So, we were dirty? I thought English football was meant to be aggressive!
Jefferson Lerma was signed by Bournemouth after Colombia’s feisty last-16 tie in Moscow . . .
IT MUST be tough for a 23-year-old Colombian to play thousands of miles from home for Bournemouth in the tough est league in the world.
But if you wondered if Jefferson Lerma has the strength of character, this is what happened when, as a 19- year- old freshly arrived in Spain, he met one of the most powerful men in football.
Lerma was in his first season at Levante hoping to feature in the biggest match of the season at Real Madrid.
He had been in Colombia with the Olympic squad and a visa issue had delayed his return to training. It looked as if the opportunity to play at the Bernabeu would pass but Levante manager Lucas Alcaraz named him on the bench and then put him on after 62 minutes.
In those 28 minutes he clearly impressed. Afterwards he was invited to see the Levante president in the directors’ lounge where he also met Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
‘I was asked to meet the chairman and directors of Levante, who were with Florentino Perez, and Perez said, “You play very well, you run a lot”.’ Unabashed, Lerma replied: ‘Yes! Then sign me!’
Perez deflected the suggestion by pointing out that they had already taken Keylor Navas from Levante, the goalkeeper who has since won three European Cups. But he did add that if Lerma kept playing as he was, then maybe, one day, they would return for him. For now Lerma is at Bournemouth, preparing to take on Crystal Palace tomorrow night. But you have to admire his chutzpah.
He grins when re-telling the story. ‘Well,’ he explains. ‘I have to trust in my abilities! It was a good opportunity.’
Maybe Real Madrid will have to wait but Lerma’s journey from the rural village of El Cerrito Valle in Colombia to Dorset via a World Cup last-16 game against England, in a team John Stones labelled the dirtiest ever, has been something of an odyssey.
His village is about 40 minutes’ drive away from Cali, the major city in the region. El Cerrito Valle is something of a tourist attraction after being made famous as the setting for Maria, the novel written by acclaimed 19th-century Colombian author Jorge Isaacs.
However, Lerma has made his own mark on his hometown. His return from the World Cup saw him paraded through the streets on a fire engine as hundreds of locals thronged the streets. He is big news in El Cerrito Valle.
‘It is a very beautiful village and I have become a quite famous person in the village and a good example for the young ones, now the children want to be footballers and many want to be like Lerma.’
His was an ordinary village background and he pays tribute to his mother, who raised him and his two sisters and a brother. ‘My mother worked very hard when we were young but all that effort has had its reward and I will always be grateful to her,’ he says.
Lerma was passed over by the major Cali clubs, America and Deportivo Cali, but the unfashionable Atletico Huila, eight hours away by bus in the city of Neiva, picked him up, persuading him to come and join their youth academy, where he lodged in a dormitory. After breaking into the first team, he earned a loan move to Levante in La Liga in 2015, the year he impressed against Real Madrid.
The World Cup was of course bittersweet for Lerma, after England overcame their penalty shootout jinx. Being picked for the squad, playing in all of Colombia’s games and starting against England in the
last 16 represented the pinnacle of his career. ‘All footballers want to play a World Cup; the truth is we are many, but few are chosen to go to that great festival.’
He experienced the joy of Yerry Mina’s injury-time equaliser against England in Moscow, which saw the 30,000 Colombians in the Spartak Stadium erupt. At that stage, the momentum seemed to be with Lerma’s team. ‘It was very beautiful to see the stadiums all in yellow, representing our fans; something very beautiful. When Yerry scored it was very euphoric because we [ thought] we were going to go through. Sadly we failed in the penalties and we had to go home; this is football and it was an experience to remember.’
He describes the clash as ‘competitive’, whereas John Stones called Colombia ‘the dirtiest team I have ever played against’.
Lerma begs to differ. ‘Yes, I heard that, but I did not give it much attention, because in the end we are all free to think want we want. It was only one game. I was surprised when he said it because English football is also aggressive.’
Soon af t er hi s homecoming parade, he was completing a club record £25m move to Bournemouth. Eddie Howe had identified him well before the World Cup as the key signing to add midfield holding strength. Lerma has embraced the new challenge in characteristically combative style, with two yellow cards to add to the 18 he picked up for Levante last season.
However, he and Bournemouth look well suited. Howe’s team came recommended by his Colombian teammates, Brighton’s Jose Izquierdo and Tottenham’s Davinson Sanchez, who told him about the passing and attacking football that has become the trademark on the south coast.
‘They said that they played well with the ball, but also [because] it is English football, they are always thinking about attacking.’
Only one thing bemuses him, however. ‘The weather,’ he says. ‘Sometimes it is sunny, then overcast and then rain. But Jose and Davinson already told me that in England the weather was a bit complicated.’
Obsessing about the weather and imposing his tackling on opponents: he should fit in well in England.