As the popular phrase says: “for tastes the colors”. In that sense there is nothing written and it is very subjective. In football each person has a favorite player or club. For this reason, the ideal team of the Colombian National Team in its history, published by the International Federation of History and Statistics (IFFHS), generated different opinions among analysts and soccer fans.
That Federation mentioned this eleventh as the ideal of all times: René Higuita, Iván Ramiro Córdoba, Mario Yepes, Francisco Zuluaga; Leonel Álvarez, Freddy Rincón, Carlos Valderrama, James Rodríguez; Faustino Asprilla, Willington Ortiz and Radamel Falcao García.
After that election, voices appeared for and against fans, players, former soccer players and coaches.
For example, the Golden Eagles footballer, Felipe Jaramillo, said he agreed with this eleventh.
“I feel that those 11 players have been the idols of many of the last generations that we are playing, and we have had them as a reference. They were players who showed desire and grit on the field, they didn’t let anyone overshadow them and, for some reason, most of those who are there scored five goals against Argentina and were World Cup players. In addition, it is undeniable that they were very talented.”
Those who were left out
For the technician from Antioquia, Carlos Navarrete, Humberto “Turrón” Álvarez had to be on that list.
“I would take Leonel (Álvarez) out and put him there. Nougat in its time was very big. What happens is that he didn’t have the television or the media that there are now. In addition, if Leonel was put on, Barrabás (Gabriel Jaime Gómez) would also have to be put on.”
Humberto Álvarez is considered the first historical player of Atlético Nacional. He was born on June 13, 1929 and died on June 9, 2019. While “Barrabás” Gómez was the midfielder who accompanied Leonel in the World Cups in Italy 90 and the United States 94.
Paisa coach Víctor Luna also indicated that other references would have to be on that list: “Alejandro Brand, who was an exquisite 10; Héctor López, a high-class central defender; Toto Rubio and Óscar Bolaños, two incredible full-backs. Another defender like Henry Caicedo also comes to mind”.
Luna stated that there are many more players, but understands that those on the list, with world championships on top, have priority.
A wrong scheme?
One of the most criticized aspects was the training used by the Federation of History and Statistics. Throughout its history, the scheme that the Tricolor has implemented the most has been the 4-4-2. However, for the selection of this team a 3-4-3 was used.
“With that formation they did not leave open the possibility of including full-backs and Colombia has had very good players in that position,” said Gildardo Gómez, precisely one of the full-backs that the team had in the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
“Luis Fernando ‘Chonto’ Herrera or Diego Osorio were soccer players who left their mark on that part of the field or Wilson Pérez, Wílmer Cabrera, Camilo Zúñiga. There are many who could enter as full-backs”, Gómez insisted.
people’s opinion
For his part, Carlos “El Pibe” Valderrama stated that he feels honored by the designation in that historic campus, but that for him the opinion of the people will always be more important.
“The people are in charge, one respects opinions, but when the people choose, they are the ones who watch football and have fun in the stadiums, so their vote will always be more important to me.”
In a poll conducted by EL COLOMBIANO on his Twitter @ECFutbol, opinions were also divided.
With 173 votes, 52% said they did not agree with the election, while the remaining 48% did (see poll).
There, Diego Ramírez (@DiegoRa27711762) said that the exporter Óscar Córdoba and the two defenders named Perea (Amaranto and Luis Carlos) are missing.
The user Marco Polo (@MARCOPOLONIKLE) published that Arnoldo Iguarán (second historical scorer of the National Team with 25 goals) would have to be there for him.
Marco O. (@ma_osuna7) leaned towards Juan Guillermo Cuadrado to integrate that list. Likewise, he mentioned Óscar Córdoba.
The clear thing is that, without denying the importance of the 11 players that make up the ideal eleven of the Iffhs, opinions will continue to be divided