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Colombia takes a new, but similiar direction By Walter La Mendola So much for another chance! Colombia has taken the first step towards improvement, albeit an extreme one. Coach Javier Alvarez was fired on February 1, following the embarrassing 9-0 loss to Brazil in the Olympic Qualifying tournament.
Unfortunately for Alvarez, something had to give. But Colombia is still the same: changing a coach will not make a difference, mainly because it is not the coach that is the problem, it is the attitude, the will (or lack of) to strive for success.
This new challenge now falls in the hands of Luis Garcia, the newly named coach of the Colombian national team. Garcia, who coached America to a championship in 1997, will be the one to guide Colombia to its new change, or same attitude. For Garcia to make his mark, he has to change everything in Colombian soccer. Keeping the same attitude that Alvarez had for his players will not take this team in a new direction. The talent in South America, and the rest of the world for that matter, has become much more even than just five or six years ago. Players are getting much more exposure and are playing in different markets, making better and more experienced soccer players. So the competition is much more balanced and that will become evident in the Gold Cup, where Colombia and Peru will go up against teams from the Concacaf.
If Garcia allows for his players to enter a game against Trinidad or against Honduras with the attitude that "we are better than these guys," then it's all over. Colombia will continue to stumble into the depths of mediocrity along with other teams missing a personality, and nothing will change.
But now Colombia finally has its chance, they have their chance to be different, to change things instead of picking up where Alvarez left off. And the Gold Cup will give them that chance. It is up to them, and/or Garcia to take advante of this opportunity. (Tomado de la p�gina oficial de "La Copa de Oro" http://web.elsitio.com/elsitio/usa/hosting/copaoro/goldcup/index.html) |
