Colombia, a nation that has football as its most popular sport, only has one title in its trophy cabinet. It was the 2001 Copa América, considered by many to be the most atypical of the 48 editions that have been held to date. The peculiarity of that championship, which had the coffee-growing country as host, revolved exclusively around the delicate public order situation of the time, which permeated doubts and fears among organizers, teams and fans. Although it ended with a Colombian victory, its development was bittersweet. Along with the tears and emotion after the final whistle of the decisive match against Mexico, the collective memory also remains of Conmebol studying until the last moment whether the tournament should be held due to the threats and kidnappings that were dominating the headlines at the time. There was a party on the field, but it was —and still is today— impossible to ignore the context.
The venue for the 2001 Copa América, as well as the six previous versions, had been known since 1987, after a rotation was decided among the South American countries to be in charge of organizing the event. The months prior, however, had put its realization in jeopardy. First, in January of that year, a car bomb in the El Tesoro shopping center in Medellín caused one death and 56 injuries. Then, in May, another vehicle exploded with 50 kilos of explosives in Cali and left more than 35 injured, among whom were several soccer players from the Once Caldas club, who were visiting the city because they were going to play a match in the Colombian league. Two weeks later, again in Medellín, a Renault loaded with dynamite left eight people dead and a hundred injured. The uncertainty had not yet reached its peak.
Sixteen days before the opening, on June 25, Hernán Mejía, the then vice president of the Colombian Football Federation, was kidnapped by FARC guerrillas near Pereira, the main city in the coffee-growing region. The fact that a senior official of the Copa América organizing body was deprived of his freedom by armed rebels created an atmosphere of unrest in other countries, which saw no guarantees of safety to send their players. Many insisted that the best thing to do was to cancel the competition, such as Nicolás Delfino, president of the Peruvian Federation. “The opinion of the South American Confederation (Conmebol) is to suspend the championship in Colombia as long as the leader who is currently being held hostage is not released,” he told the media. The possibility of moving the event to Mexico or Brazil began to gain strength.
Against this backdrop, an emergency meeting was called in Buenos Aires to decide the fate of the championship. Mejía, who was released three days later, traveled to the south of the continent to reaffirm Colombia’s commitment to hosting the Copa América. The members of CONMEBOL concluded that it was best to postpone it until the following year, without defining an exact date. What was left was for Andrés Pastrana, the Colombian president, to play his trump card. The president, together with sponsors and owners of television rights, pressured for the Copa América to be played during the days initially agreed upon, between July 11 and 29, 2001. His efforts were successful, but at a cost: Canada and Argentina stepped aside and preferred not to participate.
The Americans claimed that they had already withdrawn their players after being informed that the tournament would be suspended until 2002. Argentina’s reasons were more delicate. It was not only the concern about public order that caused their absence, there was also a direct threat to the team. Carlos Carrasco, the Argentine ambassador in Bogotá, made public a letter containing warnings about possible attacks on Argentine footballers if they decided to attend the tournament. Although the Colombian authorities assured that none of the main guerrilla or paramilitary groups were behind the letter, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) considered that the conditions were not optimal for traveling to Colombia. Gabriel Batistuta, Hernán Crespo, Javier Saviola, Juan Sebastián Verón and Claudio López, among others, were some of the names that were missing from that edition.
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The withdrawal of both countries from the grid, just a few days before the opening match, forced them to find replacements quickly. In record time, Costa Rica and Honduras filled that void. Lisandro Flores, director of the Honduran Football Federation, was convinced despite the last-minute invitation and said that his wish was that “the Honduran people contribute to the peace and joy of the Colombian people.” His team ended up being the surprise of the championship, reaching the semi-finals.
Colombia’s first title
The Colombian superiority was evident from start to finish. Only a third of the 18 players called up by coach Francisco Maturana were playing abroad. The only one who was part of a European club was captain Iván Ramiro Córdoba, who was already part of the Inter Milan roster. Nevertheless, the team was solid from its debut against Venezuela, at the Metropolitano stadium in Barranquilla, when it won 2-0. The subsequent victories against Ecuador (1-0) and Chile (2-0) ensured a place in the quarterfinals, where they beat Peru by a landslide (3-0). The semifinals featured Honduras as their rival, who had surprisingly eliminated Brazil. The Central Americans’ journey came to an end that night after being defeated 2-0.
Mexico was the opponent in the final, which was played at the El Campín stadium in Bogotá. With the stands packed with fans who had never seen their country lift a trophy, the Colombians faced an Aztec team that included goalkeeper Oscar Perez and forward Jared Borgetti, as well as Javier Aguirre, in his capacity as coach. The avalanche of the locals was soon brought down by the order of the Mexicans, who deployed two orderly lines of four players in defense and midfield. To further dampen the enthusiasm beforehand, the tournament’s top scorer, Victor Hugo Aristizabal, had to leave injured and was replaced by Jairo Castillo.
A free kick opened the scoring. On the right flank, leaning against the western stand, full-back Iván López took a dead ball towards the Mexicans’ area. Iván Ramiro Córdoba rose up between the green shirts and with his head deflected the ball just enough for Pérez to remain without reaction, crouched on the goal line. Running towards the corner and letting himself fall on the grass, while his teammates threw themselves at him, the Colombian captain celebrated the goal furiously. There were no more dangerous situations in the remaining 20 minutes.
The final whistle opened the doors to jubilation. Even the most disinterested remember that date, July 29, as an excuse to celebrate in the midst of the difficult national reality. The tears in the stands, the release of so much pent-up helplessness and the streets full of supporters are a permanent evocation. Córdoba’s goal marked the country, as Freddy Rincón’s goal did 11 years ago against Germany in the World Cup, and reminded us that football is one of the few things that unites more than 50 million Colombians.
The chance to relive what happened in 2001 is at hand. At the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Colombia will be able to dethrone Argentina as champions of America. It would be an even more epic feat than the one two decades ago: at the helm is Lionel Messi, for many the best player of all time.
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