Colombianos en Copa Libertadores 2008

BBC's Tim Vickery dedicates his weekly column to Cucuta's terrific form in the Libertadores with great praise for Mac Torres:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7346061.stm

There are no big surprises in the last four of Europe's Champions League.

Cucuta midfielder Matias Urbano celebrates a goal against Mexico's Chivas
Cucuta's Matias Urbano celebrates a goal against Chivas

For their size, tradition, recent track record and financial resources, all of the semi-finalists will feel that they are in their rightful place.

If you're looking for upsets, perhaps South America's Copa Libertadores is a better bet.

Even the richest clubs are in a constant state of flux, consistently forced to sell their best players, so there is more of a chance for a less traditional team to sneak under the radar and challenge for the title.

Last year's shock side were Cucuta of Colombia, who in their debut campaign fell only just short of the final.

This year the shock side is again Cucuta.

There is one round to go in the group stage, and only five teams have already booked their place in the knockout stages.

Cucuta are one of them. Once again, they have exceeded all expectations.

This may appear as a contradiction. How can a side which were such brilliant semi-finalists a year ago have sprung a surprise merely by strolling to the last 16 this time?

The answer is this: the lack of continuity suffered by the big teams may open the door to the little guys, but these in turn then suffer from exactly the same forces, only at an even greater intensity.

Success has placed their players in the shop window, they are soon snapped up and the club can find itself right back where it started from.

Sao Caetano were the remarkable Brazilian side who came from nowhere to reach the final of the 2002 Libertadores, which they only lost on penalties.

They are now back in their country's second division.

Earlier this decade, Cucuta were a second division outfit in Colombia playing in front of a couple of hundred spectators.

They won promotion under Jorge Luis Pinto and went on to claim the Colombian title, and when Pinto left to take over the national team, Jorge Luis Bernal came in with the attacking philosophy that made them so attractive to watch last year.

But then the team's assets were stripped.

Captain and goalkeeper Robinson Zapata went to Romania, dangerous Panamanian centre forward Blas Perez moved to Spain, Colombia right-back Ruben Bustos went to Brazil.

Almost everyone else was snapped up by Colombian clubs with more clout, and when the selling went on this year, coach Bernal resigned in protest, with the Libertadores about to get under way.

In at the last minute came Pedro Sarmiento - a new man with a new tactical approach.

Sarmiento was a defensive midfielder in his playing days, and it shows.

Cucuta's first two group games were both at home, both finished goalless - and as one Colombian pundit observed, the team were attacking while thinking about defending.

In other words, they were so concerned with not leaving themselves open to the opposition's counter-attack that their own forward play lacked conviction.

Four home points had been dropped - usually an expensive slip in the Libertadores.

With more time on the training field, Sarmiento's cautious tactics started to sink in.

And in Macnelly Torres, the sole surviving star from last year, Sarmiento has a wonderful player around whom to construct his attacking play - though only until the middle of this year, when Torres moves to Chile.

Torres is an attacking midfielder who is superb at playing the killer pass behind the opposing defence.

He is the supply line, making the bullets for Argentine striker Mathias Urbano to fire, and as their partnership clicked, Cucuta beat highly fancied Chivas Guadalajara of Mexico home and away - still without conceding a goal - before last week's 4-2 win away to San Jose of Bolivia confirmed their slot in the last 16.

Can they keep their momentum going through the knockout rounds?

Their cautious, compact, counter-attacking game will remind many of Once Caldas, the Colombian side who went all the way to the title four years ago.

Cucuta may not prove able to emulate them, but they have already sprung a surprise by qualifying for the knockout rounds in such comfort.

 

Tim knows his stuff. His column is one of my faves on the web, and I am often impressed by his knowledge across the region. His first hand account of the violence in the Cali derby was fantastic.

He also recently answered some questions on the Colombian NT, praising the new generation coming thru and deeming Falcao a "thoroughbred."

 

Claro que un tipo no va poder cubrir todos los temas discutidos por un foro entero de fanaticos!

Lo que impresiona de Vickery es que es uno de los poquisimos periodistas que escriben en Ingles que son expertos sobre la region. Vengo siguiendo el futbol en los Estados Unidos hace decadas y quizas un Bretos es el unico otro del medio Ingles que he visto que verdaderamente conocen nuestro futbol y utilizan su conocimiento para informar al resto de la gente que no entiende castellano como nosotros.