Pain is a happy justification for almost everything. And that of being eliminated from a World Cup, knowing that there is a team to aspire to other things, does support even the most unfair complaint.
Many, once the elimination in Venezuela was confirmed, went out to demand the immediate retirement of all those whom they previously praised. Few understand their role and fewer feel any consideration for the blow that not being in their third World Cup meant for the most veterans.
Luckily for them, Carlos ‘Pibe’ Valderrama has come out in their defense and has asked, more than anything, for respect.
“The great ones, the historical ones, we have to wait for them to leave by themselves, for them to say, we’re leaving,” said the historic national captain.
And beware of the request: “Let’s not forget, let’s remember that these players went to two World Cups in a row.” For himself it was far from easy: “They thought that qualifying for the World Cup is easy and look… I won the lottery, I went to the World Cup three times, but I found a father in football: Pacho Maturana, I love you.”
Do you think that the veterans of the current generation should leave the Colombian National Team?
The ‘Pibe’ knows that there is sadness but that does not prevent him from seeing the situation as a whole. The elimination directly pointed to several veterans such as Falcao, Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, James Rodríguez, Luis Muriel, Duván Zapata and even David Ospina. Others, who are young but do not have the best news, cases of Mina or Dávinson Sánchez, are not saved either. Do you think they really should be retired after the failure in the Playoffs?
To which of these players do you think the cycle was fulfilled?
Valderrama knows what happiness feels like and also pain, no one has to tell him what it was like to go from 5-0 to Argentina to elimination in the first phase of the 94 World Cup in the United States: “It hurts me for those players we have, yes We wouldn’t have, I’d say good, but there’s the sample, we have all of ours outside, we have the players”.
The explanation for this latest disappointment is clear: “We haven’t scored goals in 7 games, you can’t stay that long, that’s a lot. Bad luck in football? No, you have to kick.”
