Néstor Lorenzo, in a training session for the Colombian national team.
Photo: EFE/FCF – FCF
This Monday, from 5:00 pm (Gol Caracol), the Colombian team will play its first match in the Copa América that began last Thursday in the United States. The team led by Argentine Néstor Lorenzo faces Paraguay in Houston first thing in the morning, while Brazil and Costa Rica, the other two teams in group D, close the day at 8:00 pm
Colombia arrives at its debut in the Copa América at the best possible moment. The national team is undefeated in 23 games, of which 20 have been achieved since Lorenzo took over as technical director two years ago.
Its good performance, in fact, puts the team as one of the favorites to fight for the tournament title, although coach Lorenzo, in the press conference prior to his duel with Paraguay, tried to downplay that label: “It’s not that we are not excited, you know that we are excited, but the favorite almost never wins. The one they want to flip is almost always the favorite. We go game by game, in fact, ball by ball.”
Colombia, ready for Paraguay
“Recover in certain sectors, when you don’t have the ball. Then, when you have it, try to distribute the ball well and thus score a goal. We tell it to the players as simple as that. We work on it with two or three more things, which give an idea, but it depends on what the rival does and their quality, not everything is ours. “You have to look at how the game is handled and what happens on the field,” Lorenzo added about the strategy to face the commitment.
Regarding the team, the Argentine emphasized: “No one has to feel like a starter or a substitute. We have worked hard, we have gotten them to a good level and the key is that everyone knows that they are available and with the mentality that they can contribute when they are needed.”
“Stimulating competition causes growth, empowerment and then it depends on the decisions to choose. “Devier Machado and Johan Mojica are doing well and we hope they have a good performance,” the coach explained about the variations on the left wing.
Regarding the rival, Paraguay, he commented: “Each match is a different story, it cannot be compared with what happened in the South American Qualifiers. It’s not going to be easy, it’s a treacherous match because it’s the debut, with nerves and anxiety. We are going to propose similar aspects and maybe they will change something, I don’t know. Everything will be seen in the first half, the approach and the development of the commitment.”
Néstor Lorenzo avoids favoritism
When talking about the team’s mentality and favoritism, Lorenzo emphasized that Colombia does not arrive as a favorite. “It’s not that we’re not excited because we are, but the issue is that the favorite almost never wins, so we’re not going to get involved. Beyond how well things have gone for us so far, it doesn’t guarantee us anything. Mentally, there is an internal commitment to aim at something. The Copa América is an important tournament, but this continues and we look at the World Cup. We are growing, step by step, in a long process and looking to what is coming.”
“The goal is to win every game. Without a doubt, I feel that the team is in a good moment, one gets excited, but it goes away little by little. We will see how the process goes, we hope to qualify and the champion is put together from less to more. The Qualifying matches are equally or more important than what is coming because we want to go to the World Cup. This will be a tough test for the entire team,” said Néstor Lorenzo about the importance of the Copa América in his process.
Regarding the role that James Rodríguez may have, finally, Lorenzo explained: “We want to handle the ball, have a role in the game. We must create the conditions for James as a team so that he distributes as best as possible. There is a system that is chosen when having the ball and another that adapts to the positioning, depending on the rival. That fluctuates as the game progresses. Sometimes there is a line of three, other times there is a line of four. It is variable, versatile and dynamic.”
