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“We work a lot with Juan (Cuadrado), he can play as a defender, midfielder, forward and with a little more work he can even be in goal.” The words of Carlos Queiroz, coach of the Colombia National Team, who this Friday faces Venezuela for the Qatar 2022 qualifiers, show his commitment to players who fulfill many obligations, who adapt, who take on challenges and not impositions.
Queiroz gives Cuadrado an example because “he works as a midfielder in the last calls and has a lot of brand obligation, but his football develops in its traditional position”. Translation: he knows how to do his dirty work but his thing, what flows to him, is the attack.
For the DT that is the versatility that all those who dream of wearing yellow under his administration must fulfill, he wants people with speed and offensive vocation but courageous to face rocky and hard rivals, as almost all are in the South American qualifiers.
The case of Cuadrado is key: he effectively plays as a right-back, as a midfielder in a front row (with brand obligations, as in Copa América 2019) and as a winger on the right … or on the left, depending on the needs of the player. match.
The good thing is that, for the DT’s peace of mind, he is not the only one. The bad thing, on paper, is that all the attackers have the profile of ‘killers’ in the area and taking them out of that role implies taking risks, an unsafe bet in a tie as difficult as the South American.
At this point, it is worth saying that beyond seeing Falcao delaying to open space for another attacker, a Córdoba who in his first call would play, there yes, even as a goalkeeper, or a Duván who also sacrifices himself and leaves the area with such to play, although it has everything to assert the status of the best current situation in the national attack, the Colombian roster has the ability and not only a good attitude to use pieces in different positions.
We review the list of players who can play more than one role, within hours of the premiere on the long and winding road to Qatar.
James Rodriguez
If James learned something from the gray days at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, he was to occupy positions that did not always favor his football, but which were his only chance of gaining continuity. In both teams he learned to be a brand midfielder in the first row of three, winger on the right and on the left and, when he could, he occupied his ideal position, midfielder, more towards the middle, with enough vision and mobility to filter the pass or resolve facing the rival arc.
Giving him freedom of movement and easing branding tasks is what makes the difference between the expendable Real Madrid and the Everton star. Queiroz, in fact, says he understands it better than everyone.
Stefan medina
In defense, Medina is the only truly multifunctional one: he can be a right back (as in the National Team), central for that band in a defense of three (as he plays today in Monterrey), central in a line of four (his natural position in Nacional ) and even, in an emergency, a top midfielder.
Luis Muriel
A characteristic of Muriel in her career is patience. To play for the Colombian National Team, he soon understood that his natural position, number 9, had too much competition and he migrated to a left winger position, with exit, pass and sacrifice on the mark. Added to his World Cup experience and his good time at Atalanta, he is one of the highest performers on the roster.
Jefferson Lerma
The experience that the brand midfielder has gained in Europe, beyond Bournemouth’s relegation, is enormous. There he established himself as a stopper player in the middle, but he has a talent for passing and a middle distance that at any moment can break the tedium for Colombia. In the event of a disaster, he has played as a right back with acceptable results.
Steven get up
Carlos Queiroz noticed the only ‘foreigner’ on the payroll (he was born in England) due to his role as a front-line midfielder, with essential brand and sacrifice obligations. But Alzate emerged before as a creative wheel, which gives it a very interesting option of accompanying wheel 5 and being in charge of giving the so-called ‘first pass’ or, in an emergency, putting on 10, as it already happened once with Queiroz.
Santiago Arias
The DT explained that the only thing that he played against so that he did not enter the first list is that he did not have continuity in Atlético and he just had his debut in Bayer Leverkusen. Otherwise, Arias is an acclaimed right-back, but has occasionally been improvised as a midfielder in the same area.
Johan mojica
It is true that he is in the process of adapting to Italian football, but he is extremely lucky to find himself at the club and in the National Team with Muriel and Zapata, his partners in Atalanta. He is a left-back, there he played the World Cup in Russia, but the second place that he knows well, from the beginning, is that of the midfielder on that same band.
