-up to Peru in the 1975 Copa América. In total, Colombia has gained a top 4 result in 7 Copa Américas. Colombia was the first team to win FIFA best mover in 1993 where the achievement was first introduced and the second team after Croatia to win it twice in 2012.[7]

Colombia missed 3 World Cups between 2002-2010. However, during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Colombia showed improvement since the 2011 Copa América, bringing its rank within the top 10 for the first time since 2002 and into the top 5 consistently for the first time since 2004. After a 16-year-long wait, Colombia finally returned to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[8][7]

Former midfielder Marcos Coll is the only player in history to score an Olympic goal in a FIFA World Cup, in the 1962 FIFA World Cup against the USSR. The match finished in a 4–4 tie after a spectacular come back by Colombia from 4–1 to draw the match, making it the biggest comeback in World Cup history. The team are nicknamed Los Cafeteros due to the coffee production in their country. Colombia's midfielder James Rodriguez was awarded the Golden Boot for most goals (6) and the Best Goal of the Tournament awards at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

History

Main article: History of the Colombia national football team

Early years

Fernando Paternoster was the first foreign manager of the Colombia national team. He was also the one to coach Colombia to its first international game.

Colombia played its first official matches at the 1938 Central American and Caribbean Games. The Colombia national football team was composed mostly by all the players of the Club Juventud Bogotana (now Millonarios FC).[9] Alfonso Novoa was the manager of Colombia until 23 February.

The first game was played on 10 February 1938 against Mexico. Colombia was defeated 1–3; Luis Argüelles, Luis de la Fuente and Horacio Casarín scored for Mexico, Marcos Mejía scored for Colombia. Colombia was able to obtain the bronze medal, with two wins and three losses. The same year Colombia played at the I Bolivarian Games in Bogotá, where they were 4th with one win and three losses. Fernando Paternoster was the manager of Colombia, being the first foreign manager of the team.

Colombia did not play again until 1945 when they participated for the first time at the South American Championship, where they were 5th. This time, Colombia was composed by players of Junior de Barranquilla, except for Antonio de la Hoz, who played for Sporting de Barranquilla, and Pedro Ricardo López, who played for Boca Juniors de Cali.[10] Roberto Meléndez was player and coach of Colombia throughout the tournament.

The first match of Colombia in the professional era was played on 6 April in the 1949 South American Championship, a 3–0 defeat against Paraguay. The Austrian coach Friedrich Donnenfeld was the manager of Colombia during the tournament. He had moved with his family to Colombia due to the Second World War, and Atlético Junior would be his first team as a coach.[11] As Junior was chosen to represent Colombia in the tournament, he became in the first European manager of the Colombia national team. However, the team repeated their losing streak since, as in the previous tournament, ended 8th with 2 draws and 5 losses, scoring 4 goals.

After a withdrawal in 1938 and getting banned in 1954 (due to the controversial El Dorado era), Colombia participated for the first time in qualifying for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden. Their first match was on 16 June 1957 against Uruguay in Bogotá, that ended in a 1–1 draw. Colombia lost their next matches, leaving them at the bottom of the group.

File:1447 soccer 30.png
Stamp commemorating the match played against Uruguay in the 1962 World Cup.

At the 1962 World Cup, Colombia lost their first match 2–1 against Uruguay. Luis Cubilla and Jorge Sasía scored for Uruguay at the 56th and 75th minute respectively, while Francisco Zuluaga scored a 19th minute penalty goal for Colombia. In the second match they got a 4–4 draw with the Soviet Union, champions of the 1960 European Nations' Cup. It should be noted that in this game, Colombia scored four goals against Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin, widely considered the best goalkeeper in football history. Also in that game, Marcos Coll scored the only olympic goal in World Cup history so far. Unfortunately, the Colombian campaign in 1962 ended with a 5–0 defeat against Yugoslavia, who end up in fourth place in the tournament.

1990s Golden Era

At 1990 World Cup, Colombia defeated United Arab Emirates 2–0, lost to Yugoslavia 1–0, and earned their place in the Round of 16 after a 1–1 draw with West Germany, which would later won the Cup. Colombia would be eliminated in their next match against Cameroon with a 2–1 defeat in extra time.

