First published by Ace Magazine online, June 2014

Columbia taking on Greece was never going to be the highlight of the 2014 World Cup; however for the 50,000 plus fans inside the Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte the game was surely riveting, colourful and for the first four minutes at least could have gone either way. It was a game in which vindication of 32 teams in the competition presented itself, perhaps for the first time since 1990.

Columbia will always have the problem of qualifying from the South American groups thrust upon them, that and the real terror of having somebody shooting you should you score an own goal. Greece for their part, never tend do well once they reach the group stages of the World Cup and their defence can crumble as quick as their economy when pressured.

The sea of yellow and blue was perhaps the most striking aspect of the game for the opening moments. Colourful indeed, a game played in the heat of the day and without any rain pouring down upon them. It was the type of atmosphere that the game demanded and that would have had children running to the nearest patch of grass to recreate and enjoy in their minds over and over again. If Holland’s demolition of Spain was for the purists, for the hard core perfectionists, then Columbia V Greece was for the militants, those that take great pleasure in seeing something genuinely good come out of the game without the secretive, well-hidden smile appearing of seeing a world footballing power come undone.

The football wasn’t as colourful as the shirts on display, a swarm of hornets invading Belo Horizonte at that time would have been blinded by the vision that greeted their eyes, but it was football, it was like watching a decent game in the English Championship, two teams with plenty to shout about, perhaps though; only one truly had the skill to match the claims.

Five minutes in and the shallow deadlock was easily broken. Anybody else playing, any other team would have defended the chance pass with some ease but in a movement that would have had King Leonadis gripping his sword with despair, the ball somehow fell to Pablo Armero and the Estádio Mineirão erupted with the sound of joy that rivalled anything perhaps in Columbia’s sporting history. The celebration of the goal on the pitch was also a spectacle to behold; somebody might want to tell the organisers of the opening ceremony to involve the Columbian team in the closing segment when the baton is handed to Russia.

From there on, despite some good touches and runs down the line from the likes of Celtic’s Giorgos Samaras, this was going to be Columbia’s day. Greece may have given the world the idea of democracy but they certainly weren’t sharing in the limelight afforded them as World Cup finalists. The idea of equality would have been far from the minds of all in yellow inside the Estádio Mineirão and back home a few thousand miles away in Columbia. Too long have the Columbians been the bride of South American football, their bigger, more prestigious neighbours of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay have dominated the game and no doubt will do during this World Cup but for the likes of Teófilo Gutiérrez, Abel Aguila, Cristián Zapata and the highly enjoyable to watch James Rodriguez they are there in Brazil to do more than make up the numbers, they have a relaxed belief in them that is so visible you could put a bell around its neck and put it to fertilise a herd of love hungry cows.

For the Greeks though, the opposite seems true and aside from the aforementioned Giorgos Samaras, a player that Neil Lennon describes as an enigma, the rest of the team look as though they are more ready to disappear quicker than a blind magician’s assistant when the gun and bullets come out of the safe.

Much has been made of the young players in the England squad’s pace but watching Columbia is like placing eleven Usain Bolts side by side at the Alexandria Stadium and whispering go, the speed is devilish, the turn of pace more frightening than an electrical storm being pushed along by 200 mile an hour winds. Not just alarming but also very cool to watch also.

The second half of the match produced more of the same and perhaps the only surprise was that Greece managed to keep the score-line semi-respectable by only shipping in two more goals before the full time whistle. At least the final result didn’t flatter their opposition unlike Spain who will still be feeling the pain of their ignominious defeat to Holland a generation on.

To give Greece some credit, they might just get a nod to the fair play trophy if it’s based upon Giorgos Samaras reaction to going down in the box in the second half, immediately shaking his finger to the referee and saying that it wasn’t a penalty. Whether he did it on purpose to avoid being booked for diving will never be known but it was a tremendous piece of honesty that did much to erase some of the antics displayed at previous World Cups.

With Teófilo Gutiérrez adding a second on 58 minutes and the redoubtable James Rodriguez bagging a well-deserved goal before the end, it could be suggested that Columbia might not miss their talisman Falcoe too much, even if the rest of the footballing community does.

Columbia has dealt Greece a bitter blow by beating them in this opening game. The 2004 European Champions have never really attained the promise they showed by winning that tournament, the chance to shine on foreign shores seemingly out of reach. Three World Cups Finals and just one win, on this performance, especially if the second half is anything to go by, they will be hard pressed to add to that winning tally.

Columbia will march on to the next group game with inflated heart and a sense of belief attached to their mind-set. They could be a difficult team to tackle should England, if they qualify; meet them in the last 16.

Columbia: David Ospina, Juan Camilo Zúñiga, Cristián Zapata, Mario Yepes, Pablo Armero, Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Abel Aguila, Carlos Sanchez, James Rodriguez, Teófilo Gutiérrez.

Substitutes used: Alexander Mejía, Santiago Arias, Jackson Martínez.

Greece: Orestis Karnezis, Vasilis Torosidis, Kostas Manolas, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, José Holebas, Kostas Katsouranis, Dimitris Salpingidis, Panagiotis Kone, Giannis Maniatis, Giorgos Samaras, Theofanis Gekas

Substitutes: Giannis Fetfatzidis, Kostas Mitroglou, Giorgos Karagounis.

Venue Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte.

Referee: Mark Geiger.

Scorers: Columbia: Armero, Gutiérrez, Rodríguez.

Man of the Match: James Rodriguez.

Final Score: Columbia 3-0 Greece.

Ian D. Hall