Argentina v Colombia preview
Having been thumped to the tune of 5-0 at the hands of Paraguay in
their opening Copa America Group C clash, it would be fair to
suggest Colombia are preparing to face Argentina as the proverbial
lambs to the slaughter.
Paraguay may have been impressive but Colombia will be well aware
their own exertions will not live long in the memory, some critics
arguing their performance was as yellow as their shirts.
Argentina, on the contrary, were impressive in coming from behind
against USA to swagger to a 4-1 victory, which saw Chelsea's exiled
striker Hernan Crespo score twice.
Also on the scoresheet for the Argentines were the irrepressible
duo Carlos Tevez and Pablo Aimar, not a bad pair of substitutes for
coach Alfio Basile to call on.
Of the two it is Aimar that has the greater chance of earning a
starting berth against Colombia, with Esteban Cambiasso the
candidate to make way, should Basile elect for a more attack-minded
selection.
Otherwise, Argentina will likely be unchanged, as Basile demands a
similar display from his charges.
"We are not going to get carried away," warned Basile. "Each
encounter is a separate entity.
"We are going to continue in the same way."
Colombia coach Jorge Luis Pinto has the difficult task of raising
his troops and, in a time-honoured tradition, has used a boxing
metaphor to do just that.
"The football player knows when there is a chance to change. We are
going away to recover like the boxer who is struck and fell, but
rose and could win."
It seems likely that Macnelly Torres will be promoted from the
bench in place of Alvaro Dominguez, with Gabriel Luiz Rey also in
contention after a substitute appearance against Paraguay.
Colombia may be praying for a major upset, but Argentina will be
expecting a knockout.