For the 1994 World Cup, Colombia finished top of their qualifying group without having lost a match, which included a historic 5–0 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires. Expectations of the team were high, some even naming them as favourites to win the tournament. Colombia was assigned to the Group A with the hosts United States, Romania, and Switzerland. During the tournament, Colombia only got 1 win and 2 losses, which would eliminate it in the first phase.

Colombia ended their qualification for the 1998 World Cup in third place with 28 points, 2 points below Argentina who was in 1st place with 30 points. Colombia was assigned to the Group G with Tunisia, England, and Romania. Romania obtains a 1–0 victory in the first match. Colombia's second match was a 1–0 win against Tunisia, with a goal from Leider Preciado. However, in the last match England won the game 2–0, with which Colombia was eliminated.

Colombia won the 2001 edition of the Copa América while setting a historical new record.

The 2001 Copa América was the first Copa América held in Colombia. Prior to the tournament, three meetings were held by CONMEBOL authorities who were concerned about potential security issues in Colombia, for what Venezuela offered to host the competition. At the last minute, CONMEBOL decided to return the organisation to Colombia, and the tournament was held on schedule. Complaining for the sudden decision, and claiming that Argentine players had received death threats from terrorist groups, the Argentine Football Association decided to withdraw from the competition. Because Canada and Argentina withdrew, on 6 and 10 July respectively, Honduras and Costa Rica were invited. There were no terrorist incidents within the competition. Colombia was placed in Group A with Venezuela, Chile, and Ecuador. Colombia finished on 1st place with 9 points. Colombia won their first Copa América title by beating Mexico with a goal from Iván Córdoba in the second half.

Depression Era (2002–2010)

For the 2002 World Cup, Colombia only managed to place sixth in the qualification round, tied with Uruguay but failing to qualify due to goal difference. Colombia would also eventually fail to qualify for the 2006 edition in Germany and for the 2010 World Cup, mainly because their constant change of formations and struggles to score goals in the last games of the qualification.

A new golden generation (2010–present)

In 2011 Copa América, Colombia made a good run topping their group and achieving a draw to the host nation Argentina, who were the favorites. In the next round, Colombia would be eliminated in a 2–0 lost against Peru in the extra time.

"We can’t stop people talking about us, nor should we duck away from positive opinions. This national squad, with a new generation of players, is making history. Nowadays nearly all of us are playing in Europe and I think we’ve got a wider variety of players and talent than we did at the 1994 World Cup, when this pressure was on them too. But we can’t afford to get too carried away with what people say. Of course we want to have a great tournament, but we mustn’t let ourselves get weighed down by external pressures."

Jackson Martinez on the current generation and it's run into the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[12]

The Colombian side gained Leonel Álvarez as the new coach following the resignation of Hernán Darío Gómez, but was sacked after 3 games with disappointing results, which led in the hiring of José Pékerman. The Colombian squad would break a personal qualifying best record, and raise the FIFA ranking consistently into the top 10 and allowed them to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 16 years. Celebrations broke throughout the nation, as many neturals hailed Colombia as a dark-horse towards being a World Cup contender.[13][14][15][16] Often, Colombia were noted by many figures in Colombia such as Carlos Valderrama as a team that could become the most successful Colombian squad in history.[17][18]

2014 World Cup

Colombia topped off their return in the 2014 World Cup after a 16 year absence by defeating Greece 3-0.[19] Colombia then edged a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast to dispute Group C's top spot days later.[20] On the same day, Japan and Greece drew 0-0 and automatically qualified Colombia to the round of 16 for the first time in 24 years since the 1990 edition of the world cup.[21] In its final group stage game, Colombia defeated Japan 4–1, to win Group C and become the third South American team (following Brazil and Argentina) to go 3–0 in group stage in World Cup history. Colombia went on to defeat Uruguay 2-0 on June 28, 2014 in the knockout round, securing a spot in the quarter finals for the first time in their history. Colombia fell to the host country Brazil 2–1 in the quarter final round in controversy, where media and figures such as Diego Maradona criticized FIFA and Carlos Velasco Carballo for 'favoring' Brazil and being biased in disallowing a goal from Mario Yepes and allowing too many fouls by the Brazilians to occur without any yellow cards being shown.[22][23][24][25][26][27]

Despite the elimination, the national team was greeted by tens of thousands of Colombians in Bogotá Colombia, welcoming them back as heroes and restoring pride to the nation.[28][29] Colombia would then receive the FIFA Fair Play Trophy and have James Rodríguez and Juan Cuadrado end as the World Cup's leading goal scorer and assist leader respectively.[30][31]

