Colombia National Team: defensive problem before facing Ecuador, Meluk tells him – International Football – Sports

Talking about defense or defending oneself in football has become almost ‘immoral’. Perhaps today more than ever there is a football colonization of offensive play, ball possession, passing, as if that aesthetic were the only valid one to try to win.

(You may be interested in: Colombia National Team suffers last-minute withdrawal: player leaves the call)

The offensive principles in the game are fundamental, but they are not exclusive or absolute or the most important. In football, these fundamentalist creeds lead to a dark absolutism, as happens with political and religious fanaticism.

The Colombia selection It was boring and left us bored with the 2-2 against Uruguay, in Barranquilla, when it was winning in injury time.

At that exact moment, the missed goal plays by Díaz, James, Arias or Borré were already a matter of the distant past. The reality of the moment was to defend, to be safe at the last moment, in the last play, to achieve that victory that was in his pocket… In his broken pocket!

Colombia at the beginning of the tie has no defense. It is literal because it has no defense.

In football it is often said that “the best defense is a good attack”, but the reality is that, as in everything, the best defense is a good defense. This National Team has shown a horrible defense with starters or substitutes. Venezuela, in Barranquilla, came to him clearly four times. Chile, in Santiago, made goalkeeper Vargas a figure, and Uruguay, last Thursday in Barranquilla, made Vargas shine again with five shots on goal. The defense is leaking.

(Also read: Colombia National Team: why don’t you train in Bogotá to prepare for the game in Quito?)

I miss that in a team of Nestor Lorenzothe defensive specialist in Colombia’s recent golden era with José Pékerman. And a no small detail: Lorenzo was Carlos Bilardo’s starting defender in Argentina’s world title in 1990!
Regarding Bilardo, he, one of the most important coaches in the history of South America, a tactical legend of world football, made a phrase, a concept, famous: “The work of a good coach is noticeable in the way his teams They come back, they go back.” I remembered that in our analysis on the EL TIEMPO YouTube channel at the end of the match against Uruguay, when stating that if it is because of the withdrawal, this Colombia speaks very badly of Lorenzo. The return is horrible: everyone loses their backs, they are left open, elongated and outnumbered. Colombia does not return: it stumbles! It happened against Uruguay, Chile and Venezuela.

Against the difficult Ecuador, in Quito, perhaps Lorenzo will order a more closed team to avoid long setbacks and the team being tied up.

The first thing that occurs to me is to play with a more top-of-the-line midfielder, so that Barrios and Uribe have less land to protect. For that there are only two candidates on the team: Castaño or Ríos. And that does not necessarily require changing the module: Arias can go on the right (his position!), Díaz on the left and James, as a false 9.

Defending yourself in football is not immoral, there was more to it. It’s vital! John Gregory, former English footballer and coach, used to say: “Forwards win games, defenders win championships.” He was right…

Meluk tells him

GABRIEL MELUK
SPORTS Editor
@MelukLeCuenta​

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