The nostalgic farewell of Pibe Valderrama to the generation of the Colombian national team led by Falcao

The fact that Colombia did not attend the Qatar 2022 World Cup represents not only a failure, for which leaders and players must be responsible, but the end of one of the glorious generations of coffee football, which began in the U-20 category that won the South American 2005. Sports journalists such as Andrea Guerrero have explained it and affirmed some glories of national football such as Carlos El Pibe Valderrama.

As on each qualifying date, the '10′ shared on his YouTube channel an analysis of the commitments and took the opportunity to thank the Tricolor players for delivering everything until the end of this cycle.

Valderrama is right, of those who won the South American U-20 in 2005 and who also wore the Colombia shirt at the 2014 and 2018 Brazil World Championships, most likely only David Ospina remains. The others, who have already stepped aside in football: Cristian Zapata, Camilo Zuñiga, Carlos Valdes, Fredy Guarín and Abel Aguilar.

As for Radamel Falcao García, he is still active in the world of football, playing for Rayo Vallecano, but, given his 36 years of age, there is speculation that his cycle will end in the national team. Regarding Cuadrado, who was part of one of the best layers of players in the country, despite not playing a South American or U-20 World Cup, his continuity in the team remains uncertain: he is now 33 years old and in Juventus he usually starts.

El Pibe argued that just as football players are required to perform, the same should be done with the leadership of the FCF, questioned, among others, by the work carried out in the lower categories. It's not a secret to anyone that you don't have a good litter of young people with projection, not like it came into existence years ago under the baton of Eduardo Lara.

El Mono also added that “there is a normal renewal that must occur if you don't go to the world championship, but you have to start with the managers, who are the head”.

For Valderrama, the bad time of national football is also seen at the club level, since recently two of the Colombian representatives failed to win the Copa Libertadores, where they are particularly disadvantaged with the Argentine and Brazilian teams, but also Paraguayan ones. To show a button: Millionarios and Atlético Nacional could do nothing against Fluminense and Olimpia in the continental contest, from which they were already eliminated.

“We have talent, we lack that organization. Managers don't prepare, they don't want the institution (...). We have to organize things. Nacional was twice champion of Copa Libertadores because they armed him for that. So did Junior, we were out of the final for a penalty,” he said on the radio program.

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