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Let’s agree that Sebastián Villa is blocked, along with 41 other players, for the double elimination round of the Colombia National Team against Uruguay, on November 13 in Barranquilla, and against Ecuador, on November 17, in Quito.
It is a bureaucratic procedure for FIFA to send a comprehensive list of players to notify their clubs that, in an emergency, they may have to join their teams. It does not imply that they will be on the court, only that they are required to be available.
This is how the Colombian Football Federation (FCF) explained the leak about the blocking of the Boca Juniors player, who must undergo covid-19 coronavirus tests, again in case it was necessary to have him. It does not mean that with certainty it appears in the list of 24 players -maybe up to 27- who will be called up for the competition, but the sole possibility, which at this point is undeniable, has already ignited the debate: does it deserve to be in a national team?
The first thing is to be. In one hundred percent sporting terms, he is a man who is an alternative for the right winger, a position that was very battered on the last day. It happens against Venezuela and then against Chile both sides (Medina and Arias) were injured, that Cuadrado finished in that position although in general he plays from the middle up, where he is more influential, and that with James touched (although he would play this weekend after his injury), there are not enough players with offensive capacity who also have a profile of extremes, not improvised numbers 9 to have minutes, as it happened with Morelos.
It means that yes, a Villa is needed … but not necessarily Sebastián Villa. As well? Colombia missed a different player in Qualifying to support the attack, one other than Morelos (Rangers), Falcao (Galatasaray,), Duván Zapata (Atalanta) and Jhon Córdoba (Hertha), all area referents, and who became a help for a Luis Fernando Muriel (Atalanta), efficient against Venezuela in Barranquilla but inconsequential against Chile, (Atalanta, Ita). Luis Díaz (Porto), the man of the coach Carlos Queiroz for the position, could not be because of the covid-19 but will return and, although he has played on both sides, he is more unbalancing on the left, which suggests that support is lacking in the other end.
Is Villa the candidate? The first thing is that his last official match was played on March 11, 2020, when he started in the 3-0 victory against Independiente Medellín for the Copa Libertadores. 7 months and 14 days passed. An inactivity that does not suffer, for example, other candidates for the position such as Rafael Santos Borré, whose good moment cries out for an opportunity from Queiroz. In his case, the Portuguese himself suggested that he did not have enough activity, although since September he has played 4 games and scored 3 goals.
In the middle, the Antioqueño was involved in an alleged case of gender violence against his ex-girlfriend, Daniela Cortés, who denounced him and showed on his social networks photos of the blows that the footballer would have given him. The case is still under investigation and the Argentine justice has not yet given a final ruling, but in the face of doubt Boca himself has decided not to count on him in the return of football after the suspension due to the pandemic, fearing that his personal life will affect his performance. Why should the FCF have a different consideration? When Edwin Cardona was involved in a similar incident with three women who denounced him and two other players for the same alleged crime, the social sanction was immediate and the National Team explained that this type of scandal would not be tolerated, since the summoned must always prove good behavior. What would make Villa’s case different?
The discussion must go through more than one factor and Queiroz himself has been demanding. It is good that, by protocol, a player like Villa is blocked because the current situation requires taking all precautions. But if the DT is consistent with his speech, the end of Boca would not meet at least two criteria: that of “minutes in the legs” and that of sports concentration, well, innocent or not, he has an open judicial process against him.
It would be a great surprise, not to mention bewilderment, to see him on the call. It does not mean that he will not be in the National Team again, because at 24 he still has a lot to contribute. But this time it is his present that plays against him.
