THE SCOOP

More than a sport, a passion

By: Laura Ochoa Castro 10A

    For me, football is more than a sport, it's a passion. I feel excited when I watch my team playing.

   Last Thursday, Colombia played in La Paz, Bolivia against the local team. I know all of us, Colombians, were excited and cheerful about this first match for the next World Cup in Russia 2018. Many people I know made bets with different results and I hope some of you won.
   

  For the players, playing in Bolivia was a challenge because they were not accustomed to Bolivia’s, more accurately, La Paz’s altitude. As a result, they struggled with lack of oxygen during the game, so the passes and overall performance needed to be very precise. If you were confused and didn't understand why they didn't run that much, you already know the answer and understand why. When you are playing football, temperature is not the only thing that matters and you should ponder a while about.

  In the first 45 minutes, Colombia did a very good job. Only 9 minutes since the match’s beginning, James scored a goal that gave us hope and made us think that we could win the game. Ospina did an excellent job too and he stopped all possible goals. And when this first half was ending, Carlos Bacca scored another goal that left us more assured.

  The next 45 minutes were not easy for our players, since they were exhausted and the lack of oxygen was killing them. As a consequence, Bolivia scored 2 goals. The game was tied up at 2-2 and, if that wasn’t the worst news, our goalkeeper was injured. I imagine that all the fans of this team were nervous and anxious because we didn't know what was going to happen next. But, as always, in the 5 extra minutes, Cardona scored the third goal that led us to win the game.

   Despite all the disadvantages and challenges our team had to face, they demonstrated not only that they are the best, but also that they can play clean and honest; as a result, they won the game. We are ready for the next match, with all our energy and enthusiasm!