Carlos Queiroz
The experienced Portuguese coach has been sacked by Colombia
Within just five days, the whole project was up in smoke. Two heavy World Cup qualifying defeats and the game was up for Colombia coach Carlos Queiroz. First in Barranquilla and a worst-ever home defeat in the sweaty Caribbean port saw Los Cafeteros crash 3-0 to Uruguay.
“I take full responsibility,” lamented Portuguese coach Queiroz. “But the most important thing is to put the game behind us and focus on Ecuador.” In the dressing room the sparks were already flying. That was Friday the 13th. But the nightmare had only just begun.
Nobody imagined a game in the Andean-hilltop capital of Quito was ever going to be easy. Ecuador were flying high in the qualifiers under new coach Gustavo Alfaro and boasted an enviable exhibition of youth talent. Nevertheless, the Ecuador starting XI against Colombia still contained just one European-based player. A point in Quito was the objective. It would have at least steadied the ship.
Yet within eight minutes Colombia were two goals down. Before half-time and trailing 4-1, Queiroz had already made four subs. By full-time the Colombian commentary team was silent, dumbfounded as they wrestled to digest the 6-1 final scoreline. Queiroz’s time was up. The humiliation was too much. This was Colombia’s worst defeat since 1977. “Shameful,” howled the front page of the following day’s El Tiempo newspaper.
It didn’t take long for rumours to spill of a changing-room bust-up. Post-Uruguay fists were allegedly raised, one player supposedly lifted from the floor by his throat. Team star James Rodriguez was forced into releasing a statement rejecting the “disinformation of these slanderous” reports. No apology was included for his part in the most ignominious week for Colombian football in decades.
Two weeks later, Queiroz was gone. Halfway through a contract that ran up until the 2022 World Cup, he departed stage left. “When saying goodbye isn’t easy, it means we only have reason to proudly express our immense gratitude,” the Mozambique-born coach posted on Instagram. “Onwards Colombia!”
Ever since his unveiling as Jose Pekerman’s replacement in February 2019, Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant had found it tough to convince fans his modern European style could assimilate Colombian idiosyncrasies. Antagonising these concerns was his refusal to consider a No.10 in his favoured 4-3-3. “Our players play in Europe but they’re not European,” Colombian idol Carlos Valderrama moaned. “We’re South American. That’s why they [European clubs] buy us, not because we run a lot and fight hard.”
Queiroz had, however, made efforts to win over the press. He attended Colombian league games, invited cherry-picked journalists over to the federation offices where he worked and slept, and began a series of training camps involving local players.
Carlos Queiroz’s time was up. The humiliation was too much. This was Colombia’s worst defeat since 1977
It was a deliberate departure from the reign of the hermit Pekerman.
Results too had been solid if not spectacular. Eliminated on penalties in the quarter-finals at the 2019 Copa America by Chile, Colombia went home without conceding a goal. “It doesn’t matter if my style is rock ‘n’ roll or samba, I just want to win,” Queiroz boasted.
But amid the resolute displays expected from one of the world’s greatest defensive coaches, it was clear Colombia had lost their swing. Teams began to work out how to shut down Queiroz’s circuits of play. If plan A failed to ignite, then against better sides Colombia quickly found themselves in trouble.
After dispatching a shambolic
Venezuela 3-0 in their opening CONMEBOL qualifier, Colombia then met Chile in Santiago. A blistering start was suddenly grounded when right-back Stefan Medina limped out of the game. Colombia crumbled, falling behind 2-1 and only scraping a point at the death.
Behind the scenes, some players were reportedly beginning to grumble about the special treatment afforded to James Rodriguez while everyone else was expected to sacrifice for the cause. As key players were mystifyingly dropped and others asked to play out of position, Queiroz’s team selection became increasingly discombobulated.
Queiroz had done himself no favours by suggesting he’d have no problem picking Boca Juniors winger Sebastian Villa – currently being investigated for domestic abuse – for the national team. “If every man who receives a punch from a woman went to the press, the world would be screwed,” Queiroz unwittingly bleated into an open microphone.
In the end though, Colombia’s spectacular collapse left his position untenable. Slumped in seventh position, the federation opted for a reset despite the absence of a plan B. “We’re starting from scratch,” federation president Ramon Jesurun admitted. “But ideally it will be a Colombian coach.”
Pekerman was initially courted, while former Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio would have been a strong shout had it not been for a disastrous recent spell that resulted in his sacking at Atletico Nacional. Hernan Dario Gomez, who took Colombia to the 1998 World Cup, was also fancied by the federation, but is fiercely unpopular with almost everyone else.
The most unifying candidate remains Reinaldo Rueda, most recently Chile coach, who led Atletico Nacional to the 2016 Copa Libertadores. It remains to be seen whether an agreement can be reached for his release. Yet whoever succeeds Queiroz will have their work cut out. When the South American qualifiers resume in March, the new coach will face the ultimate baptism of fire – at home to table-topping Brazil.