Lorenzo sends a clear message to his managers: “No one has a guaranteed position”
With an alternate payroll, the Colombia National Team tied without goals against Canada in their second friendly match of the October FIFA date.
After the final whistle, Néstor Lorenzo appeared before the media and, at a press conference, he broke down his vision of the match, highlighted aspects of his team’s performance and projected what he hopes for the team’s future.
Canada’s physical game
“A very tough opponent, very physical, their game very European-style, we could not find the circuits to generate good football in many spaces of the game, but there were important conclusions to draw from this game”
“The fact that it became so physical and there were so many fouls after their loss, in a World Cup they are going to be punished more, today it was not done because it was a friendly, but they interrupted our starts very well and many times with fouls”
Rotation in the team
“The balance is positive, today I had planned many changes and that did not favor us, in the sense of the player’s head, Lucho knew he was going to go out, James knew he was going to come in… the fact of having talked about it and planned it with them, did not help us in concentration and total dedication”
The category of those summoned
“It was difficult to put together the partnerships that we imagined, typical of a team that is tweaked from one game to the next. I try to put together a context, that if Juanfer plays, that Lucho Díaz is there, that he has a nine, that he has a disposition similar to the one James finds, we vary so that we do not unbalance the initial formation and we have two high-class teams and we can count on them to compete at a very good level”
James Rodríguez left the field with a serious expression: annoyance or simple frustration?
“I didn’t talk to James. He always wants to win, I don’t know if that’s why. I imagine so.”
Colombia will have to look for a new rival after the loss of Nigeria
“We have to wait for what the African Football Confederation says because they have a regulation that I don’t understand very well. They didn’t finish among the best runners-up, but the fact that they play with a team that is the last in the classification enables it. I don’t understand very well, but because of what they say is going to the playoffs, we are going to look for another rival. We have to make the most of the date and come again with the intention of drawing conclusions for the World Cup.”
The message to the players
“I liked Yaser, he came in and played the way I like (…) The balance is positive with everyone, they have delivered. Everyone has competition. The competition is open, no one has a guaranteed position. We are continually evaluating their performances in the clubs and that gives us the feeling of bringing them to compete here. The World Cup cannot be prepared in the last 15 days, they have to prepare from now on, be at an equal level. The National Team requires a medium-high level as a basis and regularity.”
