Colombia has a thing for disappointing when you are expecting something from them. In this tournament they had been great, winning their group ahead of Argentina, and seemingly with some of their players, such as Freddy Guarín and Radamel Falcao, in great shape. On the other hand, Perú had only ended third in its group, working hard, but without impressing. Colombia were huge favourites. But in football in general, and in this tournament in particular, being the favourite has meant little.
Colombia was a shadow of itself. They seemed to play without spirit, and in spite of having some chances, they were too forgiving. Radamel Falcao even missed a penalty, and as the rest of his team, Peruvian goalkeeper Raúl Fernández was concentrated and worked hard. The match ended 0-0 in ordinary time, and in extra time, Colombia continued to play without imagination or clout, even after Perú went ahead 1-0 on a goal by Carlos Lobatón, who took advantage of a misunderstanding between the Colombian goalkeeper Luis Enrique Martinez and his defense. Perú continued solid and concentrated, and in the second half of the extra time went ahead 2-0, when Hamburger SV striker Paolo Guerrero, who played a great match, picked up a ball from the Colombian goalkeeper, ran into the area, and passed the ball to Perú captain, Juan Manuel Vargas, who scored a second for Perú.
Colombia showed nothing.
Now, one has to pay its respect to Perú's players and its coach, Sergio "El Mago" Markarián, who showed that hard work and tactical discipline are still very important if you want to win in football!
Personally, I am hugely disappointed about the Colombian side, but congratulations to the Peruvians!
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