Hernán Torres, coach of Deportes Tolima, revealed that, far from the thesis of an ultra-reinforced team that reached the Betplay League final without suffering, his is a team full of sacrifice, which had to go through many complications to meet with National Athletic.
“There is a fighting, committed and winning human group that wants to continue looking for big goals. A human group involved in what we have, players who are injured, who play with pain, with difficulties but who put their chests to the breeze, who are not daunted: Moya Mosquera, Cataño, Ibarguen, Caicedo, Ramírez, Cuesta with a injured finger played the entire home run. That is merit and it must be recognized, ”said the DT.
“Mosquera is something… I don’t know, he’s incapacitated and he told me ‘I play’. He stood up, he had hardly done any work on the field and he scored the goal that put us in the grand final. That is why I speak of everyone’s sacrifice, Moya played several games with a leg problem, Quiñones himself had muscular problems, but they are players who want to achieve their goals, ”he added.
The merit of being one of the greats in the country is not just anything: “Three finals in a row in the League, one in the Cup and one in the Super League, that’s five finals. It is a teamwork. I cannot say that I am a great sage, that is a lie. We have a strong human team, which sticks up for all of us, who fights and gets results game after game. We have had many difficulties, no one can imagine what we have experienced, but this group has been able to recover from all the adversities and all the things that football has. This team has been humble, quiet: grind, work and get results”, he explained.
This Thursday was his 400th game as coach of the team: ”It is a source of pride as a person from Tolima to direct 400 games, as a person from Ibaguer, very proud, I feel very happy because as a person from Tolima I have started my career as a soccer player and as a coach; directing 400 games is not easy. We have seen a lot of water pass under the bridge. It gives me great joy that they have recognized me.”
Finally, Torres recalled Gabriel Camargo, the team’s largest shareholder, who is undergoing medical treatment in the United States: “This merit goes to Senator Gabriel Camargo, who was the one who formed this human group since December of last year; we dedicate this victory from his sickbed because I know this makes him very happy. Before the game he sent us a message and today we are fighting for big things. Sometimes we forget about him and he is the manager of this whole project”.
