| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) 17:07 - Jul 14 with 3410 views | ColombiR |
Just thought I'd invite you to read this story I wrote just before the World Cup on George Saunders, a Brit who bizarrely has ended up playing for a tiny club in Colombia.
The editor somehow decided to remove the second and third paragraphs so the start is a little incoherent but anyway thought it may be of interest to some anoraks.
http://thecitypaperbogota.com/living/a-londoner-in-the-liga/
Ps the tenuous QPR link is that the last British player to play in Colombia, George Mountford, went on to play for QPR. Did anyone here see him play/remember him?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mountford_(footballer_born_1921) |  | | |  |
| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 18:30 - Jul 14 with 3371 views | peejaybee |
G eorge Mountford signed late 1952,Left winger made 38 appearences scored about 2goals Transferred to Hereford United.Nothing to get excited about. |  |
| If at first you dont succeed, pack up and f**k off home. |
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| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 20:53 - Jul 14 with 3312 views | BazzaInTheLoft |
Brilliant article mate.
Brave fella too! Hope it all works out for him. Maybe if he's young enough, good enough, and gains citizenship he'll end up with a Columbian cap?
How old is he? |  | | |
| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 20:59 - Jul 14 with 3302 views | BklynRanger |
So he went from playing in front of 30,000 to 300? (Am I reading that right?) What a difference. |  | | |
| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 22:26 - Jul 14 with 3270 views | ColombiR |
| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 20:53 - Jul 14 by BazzaInTheLoft |
Brilliant article mate.
Brave fella too! Hope it all works out for him. Maybe if he's young enough, good enough, and gains citizenship he'll end up with a Columbian cap?
How old is he? |
Cheers Bazza.
He's 24 so probably past an international cap... a few years ago he might have made it, Colombia were shambolic. But as the national team has now got its act together the competition is pretty tough these days!
Maybe he'll want to join me in earning caps for the national cricket team though... | | | |
| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 22:39 - Jul 14 with 3262 views | BazzaInTheLoft |
| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 22:26 - Jul 14 by ColombiR |
Cheers Bazza.
He's 24 so probably past an international cap... a few years ago he might have made it, Colombia were shambolic. But as the national team has now got its act together the competition is pretty tough these days!
Maybe he'll want to join me in earning caps for the national cricket team though... |
Well good luck to you and him. | | | |
| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 22:49 - Jul 14 with 3254 views | ColombiR |
| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 20:59 - Jul 14 by BklynRanger |
So he went from playing in front of 30,000 to 300? (Am I reading that right?) What a difference. |
Exactly right.
América de Cali where he first played over here are easily the biggest club ever to play in the second division (which is barely 20 years old). They have a huge following from their most successful period in the 80s when they won five championships in a row as well as getting to three Libertadores finals.
Even though they're in the second division, América still gets the biggest average crowds in the country. Colombian fans are fickle and the way the league is set up the big clubs don't play many relevant games until the final phase (top 8 out of a league of 18 qualify for the second stage... ludicrous).
América's fans feel hard done by their treatment (América was the only club punished for drug links but Deportivo Cali, Millonarios and Nacional at least were also run by drug barons), so have shown solidarity with their team.
There's also the question of ticket prices. Even though 1st division prices would be dirt cheap to us, the average income of a great number of match-going football fans (often from very poor, dangerous areas and often in informal employment if at all) is not high. When I walk past the stadium here on a match day I regularly give my spare change to kids hanging out asking passers by for help to buy a ticket. América has the lowest prices of the biggest clubs.
And if you take out América from the second division, 300 can't be far below average for a second division attendance. So Fortaleza is not unusual at all. It's only been professional for a few years – as have many teams in that division – and most of the spectators will be family of the players, youth team and their family, friends of the shareholders exactly.
Really it's a miracle they can produce any great footballers at all. Colombia now has its best ever national team but that's mainly because most of the players were tapped up by Argentine or European clubs before the age of 20, if not before they'd even played a senior game. (Falcao played just one professional match in Colombia). | | | |
| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 03:15 - Jul 15 with 3216 views | barabajagal |
Nice story. The domestic league does seem weak, despite the country being football nuts. I was taken to El Camping about 7 years ago to watch millionarios, could have only been six thousand or so there, but what a setting with the mountains behind. I remember the police having to shield the players when they took corners.
On a different note, I'm over in Chia until the end of August, anywhere to go to watch Prem football in Bogota, and any R's matches looming? Or should I rely on streaming?
Gracias,
Nik |  | | |
| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 05:23 - Jul 16 with 3146 views | ColombiR |
| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 03:15 - Jul 15 by barabajagal |
Nice story. The domestic league does seem weak, despite the country being football nuts. I was taken to El Camping about 7 years ago to watch millionarios, could have only been six thousand or so there, but what a setting with the mountains behind. I remember the police having to shield the players when they took corners.
On a different note, I'm over in Chia until the end of August, anywhere to go to watch Prem football in Bogota, and any R's matches looming? Or should I rely on streaming?
Gracias,
Nik |
Hi Nik,
First of all what are you doing in Chia of all places?
Domestic football is almost always a disappointment here. Just a bizarre league. When Santa Fe had a Libertadores run last year the atmospheres were top class though.
Plenty of places show premiership in Bogotá. On DirecTV you can see more live games than on Sky.
Good place to watch games is El Inglés on Carrera 11 with Calle 69... run by a Southampton fan, does a good English breakfast and roast as weekends. It has a facebook group which says which games it will be showing.
PM me if you want to see any Rs games there when the season starts.
Cheers
Olly | | | |
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| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 08:57 - Jul 16 with 3119 views | barabajagal |
| Colombian football: post WC reading (tenuous QPR link) (shameless plug) on 05:23 - Jul 16 by ColombiR |
Hi Nik,
First of all what are you doing in Chia of all places?
Domestic football is almost always a disappointment here. Just a bizarre league. When Santa Fe had a Libertadores run last year the atmospheres were top class though.
Plenty of places show premiership in Bogotá. On DirecTV you can see more live games than on Sky.
Good place to watch games is El Inglés on Carrera 11 with Calle 69... run by a Southampton fan, does a good English breakfast and roast as weekends. It has a facebook group which says which games it will be showing.
PM me if you want to see any Rs games there when the season starts.
Cheers
Olly |
Brilliant,
My wife is Colombian and her family is from Chia. Thanks for the advice, I must go to El Ingles and would love to meet for an R's game and a bottle of costeña or two - although I guess the 3 o'clock kick offs mean a 9 o'clock start. A little early even for me.
Am over until August 30th so we'll see if there are any R's games to watch, I'll also work out how to PM by then. Cheers Olly, may see you over there in a few weeks, i'll keep in touch.
Nik | | | |
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