Since 2015, the Colombian National Team has lacked a leader and a captain on the field. Someone who can have those two functions at the same time, who is in charge of the harangues in the dressing room, of leading the ship, and of being the voice of command to sing the truths and say the things. However, since the historic World Cup in Brazil in 2014, there has been no one who can emulate who wore the bracelet under the orders of José Néstor Pékerman.
Without a doubt, without Mario Alberto Yepes, the Colombian National Team lost that key actor who was in charge of the talks in the dressing room, of standing next to José Néstor Pékerman, of instructing on the field, of speaking with the referees, of going up to discuss controversial actions and be that leader that the national team needed and still needs.
Of course, there are references today, beyond Radamel Falcao García who transmits that confidence, who with his humility is the one who motivates, and perhaps David Ospina, there is no leader or captain who offers to be the voice of command to lead a group like Mario Alberto Yepes did. The defender from Cali entered another facet, first, as technical director, and second, as sports director of the Colombian Football Federation (FCF).
During his time at the FCF, Mario Alberto Yepes had to deal with a decision discussed by many: to trust a Portuguese strategist and not from the South American continent. Public opinion and journalists spoke critically of the decision, since it was a technical director like Carlos Queiroz who knew little or nothing about Colombia’s style of play.
Mario Alberto Yepes broke the silence. Although on the court he spoke and had the voice of command, in his role as sports director, he said little, he was silent, but now he did confess. In dialogue with El Espectador, the defender analyzed the previous Qualifiers, “the boys who did everything possible to achieve it, there were many efforts and it is a duel that is going to pass little by little, the truth hurt me a lot. A World Cup without Colombia is not the same”.
So far, so good when giving his analysis of what that left without a bitter taste after the elimination in the Qualifiers on the way to Qatar 2022. However, he threw darts at the FCF for bad decisions. First of all, he said that a real change is needed in the way things are seen, and that it is a medium that is under the scrutiny of many comments that perhaps do nothing to help or allow themselves to be helped, “I realized that who have not yet understood that football belongs to footballers. And that there are people who continue to believe in what they do because there are journalists and pimps. They don’t let you do and they don’t do either. That is the big problem we have and we need a change in that aspect”.
Mario Alberto Yepes had to take the reins of sports management at a time when there was much talk of having a Colombian or South American strategist. However, the decision was to sign Carlos Queiroz and for many, he failed to find a style of play in the national team. Regarding the Portuguese, Yepes said, “saying that Queiroz was outside “our identity” doesn’t make any sense. I really don’t understand that speech. The identity changes over the years and is in the development of the players you have.
When asked about his stay at Deportivo Cali, he was more than clear in throwing a dart at the coaches today, and gave the key to something that Colombian football lacks, “in my case I feel that the DT is the which should suit your team and players. Our soccer has no patience, I prefer to talk about Mario and in Cali I directed two semesters and in both I qualified for the finals. I have a record for local points in Cali and the highest average among the technicians who have passed in the last 15 years”.
