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When Colombia defeated Belgium 2-0 in Brussels on Thursday and in the process ended their 1 year undefeated streak, a few eyebrows were raised. Even more curious eyes were cast on the Colombians after they held their own against a Netherlands side and came back from Amsterdam with a creditable 0-0 draw to end their 2013 season on a high. Whilst this would have definitely startled many European watchers, anybody who witnessed their remarkable Qualifying campaign, wouldn’t have been so stunned.
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After all, this is a side who finished the CONMEBOL qualification group, just two points behind highly-fancied Argentina and are currently in fourth place in FIFA’s rankings, ahead of World Cup contenders Netherlands, Italy and hosts Brazil. And just in August 2013, they were ranked as high as third, their highest ever FIFA ranking. And let’s not forget, this was a side, who just two years ago, were ranked 54th, their lowest ever ranking and to make up 50 places in such a short space of time, is an achievement worth mentioning on its own.
Their ascent up the FIFA rankings and their subsequent qualification for Brazil 2014, their first World Cup in 16 years, has been under the tutelage of José Pékerman who has managed to completely turn around the fortunes of Los Cafeteros (The Coffee Growers). Radamel Falcao spearheaded the Colombians into the World Cup as his 9 goals meant he finished third behind only Luis Suarez and Messi on goals scored. The attacked led by the AS Monaco hit man also contained the likes of James Rodríguez, Jackson Martínez and Fredy Guarín who all contributed their fair share to help Columbia finish their qualification having scored 27 goals, the third highest, behind only Argentina and Chile. This coupled with a rock-solid defense, which was the meanest in the group, having conceded just 14, meant that Colombia finished the group with their highest-ever points record in their World Cup qualification history.
All of this seemed nothing more than pipe dream little barely 18 months ago, when a shock 1-0 defeat to Ecuador sent Colombia out of the automatic qualifying spots. There was also a lot of question marks over Pékerman, the Argentine, who was only appointed in early 2012 after the unceremonious sacking of Leonel Álvarez. However, in their very next qualifying game, they bounced back in style with an awe-inspiring 4-0 victory over Uruguay, ending their undefeated streak, which stretched back to the 2010 World Cup.
Ever since that game, Los Cafeteros started played with a renewed sense of belief. In the following game, although they were a goal down and were playing away from home at Chile, they showed great character in eventually beating them 3-1 with three second half goals courtesy of Rodríguez, Falcao and Gutierrez. They ended the first half of the CONMEBOL qualification with a convincing 2-0 victory over Paraguay.
In the second half the CONMEBOL qualifiers, Colombia started with a comfortable 5–0 win over Bolivia. However, just a few days later, a shock 1-0 loss to Venezuela meant that they went into the game against Argentina, not very high on confidence. But in a game that saw two red cards and eight yellow cards, Colombia emerged with a creditable 0-0 draw. They followed this up with two comfortable home wins over Peru and Ecuador, which left them needing just a draw from their final three games, to seal automatic qualification. But a 2-0 loss against Uruguay meant that they went into a tense encounter against Chile knowing fully well that they shouldn’t end up on the losing side.
Although Chile went three goals up inside the opening 30 minutes, Pékerman inspired substitutions in the second half, saw them score the three goals necessary to qualify for the World Cup, for the first time in 16 years. In their final encounter against Paraguay, although they were a man down and a goal down, they came back to win 2-1, with both goals being scored by captain and defender Mario Alberto Yepes. The inspirational skipper was a quintessential part of a defense that only conceded five goals at home and in the process kept five clean sheets and made the Barranquilla, a fortress that was impenetrable more often than not.
Aside from their heroics in qualifying, Colombia have also shown that they are a match for any team on their day. In an epic duel with 2014 World Cup hosts Brazil in November 2012, Colombia scored first and were slightly unlucky that the game ended 1-1. In the past 18 months, they have beaten Mexico, Serbia to go along with their recent exploits showing that with a mean defense and a potent attack, they might just surprise a few onlookers in Brazil. And maybe just maybe, go beyond the Round of 16 and have their best ever finish to a World Cup campaign. Going by recent form and the fact that the World Cup is in South America, they might just achieve that and some more.
