catalina Usme, historic scorer for the Colombia Women’s National Team and one of the great stars of Colombian soccer in recent years, had some statements that They question the situation that their colleague and former colleague Yoreli Rincón has experienced and suffered.. And although it is clear that There are non-sporting reasons for not calling Yoreli Rincón to ‘la Tricolor’ since 2018For Usme, he has not seen this and his statement caused great controversy.
You cannot forget that In 2019 there was a scandal of great proportions in the environment of the different categories of the women’s teams.coming to do serious complaints about inequality in prizes, travel expenses, uniforms and conditions, cases of harassment by former coaches of players and members of the delegations and even the veto that the player Daniela Montoya was suffering at that time from the manager Álvaro González Alzate was verified. Furthermore, there was also uncertainty because The future of the Women’s League in Colombia was at risk and there was talk of ending it.
On that occasion they met the complaints from the Colombian soccer players’ union for these delicate situations and the leaders of those complaints were Isabella Echeverri, Natalia Gaitán and Melissa Ortiz. In addition, voices of support were added on social networks and in the same press conferences of players like Yoreli RincónLeicy Santos, Vanessa Córdoba, among other figures who have shone in international football.
Veto? Situation of Yoreli Rincón with the Colombian National Team
Fair before starting the final stretch of preparation to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Colombian Football Federation (FCF) published the list of players who will face a pair of friendly matches against Venezuela between Thursday, May 30 and Sunday, June 2. AND The list of 23 players seems to be the one that will serve as a filter for the list of 18 that will be at the Olympic event..
Well, Yoreli Rincón was not included, as has happened in more than 5 years, something that does not seem logical because the former player returned to Colombia to play Atlético Nacional after moving to Piracicaba (Brazil), LdB FC Malmö (Sweden), Patriotas, Huila , Junior (Colombia), Inter Milan and Sampdoria (Italy). And not only is her history backing it up, since The level has been more than outstanding and she was even a figure in the 2023 Copa Libertadores Femenina, taking the ‘purslanes’ to third placeall this aimed to be able to get into ‘the Tricolor’.
But how coach Ángelo Marsiglia did not take her into account for these friendlies on Venezuelan soil, repeating what Nelson Abadía did in previous yearsRincón released a very telling message on his ‘X’ account (former Twitter):
It’s over! I don’t fight it anymore. Definitely, it’s not for me
This led to a lot of indignation among Colombian women’s soccer fans, both on social networks and in the media. But what is striking is that, from the Federation, from the National Team and From the players called up, no statement or response had been given to ‘Yore’, until what Catalina Usme said.
Catalina Usme denied vetoes in the Colombian National Team against Yoreli Rincón
A couple of days after that publication by Yoreli Rincón on her networks, the interview was given to Catalina Usme on the program ‘Deportes Sin Tapujos’ on the radio in the city of Cali. And apart from talking about his current situation in Pachuca, Mexico, the preparation for the Olympic Games and his evolution as a footballer, he denied the vetoes in ‘the Tricolor’ and left in doubt that there was another reason to not call her:
It is a topic that does not concern us. I have never heard of an issue of vetoes in the Federation, that is an issue that we have talked about many times and that does not concern us. There is a coaching staff and a leadership that has to choose the players and our role is, simply, to play.
Although he did not want to commit to anything deeper, Usme emphasized that the process has been very good, without Yoreli Rincón in recent years: “‘Yore’, for a long time, has not been included in the process. Only 18 players go to the Olympics and we have had a successful process with the players that there are. I think that is a matter for them to choose and they will have their reasons for doing so or not to do it”. But the strongest thing is that she said that other players can feel the same way and it is not unfair, this reminds us that the aforementioned Isabella Echeverri, Carolina Gaitán and Melissa Ortiz were not called up again either and decided to retire recently:
Of course, I saw the ‘tweet’ (from Yoreli), I saw when he said that. It will be the situation of many players, not just her, who spent a long time in the National Team and did not return. They are not only in Colombia, but also abroad. All soccer players have the dream of being in the National Team, but the role of choosing who goes and who doesn’t go, that is not our responsibility.
Problems in the dressing room of the Colombia Women’s National Team?
It is not the first time that the current generation of the Colombian National Teamwhich has had historic achievements and results, but In the aforementioned cases of Rincón, Echeverri, Gaitán and Ortiz, a ruling has been expectedsince they were the ones who fought and fought in 2019 for Colombian women’s soccer.
The belief is that the management did not see well that these aforementioned players have carried out this public campaign to make the complaints visible, together with Acolfutpro (Colombian Association of Professional Soccer Players), which is why they are suggesting a mandate not to call them. However, now that the topic of Yoreli Rincón has come out prior to the Paris 2024 Olympic Gamesa public version came out that the dressing room would also be against it.
Journalist José Alberto Ortiz, from Caracol Radio and a specialist in women’s soccer and with a former Colombia National Team player in his family, spoke in the program ‘El Vbar’ of Catalina Usme’s statements and surprised with his words:
It’s a matter of the dressing room, there is a solid group, which is difficult to enter due to multiple circumstances and the opinion of the players has weighed heavily. I know they are going to say no, but this is a consolidated group from a long time ago… I say this because I have discussed the situation and I know that answer
And this version of the journalist is ratified with a couple of publications in ‘X’ by Yoreli Rincón and Isabella Echeverri, who with emoticons and short texts, reacted to what was published about Usme’s statements:
There are all kinds of interpretations in these cases, since it is understood that the current members of the Colombian National Team are defending their place and what they have achieved with their work on the field. But in the case of Usme, it is not new and the words of the year 2022 directed towards the same issue must be remembered: “If there were vetoes, the first marginalized would be Daniela Montoya, because she has been one of the main authors of the protests, but there she is and she is the captain”.
