Scorers, records, curiosities and even an unusual emergency team, on the list.
Colombia national team, 2001 Copa América champion.
Photo: CEET file
By:
Jenny Gamez
June 22, 2024, 08:33 p.m. m.
The Colombian National Team debuts in the 2024 Copa América against Paraguay, a competition in which it aims for the second title in its history. Here, data for collectors about their historical holdings:
1. First time, unforgettable
MORE OF
Copa America 2024
Colombia’s first victory in the Copa América was against Ecuador, in the 1945 edition. It was a 3-1 scoreline. In this match, the coffee team won 3-1, with goals from Willington Ortiz, Eduardo Retat and Ponciano Castro.
2- Goals and loves
Colombia’s top scorer in the Copa América is not Falcao, the national team’s top scorer. This is Arnoldo Iguarán, who scored 10 goals in four with 10 goals. ‘El Guajiro’ reached that mark in five editions (1979, 1983, 1987, 1989 and 1991). In 1983 he passed blank but in 1987 he was a scorer with 4 goals in 4 games.
3. El Pibe, eternal
Carlos ‘Pibe’ Valderrama is the player with the most appearances in the Copa América, a total of 27. His only scalp was worn in 4 games in 1987, four in 1989, seven in 1991, six in 1993 and six in 1995.
4. Seven times on the podium
Colombia’s best result in a Copa América was the 2001 title, after 1-0 against Mexico. Before that, in 1975, they were runners-up after losing in the final (three games) against Peru. Since then, he has finished third five times: in 1987, 1993, 1995, 2016 and 2021.
5. We were new
In the 1949 Copa América in Brazil, the continent spoke about Colombia: for the first time the Colombian Football Association requested special permission for Atlético Junior to withdraw from the local championship and represent the country in the Copa América, due to the refusal of the teams. of Bogotá and Cali to lend their players.
6- The nightmare of Palermo
It happened in the 1999 Cup that the same player wasted three penalties in the same match. The person responsible was Colombia and the victim was the Argentine Martín Palermo, who failed in the duel with Óscar Córdoba. On that occasion, Colombia won 3-0.
7-The youngest
Colombia’s 3-0 victory against Argentina in the 1999 Cup also left a record in national history: Johnnier Montaño, at 16 years and 172 days old, became the youngest Colombian to score in the tournament. He scored the second goal.
8. Almost ‘amateurs’
Three times Colombia said goodbye to the Cup without a single victory: in Ecuador 1947, Brazil 1949 and Bolivia 1963. The goal difference against is a clear example of those gray participations: -17, -19 and -9, respectively.
9. Eleven goals
The only time Colombia won the Copa América it did so by scoring 11 goals, the same ones it scored in 1975, when it was second. On that occasion, Ernesto Díaz was the scorer with 4 goals, the same mark as Iguarán in 1987. Aristizábal left them both in the race, with 6 goals in 2001. It took 20 years, until the 2021 Cup, for a Colombian to celebrate four goals again: Luis Díaz did it, tying with Messi.
10- The only MVP
The best player of each edition of the Cup was a distinction that began to be awarded in 1987. Who was the first chosen? A Colombian: Carlos ‘Pibe’ Valderrama.
11. The unforgettable memory
Colombia won its only Copa América in 2001, in the final against Mexico, in El Campín, with a goal from Iván Ramiro Córdoba. The team finished undefeated and with the championship’s top scorer, Víctor Hugo Aristizábal.
