My love of Colombian football was ignited by one astonishing passing move, and by Carlos Valderrama, the man whose genius had made it happen
Tag: colombia
Faustino Asprilla always entertained, sparkling in some major moments and searing himself onto the memories of all football fans whose hearts he touched
Skilful, clinical and fiery, Colombian striker Alfredo Morelos is shining in Scotland, with a move to the Premier League looking increasingly likely
In one of South American football’s greatest shocks, the verve and vigour of a splendid Colombia in 1993 would destroy Argentina on their own patch
Euro 2000 was, by almost any measure, a fantastic international tournament. There were plenty of goals, storylines and upsets throughout the three-week festival of football in Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as…
This feature is part of Virtuoso The story of James Rodríguez’s career following the 2014 World Cup is an intriguing one. It’s a tale of an incredible talent ravaged by injury but…
Many years later as he faced the firing squad, Commander Andrés Urrego was to remember that distant afternoon when he and his unit had played football with a severed head. That distant…
A marching band are trooping across the pitch as the fierce blue Neapolitan sky shines under the roof of the San Paolo’s ring of stands and glistens off the tubas. The band’s…
Many football fans around the globe associate René Higuita’s name with one moment at Wembley in 1995, which is a great shame. The Colombian’s goalkeeping career consisted of so much more than flamboyant…
The trajectories of career paths are influenced by factors far beyond the control of footballers. They could enjoy stable injury-free careers, or they could be soaring high in the stars before an…
ONE OF THE MOST INESCAPABLE TRUTHS IN THE WORLD is the stark contrast between civilisations. There will always be the unapologetic difference in the comfort in which people live their lives. It…
Watching Carlos Valderrama in slow motion provides quite the spectacle, for he is one of South America’s most silky midfielders of all-time
Fireworks, smoke from flares and ticker tape filled the Buenos Aires night sky as Boca Juniors lifted their 32nd Argentine championship in June 2017. The title had been sealed five days earlier…
This feature is part of A Tale of One City Bogotá, landlocked high on an Andean savannah and bordered by mountains, isn’t an obvious footballing city. Historically football in Colombia hails not…
This feature is part of The Fleeting Fraternity Football is a game that can be summed up in two words: ‘what if?’ As if the fates conspired – as they tend to…
CALI IS OFTEN BILLED AS THE SALSA CITY OF THE WORLD and portrayed as a city beating to the rhythm of the dance clubs and music bars of La Sexta. Perhaps, though, it…
In 1989, Pablo Escobar was ranked seventh by Forbes Magazine on the World’s Billionaires List. A man with immense power, wealth and a notoriously violent streak, Escobar ran the Medellín drug cartel in…
AS HE SAT DOWN TO WATCH HIS NEW EMPLOYERS register a sodden display at Villa Park in 2001, little could Juan Pablo Ángel have known about what lay ahead. For the Colombian, one…