We have other players that are also very important and special to the team other than James Rodríguez and Radamel Falcao such as Juan Cuadrado, Juan Quintero, Yerry Mina, and Santiago Arias. When people think of Colombian football, the first name that almost always comes to mind is James Rodríguez and second is Falcao. These other players are also very special and important to the team. If it were not for these players James and Falcao would not have anyone to support them and let them work their magic.

This is probably the second most historic match that Colombia ever played. This match took place on June 28, 2014 in the round of 16 for the world cup Brasil 2014. This match was played in the historic Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro. This match was decided by two goals from James Rodriguez one being the voted the best goal of the tournament. This match was so special because for the first time ever, Colombia qualified for the quarter-finals in a world cup.

Here are some match highlights.

I cannot give a definite answer to this question but I can make an attempt and explain what my theory is. I believe that the sport is so popular in Colombia because it is so popular in the other South American countries. Football is basically life in South America and one of the main reasons behind this is that football is such an affordable sport to play. In sports such as baseball and hockey one needs to pay for equipment such as bats and hockey sticks that can be pretty expensive. To play football all one needs is a ball and that’s it. You don’t even need shoes to play! I believe that this and the fact that every other South American country is football crazy are the reasons that football is so popular in Colombia. All of the South American countries communicate with each other when we play against each other. When one country wins against another, the fans from the country that won will almost always declare that their country is better just because of a football match. This may sound crazy but we are very happy and we find it very fun to be a little over competitive when it comes to football. We also always cheer for our fellow South American brothers and sisters when they face teams from other continents. We do support each other a lot.

On September 5, 1993 during the world cup qualifiers for the 1994 world cup in the United States, Argentina and Colombia were to play a match in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. This was a very anticipated match because both teams were very strong but Argentina has always had a massive footballing history. They had already won the world cup on two different occasions. The match ended 0-5 in favor of Colombia, leading this to be the most historic match ever played by the Colombian team.

This match was so special for us because we beat a great team with a great history in the sport in their own home by five goals. This result allowed the team to communicate with the other top teams letting them know that Colombia is no joke. This message was definitely received because Colombia all of a sudden Colombia became one of the favorites to win the cup but rather was eliminated early.

Here are some match highlights.

https://youtu.be/HM9BCnqTNlw

https://www.flickr.com/photos/elhormiguerotv/8558799502/in/photolist-e3j5UE-fPbUtG-fPbo8S-fPbumY-fNU3BX-fPbEoG-fNTNC4-eSTQs6-fPbRHm-fPbtvJ-fNUEt4-e7b3Np-fNUff8-e7gKQY-fNTUcg-fPbcTY-e3dpk2-e3dorv-e3doFP-e3j4Ro-fPbSph-e7gJPm-oJx7yS-fNTL6k-fNTZzr-fPbBtU-fPbYrq-fPbZcw-fNUD2F-fNTTuV-e7b6SK-fNTJ68-e7b6y8-e7gFZ3-fNUseP-e7gzSS-e7gDCo-fPbMch-auKxAq-e7b43R-e7aSAZ-e7gCzb-e7aZJn-e7gCfw-fNTMSp-fNUnuk-fPbsNE-fNUFZz-fPbDmW-fNU1ji

Radamel Falcao is a very special player for Colombia because he is a great example of never giving up. Falcao is currently 32 years old and plays as a striker for the French club, AS Monaco. He is commonly refered to as “El Tigre” (the tiger) for his goal scoring abilities. He is past his prime but he is still scoring plenty of goals in France. He lived the best days of his career when he was playing for Atlético Madrid from 2011 to 2013. He was signed by Monaco for the 2013-2014 season, the season right before the 2014 world cup in Brasil. Falcao like many other players had always dreamed of playing in the world cup and was the key factor for Colombia qualifying for the tournament after the nation went three consecutive world cups without qualifying. Unfortunately he sustained a torn ACL during the season and was ruled out of the world cup. Colombia had to go into the tournament without the star player but didn’t prove to be a problem because Falcao’s teammate James Rodríguez ended up being the cup’s breakout star. When Falcao finally returned to full fitness moths after the injury he was loaned out to English team Manchester United. Falcao may have recovered physically but psychologically he wasn’t ready to play and only managed to score four goals the whole season. Next season he was shipped out to Chelsea FC in London where he scored only one goal the whole season. This was a tough time for Falcao especially because he was off of the Colombian national team for a while but the following season, he managed to turn it around when he went back to Monaco. We saw “El Tigre” again and he showed us why we should never give up and that nothing is impossible. Falcao communicates the message of how important hard work and dedication is to achieving one’s dreams.

Here are some of Falcao’s goals

Ever since the days of Pablo Escobar and the drug cartels in the late 80’s and early 90’s, Colombia has earned itself a reputation for drugs. When I tell people that I am Colombian I am almost always asked if Im a drug dealer. Fortunately, the nation now has much more to offer because we have advanced from those darker days. Footballs has been something that has helped us passed this dark time and get recognized by the rest of the world for something other than drugs. With players like Radamel Falcao and James Rodríguez representing Colombia, the country has been able to get a more positive view from the rest of the world.