Schedule and results

See also: Colombia national football team results (2000–19)

  Win   Draw   Loss

2015

26 March Friendly Bahrain  –  Colombia Riffa, Bahrain
20:00 (UTC+03:00) Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium
30 March Friendly Colombia  –  Kuwait Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
19:00 (UTC+04:00) Stadium: Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium
14 June 2015 Copa América Colombia  –  Venezuela Rancagua, Chile
16:00 (UTC−04:00) Stadium: Estadio El Teniente
17 June 2015 Copa América Brazil  –  Colombia Santiago, Chile
20:30 (UTC−04:00) Stadium: Estadio Monumental David Arellano
21 June 2015 Copa América Colombia  –  Peru Temuco, Chile
16:00 (UTC−04:00) Stadium: Estadio Municipal Germán Becker

Rivalries

With political issues with history/culture related nations Ecuador and Venezuela, Colombia has always taken interest. While Colombia has natural rival matches with neighbors Ecuador and Venezuela, the matches aren't as popular as the rival matches against Argentina.

The historical Colombian 5–0 victory in 1993, beating host Argentina in the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, was the very first time Argentina lost in its home stadium Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti during a qualifying match for a World Cup. Argentina come as a previous twice FIFA World Cup champion. It caused a huge upset and start of a respective rivalries. Unlike other rivalries full of hostility, the Colombian-Argentine rivalry is more based on 'respect' than a 'hated' relationship always attracting great interest between both nations.[32] Thus, the Colombian-Argentine rivalry has been considered 'unique' and 'special'. In a way, the Colombian-Argentine relationship is viewed as 'sparring partners' in world football.

Players

Current squad

The following 24 players were named for the March 26 and 30, 2015 friendly matches against  Bahrain and  Kuwait.
Caps and goals updated as March 26, 2014 after the match against Bahrain.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK David Ospina (vice captain) (1988-08-31) August 31, 1988 (age 35) 51 0 England Arsenal
12 1GK Camilo Vargas (1989-09-01) September 1, 1989 (age 34) 4 0 Colombia Atlético Nacional
7 2DF Pablo Armero (1986-11-02) November 2, 1986 (age 37) 63 2 Italy Milan
4 2DF Santiago Arias (1992-01-13) January 13, 1992 (age 32) 14 0 Netherlands PSV
23 2DF Jeison Murillo (1992-05-27) May 27, 1992 (age 32) 5 0 Spain Granada
3 2DF Pedro Franco (1991-04-23) April 23, 1991 (age 33) 3 0 Turkey Beşiktaş
18 2DF Stefan Medina (1992-06-14) June 14, 1992 (age 32) 3 0 Mexico Monterrey
24 2DF Daniel Bocanegra (1987-04-23) April 23, 1987 (age 37) 2 0 Colombia Atlético Nacional
5 2DF Darwin Andrade (1991-02-11) February 11, 1991 (age 33) 1 0 Belgium Standard Liège
30 2DF Johan Mojica (1992-08-21) August 21, 1992 (age 31) 1 1 Spain Valladolid
8 3MF Abel Aguilar (1985-01-06) January 6, 1985 (age 39) 56 6 France Toulouse
13 3MF Fredy Guarín (vice captain) (1986-06-30) June 30, 1986 (age 38) 55 4 Italy Internazionale
6 3MF Carlos Sánchez (1986-02-06) February 6, 1986 (age 38) 53 0 England Aston Villa
11 3MF Juan Guillermo Cuadrado (1988-05-26) May 26, 1988 (age 36) 38 5 England Chelsea
25 3MF Alexander Mejía (1988-09-07) September 7, 1988 (age 35) 16 0 Mexico Monterrey
15 3MF Juan Fernando Quintero (1993-01-18) January 18, 1993 (age 31) 12 1 Portugal Porto
27 3MF Edwin Cardona (1992-12-08) December 8, 1992 (age 31) 3 0 Mexico Monterrey
16 3MF Andrés Rentería (1993-03-06) March 6, 1993 (age 31) 1 1 Mexico Santos Laguna
28 3MF Wílmar Barrios (1993-10-16) October 16, 1993 (age 30) 0 0 Colombia Deportes Tolima
9 4FW Radamel Falcao (captain) (1986-02-10) February 10, 1986 (age 38) 55 23 England Manchester United
19 4FW Teófilo Gutiérrez (1985-05-28) May 28, 1985 (age 39) 37 14 Argentina River Plate
20 4FW Adrián Ramos (1986-01-22) January 22, 1986 (age 38) 35 4 Germany Borussia Dortmund
17 4FW Carlos Bacca (1986-09-08) September 8, 1986 (age 37) 16 7 Spain Sevilla
14 4FW Rafael Santos Borré (1995-09-15) September 15, 1995 (age 28) 0 0 Colombia Deportivo Cali

