00:00Is Santa Fe an anomaly in Colombian football?
00:02Aren't we giving too much credit to what he did at the Monumental?
00:07Could it be that we are exaggerating?
00:12After the aerobic qualification of the red and white team in Buenos Aires,
00:16Against River Plate, that would be the simplest interpretation.
00:20To point out those of us who value such a victory for the Cardinal in Argentina and in that context.
00:25But the truth is that a much deeper analysis of Colombian football in international tournaments is needed.
00:32to understand why what the Lion has achieved is so praiseworthy.
00:36Although the result allowed the Red Express to join the group of eight clubs
00:41who will play the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana and not a final or a title like half the country
00:47demands,
00:48The truth is that Colombia's record in the last decade in tournaments with Mebol
00:52It reflects a pronounced crisis in the Colombian Professional Football League (FPC) in international tournaments.
00:57Let's take the other half of glory as an example.
01:00Of the last 54 participations of Colombian teams,
01:04Independiente Santa Fe's qualification this year represents only their sixth.
01:08to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
01:11Yes, we can consider Junior de Barranquilla's semi-final in 2017 and their final in 2018.
01:17Also the other Santa Fe semifinal that same year.
01:20However, in the last decade, there are only a handful of Colombian teams.
01:25who have reached the quarter-finals of the competition.
01:28That's why the feat of Colombia's first champion should be called a feat.
01:33Furthermore, the setting where he achieved it also lends credence to the feat as a true achievement.
01:38Beyond the fact that River Plate was very limited in its playing style and collective performance,
01:44The millionaire club had made the most expensive transfer market in its history
01:49to win that edition of the South American tournament.
01:52It's a giant team on the continent, and Independiente Santa Fe overcame all of this.
01:57by penalties and as the away team.
02:00However, the fact has another interpretation, which is that of the precarious state of Colombian football.
02:05on the international stage.
02:06We already talked about the Copa Sudamericana, which is the least serious case, in quotes.
02:11But in the Copa Libertadores the outlook is much bleaker.
02:15Of the 41 most recent Colombian participations, that is, the last 10 editions,
02:21only one team reached the top 8.
02:25It was Deportivo Pereira, who were making their debut in the continental championship
02:28and six months earlier he won his first star in the FPC.
02:33If the bar is set at the round of 16, things improve slightly.
02:37increasing the rankings to six.
02:39But the situation remains worrying.
02:42Our football isn't exactly rolling in trophies either.
02:45But it did manage to be competitive in the first part of the 21st century.
02:49Not only because of Once Caldas' Copa Libertadores title in 2004,
02:54That is indeed the greatest feat of all,
02:57the national title, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year,
03:00and he is the only non-Brazilian or Argentinian champion of the last decade,
03:05but also for the semifinals of Cúcuta Deportivo in 2007
03:09and the double semi-final in 2003 with América de Cali and Deportivo Independiente Medellín.
03:14We were just a hair's breadth away from having the first and only Colombian Copa Libertadores final,
03:19just as the Brazilian does every year nowadays.
03:23That's why what Santa Fe has done is so admirable and deserves to be highlighted.
03:27In the most monumental match against River, when it comes to hunger, there's no such thing as stale bread.
03:32Nobody knows how far Santa Fe's adventure in the South American Cup will go.
03:36a tournament he already won once 11 years ago.
03:39But the truth is that the country is hopeful that this will be the turning point.
03:43so that Colombian football can become competitive again,
03:47While acknowledging Brazil's economic superiority,
03:51Argentina's competitive strength and even Ecuador's golden age,
03:55which today has two teams in the round of 16 of the Libertadores Cup,
03:59while we look on with envy, dreaming of the return of our best times.
04:05What needs to change? Let us know in the comments.
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