Football cabals, records and more: The secrets of Nestor Lorenzo’s Colombia that threaten Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay

Colombia maintains illusion of winning Copa America title in USA in 2024 . With a strong showing in the group stage and after beating Panama 5-0 in the quarter-finals, the coffee growers are on course to face Uruguay in the semi-finals.

In this process, the figure of his coach stands out. Argentinian Nestor Lorenzo, 58, managed to guide the tricolors and get the best possible performance from his players .

In this aspect, his experience in Colombian football stands out andThe experience he gained in the successful cycle of José Néstor Pékerman, with whom he played the role of assistant during the World Cups Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018 .

In fact, Lorenzo was in charge of training the defenders, since that was his position as a footballer. His way of playing, just like that of his colleague, leaves nothing to chance.

According to what the players themselves have said, the coach stands out for his paternalistic style, where he tends to care more about the happiness of the person rather than demanding everything from the player in his charge.

So I create the proximity necessary to take a team and make it play face to face with the great teams of the world. They managed to beat Germany 2-0 in June 2023, they managed to beat Brazil for the first time in history in the South American qualifiers. . In addition, in March of this year they beat the Spanish team who are now in the semi-finals of the European Cup.

With a 4-2-3-1 formation, he aims to generate dangerous situations by taking centre stage on the wings, taking advantage of the speed of the full-backs. There appeared the characters Luis Diaz and John Arias who, in synchronization with James Rodriguez Back in one of their best versions, they create an attack that forces opponents to increase defensive measures .

Thus, combining the experience and youth of its managers, managed to create a proposition that allowed him to impose himself and achieve a sequence of 24 matches without defeat, with 18 victories and six draws. .

One of the aspects that the coach has taken into account since his arrival in the Colombian team has been to establish a solid defensive line with an overwhelming attack that has allowed him to score 49 goals for and only 16 against since his arrival on the bench.

A formula that, although based on work, does not leave aside other aspects in order to increase the confidence and morale of the leaders. In this sense, the cabals are fundamental for this. .

Within these is his ritual with a wine-colored shirt and a black suit in every game, as well as using an image of Our Lady of Luján on the board where he has the tactical proposals to develop in the matches .

Of course, in this aspect there is also room for the convictions of the footballers, as reflected by Miguel Ángel Borja, who, after reaching the semi-finals, launched a special reflection.

“This is a God-fearing team, starting with the technical staff. And God does something that is not normal. . The number of games we have played without losing is just the work of God. “I think we are on the right track,” said the River Plate forward.

“This selection has something special. Starting with the coach, he has his heart in mind, it’s not normal, it goes beyond what is natural ” he elaborated.

In sports, Nestor Lorenzo also made a bet that, given the results, paid off. After joining the bench, he supported some players who were rarely seen in the national team, such as goalkeeper Camilo Vargas, defender Carlos Cuesta and winger John Arias.

He also took a risk with historic players who were going through a difficult time, such as James Rodríguez, Davinson Sánchez and Yerry Mina who, after suffering much criticism, reappeared in the coach’s project.

“I have known James Rodriguez since he was a child and I always knew how helpful he was. I know the love he has for these colours, that’s why it hurt me a lot when he was criticised so much, that’s why I trusted him, because his commitment to the national team is supreme. “, said the Argentine coach a few days ago.

“Now he runs less and thinks more, and that helps him too. . He has a team that surrounds him well and gives him alternatives to his game. James is doing well, I wanted to continue, but well, thinking about what’s coming, I thought it was prudent to change. Today the boys played a great game. “James is one of the best center players in the world,” added the coach.

On another side, We also find the figure of Luis Díaz, who has scored six goals since the arrival of the strategist in the Colombian team. . In addition to the great goal against Panama, he also celebrated against Costa Rica from a penalty. He also scored in the friendly match against Bolivia, a few days before the start of the Cup. Likewise, he celebrated perhaps the two goals most shouted by Colombian fans in recent years: those he scored against Brazil on November 16, 2023 in the duel valid for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The other goal scored by Díaz with Néstor Lorenzo’s Colombian national team was in the historic 0-2 victory against Germany in the friendly match played on June 20, 2023.

After the defeat against Panama, Nestor Lorenzo demonstrated the great goal of the team.Having a good Copa America means winning it. It’s not an abstract concept. The goal is to win every game we play and the boys know that. “.

In any case, the coach indicated that for this, it was necessary to proceed “match by match”. The objective is to win the next match, the most important match is the following one.

“We confirm the importance of coming to the national team and wearing the jersey, they feel a great pride in being there and that is typical of the players,” he continued.

Finally, he assured that “In this team, they kill each other for their teammate. We have worked a lot on that since the beginning. That’s what I feel about football from a technical point of view. “.

And once the Copa America is over, the coach will have to refocus his work on the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. In this process, they stand out for being the only team that remains undefeated, positioning themselves in third place with 12 points, just behind Argentina (15) and Uruguay (13). .

The match between Colombia and Uruguay for the semi-finals of the Copa América is scheduled for this Wednesday, July 10, starting at 8:00 p.m. in Chile.