In honour of yesterday’s fantastic result against Japan (with the first choice side largely rested) and with a last-16 tie against Uruguay waiting, we’ve put together a collection of videos of our all-time Top 5 Colombian football moments. Enjoy!
1. Colombia 5 Argentina 0
Surely the most famous victory in the history of La Seleccion, in 1993 the swaggering side that contained Freddy Rincon, Tino Asprilla and Carlos Valderrama (among others) went to Buenos Aires and came back with 5 goals. Not just humiliating one of the best sides in the world, they also showed the rest of the world their wonderful brand of flair-driven, attacking football. These players are all Colombian legends, and the new side remind me so much of the players seen in this game – passionate, talented and memorable.
2. The Scorpion Kick
Rene Higuita’s international career was certainly checkered, but this outlandish moment (a mixture of cockiness and skill) will live long in the memory of all football fans.
3. Colombia 3 Chile 3
Not the greatest result in the history of Los Cafeteros, but certainly one of the most important; this draw with Chile (after being 3-0 down) confirmed Colombia’s place in Brazil for the 2014 World Cup. people were dancing and crying in the streets, and you can certainly see now why Colombia were so keen to show their talents on the biggest stage there is.
4. Copa America 2001
A massive win for La Seleccion, especially as they hadn’t been in a World Cup since France ’98, and were destined not to play at one until now. The Copa America triumph in 2001 remains a vital part of the national side’s history. Listen to the commentary from 3:00 and see what it meant…
5. Faryd Mondragon
I could have selected many moments from this World Cup already (and hopefully there will be many more to come) but I have chosen the moment Faryd Mondragon was brought on by Jose Pekerman to break the record for the oldest player ever at a World Cup finals. Full of significance and emotion, it was a marvelous gesture by Pekerman, and a memorable Colombian moment.
Chris
Martha on
I know there was space for only 5 memorable moments. But as a bonus, it is worthwhile to mention Italia’90, Colombia vs. Germany, when after an awesome fight for the glory we saw our hopes crushed by a german goal at the end of the match… but with just a few seconds of overtime, Leonel recovers the ball, Fajardo and El Pibe play with the germans at midfield, Rincon runs like the wind and the ball goes between the legs of the german goalkeeper… restoring the hope of the whole country and bringing back the happiness and the pride of the colombian football. That was the first time I went back home covered in “maizena” and when I definitively fell in love with my “seleccion”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-9G6XORjtU#t=171