Recent call-ups

The following players have been recently called up in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK José Fernando Cuadrado (1985-06-01) June 1, 1985 (age 39) 0 0 Colombia Once Caldas v.  Slovenia; November 18, 2014 (Friendly)
GK Leandro Castellanos (1984-03-09) March 9, 1984 (age 40) 0 0 Colombia Santa Fe v.  Slovenia; November 18, 2014 (Friendly)
GK Faryd Mondragón (1971-06-21) June 21, 1971 (age 53) 51 0 Retired v.  Brazil; July 4, 2014 (WC)
DF Cristián Zapata (1986-09-30) September 30, 1986 (age 37) 31 0 Italy Milan v.  Slovenia; November 18, 2014 (Friendly)
DF Éder Álvarez Balanta (1993-02-28) February 28, 1993 (age 31) 5 0 Argentina River Plate v.  Slovenia; November 18, 2014 (Friendly)
DF Brayan Angulo (1989-11-02) November 2, 1989 (age 34) 1 0 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad v.  Slovenia; November 18, 2014 (Friendly)
DF Juan Camilo Zúñiga (vice captain) (1985-12-14) December 14, 1985 (age 38) 58 1 Italy Napoli v.  Canada; October 14, 2014 (Friendly)
DF Carlos Valdés (1985-05-22) May 22, 1985 (age 39) 16 2 Uruguay Nacional v.  Brazil; September 5, 2014 (Friendly)
DF Mario Yepes (1976-01-13) January 13, 1976 (age 48) 102 6 Argentina San Lorenzo v.  Brazil; July 4, 2014 (WC)
DF Luis Amaranto Perea (1979-01-30) January 30, 1979 (age 45) 76 0 Unattached 2014 FIFA World Cup provisional squad
DF Aquivaldo Mosquera (1981-06-22) June 22, 1981 (age 43) 31 1 Mexico Pachuca 2014 FIFA World Cup provisional squad
MF James Rodríguez (1991-07-12) July 12, 1991 (age 33) 32 12 Spain Real Madrid v.  Slovenia; November 18, 2014 (Friendly)
MF Carlos Carbonero (1990-07-25) July 25, 1990 (age 34) 5 0 Italy Cesena v.  Slovenia; November 18, 2014 (Friendly)
MF Aldo Leão Ramírez (1981-04-18) April 18, 1981 (age 43) 30 1 Mexico Atlas v.  Brazil; September 5, 2014 (Friendly)
MF Macnelly Torres (1984-09-01) September 1, 1984 (age 39) 38 3 Colombia Junior 2014 FIFA World Cup provisional squad
MF Elkin Soto (1980-08-04) August 4, 1980 (age 44) 26 6 Germany Mainz 2014 FIFA World Cup provisional squad
MF Edwin Valencia (1985-03-29) March 29, 1985 (age 39) 15 0 Brazil Santos 2014 FIFA World Cup provisional squad
FW Jackson Martínez (1986-10-03) October 3, 1986 (age 37) 35 10 Portugal Porto v.  Slovenia; November 18, 2014 (Friendly)
FW Yimmi Chará (1991-04-02) April 2, 1991 (age 33) 2 0 Mexico Monterrey v.  Slovenia; November 18, 2014 (Friendly)
FW Víctor Ibarbo (1990-05-19) May 19, 1990 (age 34) 12 1 Italy Roma v.  Brazil; September 5, 2014 (Friendly)
FW Luis Muriel (1991-04-18) April 18, 1991 (age 33) 5 1 Italy Sampdoria v.  Brazil; September 5, 2014 (Friendly)

Individual records

  • Bold denotes players still playing international football.
As of 18 November 2014[33]
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