Hernán Darío ‘Bolillo’ Gómez is a man of history and national and international success. His participation in Americas Cups, World Cups, Libertadores Cups, Colombian lathes, among other competitions, accredits him as one of the most knowledgeable coaches in the League and, therefore, an authorized voice to analyze in depth the present of the FPC and the Colombian soccer team.
In a dialogue with DirecTV, the Antioqueño strategist referred to the current situation of Colombian football and assured that, in Colombia as in South America, ‘you run more than you play’, due to the ‘European’ style that most of the the teams.
“You run more than you play. Some teams run and have order, there are others who run and lose it. There is a lot of talk about intensity, precision has been lost, talented players, hand-to-hand, dribbling… Now it is a lot of physical work, of strength; every game there are 4-5 men badly beaten, “he said.
And he added: “The ’10’ has been lost, the talent has been lost, but I don’t know if later, when there is wear and tear, we have to go back to that football from the time when we had the Colombian National Team. I am experiencing this new soccer of speed, of long pass, of little elaboration, little concentration, of two three touches and to the opposite goal “.
For ‘Bolillo’, the loss of identity of Colombian football has caused clubs to fail in international cups, because ‘the footballer does not express what he feels’ and is psyched to be a European player.
“We have lost the style, the essence of the Colombian footballer; I remember that, when we arrived with Pacho (Maturana) and Hugo Gallego at Nacional and we started to take the National Team, we talked that our country is made up of salsa, it is a happy country and it is a footballer happy, and the footballer had to express what he feels. Now the footballer does not express what he feels, but we put him to run, to play so-called European, with ‘intensity’… Not only in Colombia, but also in South America.
“That joyful, beautiful, fun, triangular, dribble style is lost. You see the faces of the footballers in the national anthems and you see a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety, a lot of need to do things. We are adamant that we must be European. The football of us was very nice“.
Hernán Darío considers that one of the shortcomings of Colombian football is that the processes are not respected and there is not a good turnover of players, since the institutions are focused on immediate results and the players are being influenced by businessmen who seek their early exit to Europe.
“There is no process in Colombian football, there is no patience, we fired the coaches; if they fire the coaches, they should also fire the players. They throw out a coach who is good, another one who is also good arrives, but you leave it to the same players. There is no process, in a three month tournament there can be no process. If he doesn’t win in four games, you have to throw out DT, here you need results; if you win, the team looks good, it doesn’t matter if it was good or bad. “
“The replacements for Colombian football were made by Reinaldo Rueda and Eduardo Lara in the U-17 and U-20 teams, with the generations of Muriel, James, Zapata. They (Rueda and Lara) are ‘boars’ for that”.
“Now it is difficult because there is a desire for everything, The footballer no longer thinks about the Antioquia, District, Atlántico, Valle National Team, or playing in the U-20 of his teams, because they are managed by a number of businessmen who fill their heads with their players who have to go to Europe, Brazil, United States. There is no training, there is no dream of playing at Cali, at DIM … There are no trainers here because they don’t pay well and there is no showcase, “he said.
Colombia selection
Facing the triple date of the Qualifiers, ‘Bolillo’ Gómez highlighted the arrival of Reinaldo Rueda to the technical direction and was comfortable with the call since he considers important the call of players who are used to playing at height.
“Naming Reinaldo in the Colombian National Team is like feeling that there is someone of us, we are very happy, hopeful, we know of his ability, he is a winner … He went to the World Cup with Honduras and Ecuador, he is the Copa Libertadores champion with Nacional. In the Copa América he showed that he knows Colombian football. He made a solid, strong team, when he had to run hard, he did it, and the boys responded to him… When you know your team, you make little mistakes “.
Regarding the absence of James Rodríguez in the list of 28 players, ‘Bolillo’ did not touch the subject in depth, but he did make it clear that the Everton creative is a star, and that, surely, Rueda is already talking with the player to work on his return.
“I have great respect and affection for him, James is one of the figures, but Reinaldo is intelligent. I believe that Reinaldo has spoken with him and they have had conversations, I believe that in the end we will come to a good end, “he concluded.
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