Colombia coach calls for calm

 

 

Colombia coach Hernan Dario Gomez is refusing to get carried away as his side bid to seal a Copa America quarter-final berth on Sunday.

Colombia, the 2001 Copa America champions, currently sit atop Group A with four points having beaten Costa Rica and drawn with host nation Argentina, and they need just a draw against Bolivia to assure themselves of a place in the last eight.
However, Gomez, who said before the start of the tournament he did not expect to remain in his post if Colombia failed to progress, is refusing to get carried away in the wake of two contrasting performances from his side so far.
Against a youthful Costa Rica side that played for more than an hour with only 10 men, Colombia laboured to a 1-0 win, but they put on an impressive showing in their goalless draw with Argentina in midweek.
"We are neither very bad for what we did against Costa Rica nor very good for how we played against Argentina," said Gomez, who believes fans back home are now expecting a similar performance on Sunday to the one against star-studded Argentina.
"I know the Colombian fans very well and that's why I ask for a lot of prudence and calm. I know that they are going to ask that this team thrashes Bolivia. I remind them this team is in construction. It can have ups and downs."
He added in Colombia's El Pais newspaper: "Of course we know that this game could decide our passage to the next round of the Copa America. We want to win it and we are going out to win it, whilst giving Bolivia the respect they deserve."
Bolivia prop up the Group A table, although they also held mighty Argentina to a draw before slumping to a 2-0 defeat to Costa Rica in their second outing.
Coach Gustavo Quinteros said: "It hurt us to lose, but we have to recover and lift our heads. In football you need to work hard, you can get it right as well as wrong, and if we made mistakes, we will try and correct them."