05:31 PM
Among so many things, Colombia’s match against Costa Rica will have another special ingredient. In the ranks of the team led by Gustavo Alfaro is the defender Juan Pablo Vargas, Millonarios player who became a professional on Colombian soil.
The 29-year-old player came to the country to play with Tolima in 2019 and has now been in Millonarios since 2020. It was in the coffee-growing country where he grew up as a professional soccer player, in his little more than 10 years of career since he debuted, in 2013, on a Costa Rican team.
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A player who knows Colombia
Vargas is a key piece of Alberto Gamero’s ambassadorial defense with Millonarios and now he will face his team against the country that opened the doors to him in football. There is his teammate Álvaro Montero, who is Colombia’s third goalkeeper.
“I think that our work should be the same and if we do it in a similar way, we will obtain good results”said the defender before the match.
The Costa Rican also explained that the team feels confident about facing Colombia. and they are focused on their game and not on external opinions, which were heated on both sides during the lead-up.
“I dream of putting a star on the National Team shield”the defender concluded.
On the other hand, Argentine coach Gustavo Alfaro praised Vargas’ performance in the first match against Brazil. In the end, the match between the two teams ended in a 0-0 draw without much excitement.
“He was at the level of Marquinhos and Militao”said the strategist before the media before the match.
Right, 1.92 meters tall and good physical appearanceVargas has analyzed the Colombian national team and its stars during his long stay playing in Colombia. Now he hopes to face them in a great way.
In the Ambassador team, Vargas managed to establish himself as a starter and until now adjusts 176 games, 9 goals and 6 assists.
Vargas has played for teams such as LD Alajuelense (Costa Rica), Belén FC (Costa Rica), CS Herediano (Costa Rica), Deportes Tolima (Colombia) and Millonarios (Colombia). In clubs, Tico has played 271 official matches with 17 goals and 7 assists.
With the Costa Risa National Team shirt, the player He has 24 games and 3 goals.
Jhon Jáder Durán did not know who Juan Pablo Vargas is
During the press conference prior to the match against Costa Rica, the 20-year-old Colombian striker made it clear that he doesn’t know much about the rival team.
“We are together and we hope it will be a nice match. From what little we have seen, It is a closed team and it will depend on our mobility to make good attacks. You have to find ways to get in,” Duran said.
He also explained that one should not underestimate one’s rival even if they do not know much about him. “There is no weak rival, no one should be underestimated, they have good players”held.
But then the journalist asked him what it would feel like to face Juan Pablo Vargas again, since when Duran was in Envigado he had him in front as a rival in Millonariosto which the young man replied that he did not know who he was.
“Who is Juan Pablo Vargas?… No, I don’t know (laughs)”he finished.
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Costa Rica, in this Copa América, is third in Group D with 1 point. Colombia, for its part, is first with 3 points.
