One at a time, the great veteran soccer players are returning to Colombia’s National Soccer Team. First it was Ivan Ramiro Cordoba, after settling differences with the coaching staff, and now it’s goalie Farid Mondragon, the 39-year old Valle-native. Mondragon’s most recent appearance as part of the national team was back in 2005 for the Copa de Oro.

On the national team’s agenda is the America Cup in 2011 and the qualifiers for the World Cup in 2014.

Games against teams like Haiti are good to strengthen players’ confidence, but don’t truly offer a good point of reference when it comes to determining the level of the Colombian team, it’s simply too weak a rival.

When taken as an opportunity to bring the team together, all is well, but the ideal would be to play against a more prestigious team which win or lose would allow for more precise conclusions to be drawn. Having won 2-0 against the much weaker Haitian team doesn’t say much for Colombia.

Today in the city of Maturín, The Colombian Soccer Selection will face off with leader Venezuela for a spot in the final round of the South American Soccer Tournament. Both teams have five points, as do Ecuador and Argentina who will meet in the preliminary game.

For the first time in the Jorge Luis Pinto era, the Colombian soccer team will have a defender from Medellín as a starter in the South American qualifying round.  This thanks to the addition of Camilo Zúñiga, outside midfielder who recently debuted on the Italian soccer team, Siena.

During practices he captivated the Colombian coach with his attack skills and offensive play. What he did for the team Nacional of Medellín was enough to get the thumbs-up from strategist Pinto, who Zúñiga assures has a very similar style to the demands of Italian soccer.

On a team with few goals (4 in 6 games), the presence of Milton Rodriguez generates trust among fans. The Millonarios forward returned after 3 years to the Colombian team not only because of the injury suffered by Edixon Perea, but also for his technical conditions and his efficiency during his time as a member of the blue team (Millonarios). Rodriguez trained yesterday with his teammates at the Air Base in Rionegro, sans Hugo Rodallega who suffered respiratory problems. In the afternoon the arrivals of backup goalie Robinson Zapata and forward Dayro Moreno are expected from Romania.