The Our Futbol Podcast is proud to be collaborating with FUTBO13RA® to bring readers coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games – Women’s Soccer Tournament. You can download the FUTBO13RA® Guide: Paris 2024 PDF here.
Colombia’s run at the 2023 Women’s World Cup impressed both those who have followed them for years and those who barely knew them. Their return to the tournament after eight years of absence was one of authority, playing toe-to-toe and reaching the quarterfinals. Today, also eight years later, Colombia returns to the Olympic Games with greater confidence and maturity but, above all, with a different vision from the bench.
Ángelo Marsiglia took over as technical director of Colombia in October 2023 after the departure of Nelson Abadía who held the position for nine years. But the team needed a new coach and, although Marsiglia was part of Abadía’s coaching staff, his project plan with fresh ideas convinced the Colombian Soccer Federation.
He started as a coach at the university level for both men and women, was a technical assistant at América de Cali in 2018 and in 2021, he was invited to work for the U-17 and U-20 Colombian women’s teams. He was part of the coaching staff that were 2022 Copa América runners-up and coached two matches at the Australia and New Zealand World Cup against South Korea and Germany due to Nelson Abadía’s suspension at the time.
“He is very intelligent, he knows how to explain things to us, how to point out the virtues. He is very good, he understands us and gives us confidence,” stated Manuela Pavi for FIFA.com. “It is essential that the coach knows his players, I think Colombia is going to make a lot of difference this year.”
Marsiglia is an intelligent coach, looking beyond what happens on the field and is aware of all his players’ movements. He has a natural ability to study his rivals and take advantage of the quality he has on his roster to place them in the position where they can be most effective. But his greatest strength is the courage to try new things and study the mistakes of his players as part of the process and treat them as learning lessons.
Under his command, the team retains the ball much more and begins by playing with the goalkeeper to wear down their opponents. For Marsiglia, the generational change is important and he’s been known to adapt to the players available in his squads.
Unlike the 2024 Gold Cup, he’ll be heading to Paris with players like Leicy Santos and Mayra Ramírez, power players in their own right that will surely transcend at the Olympics.
“Colombia is here to compete, we have grown a lot. It is a team that has different behaviors in terms of control, progression, ball handling, generating a head-to-head match regardless of the rival (…) Colombia is here to compete in each match, qualify and, God willing, reach the podium,” the Colombian head coach declared to Diario AS. “Which is what we all want, a historic medal for our Colombian sport.”
Captain: Daniela Montoya
Few players can boast being truly consistent on and off the pitch. Daniela Montoya is one of them.
She joined the national team in 2010 and scored the first World Cup goal in Colombia’s history at the 2015 World Cup against Mexico. She’s represented her country in three World Cups, winning the silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games and gold in 2018. She competed in the 2012 London Olympics, but missed the Rio 2016 Olympics after her federation vetoed for demanding the pending payments they were owed for their participation in the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada.
The respect she’s received among her colleagues and her determination to win earned her a top spot in the hierarchy among a group full of talented players. Her ability to read the game and maintain and distribute the ball have helped her fit into her coach’s style.
“The process takes years and we have to be stronger than in the World Cup,” Montoya told FIFA.com. “The best are here and we must correct the mistakes made in the Gold Cup. We have always come out of difficult moments and we have to be united to make history.”
Montoya will be leading the team on the path to achieving Olympic glory and, although the rivals are not easy, she knows what’s needed to motivate a team that wants to continue rising and, for her own personal agenda, get rid of the thorn of missing the 2016 Olympic Games.
Player to Watch: Mayra Ramírez
If you haven’t heard her name, here is your much-needed introduction because Mayra Ramirez is a player who can change the course of the competition for Colombia.
She started playing indoor soccer teams with other children. The power shots and technique she developed in tight spaces are some of the skills that set her apart today. When she started playing on full fields with 11v1, sacrifices were made. She had to get up at 4 in the morning in order to attend school, eat, train and get home by 10 to do it all again. Eventually, she was able to stay close to home and was awarded a scholarship to a private school to avoid transfers, which helped her reach the professional level in Colombia at the age of 16 and participate in her first Copa Libertadores in 2015. In 2020 she made the jump to Spain to sign with Sporting de Huelva and, two seasons later, Levante UD added her to their ranks.
Her physical strength, her impressive speed and her polished technique for hitting the ball make her a dangerous attacker to whom teams cannot give up a single millimeter. Her height allows her to generate danger through the air, something that is highly valued in European leagues. So much so that it caught the attention of Emma Hayes, who coached Chelsea, and who brought her to the English team to be one of their power attackers.
In January of 2024, at 25 years old, she became the most expensive signing in women’s football history when Chelsea paid Levante 450,000 euros to acquire her with an added 50,000 euros in bonuses.
At the national team level, she made her way from the U-17 and U-20 categories, to the senior team and won Gold at the 2019 Central American Games. Earning an Olympic medal would be a great way to close out a successful year in which she scored her first goal in the UEFA Women’s Champions League and was crowned champion of the Barclay’s Women’s Super League.
The generation of players that Colombia has on its squad is perhaps the best they have had in its history and both fans and those in charge are very aware. They have players with great individual talent, such as Catalina Usme (Club Pachuca), who is also the team’s top scorer and the player with the most national team matches played. There’s also Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid), Manuela Vanegas (Real Sociedad) and Daniela Arias (Corinthians), to name a few. But, above all, they have a different mentality than their predecessors. During the 2023 World Cup, they showed the world that they are not going to give up against any rival. Similarly, they know that only the best qualified for this competition. Will they be skilled enough to make it to the podium?
What time does Colombia play at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games?
Colombia’s match schedule in Group A
Thursday, July 25
France vs. Colombia | 12:00 PM PST | 1:00 PM CDMX | 3:00 PM EST | Stade de Lyon
Sunday July 28
New Zealand vs. Colombia | 8:00 AM PST | 9:00 AM CDMX | 11:00 AM EST | Stade de Lyon
Wednesday, July 31
Colombia vs. Canada | 12:00 PM PST | 1:00 PM CDMX | 3:00 PM EST | Stade de Nice
This has been edited from its original version which can be found on the Futbo13ra website here.
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