With spirits now much higher since their victory over Paraguay 2-1, the Colombian selection must face frontrunner Brazil on Friday for a spot in the World Championship in Egypt this September. Coach Jose Helmer Silva says the goal is to get out there and add up points that will bring them closer to the world championship; currently Colombia has 3.

Brazil, with a spot already secure in Egypt, hopes to take first place in the tournament for the second consecutive year.

Four organized clubs, two of them representing neighborhoods from Medellin, have the privilege of fighting for a spot in the final of the 25^th Ponyfutbol Tournament on the Marte 1 field.

Given the quality of soccer they have displayed throughout the two weeks of competition they are, without a doubt, worthy semifinalists of this event which each year gets bigger and more appealing, judging by the massive presence of media coverage and audience.

Envigado, Fátima, Caunces and Boca Juniors are the stars of this phase.

Ponyfútbol  is not just about children’s dreams, but also the dreams of the coaches who aspire to one day be professionals.

To think that this tournament was the way greats like Pacho Maturana and Luis Fernando Montoya started is just another motivating fact.

Goalkeeper Aldo Bobadilla already played his first game of the season as a starter in the friendly match against Panama.

Over vacation, several reporters associated him with teams from Argentina and Mexico, but Bobadilla returned to Medellin and says he will play in the Libertadores Cup. His substitute will be Byron Garcia.

Colombian defender Humberto Mendoza has the approval of Argentina’s River Plate to be the newest soccer player on their team, but the deal is not sealed with Atletico Nacional just yet.

Yesterday Mendoza showed up to take care of last minute details in the offices of Antioquia’s green team, but club president, Victor Marulanda said it’s not settled yet.

24 year old Mendoza, who is a member of the Colombian Selection, has said his dream is to play in Argentina and that he prefers this to playing for leagues in Mexico, Russia or Turkey.

Atletico Nacional does plan on selling the defender to a foreign soccer club, but River Plate is trying to get him for a lower price. The player had planned an early morning flight to Argentina.

Víctor Cortés can’t forget that his “sports career started as part of DIM between 1996 and 1998”, but he’s ecstatic because, thanks to the goal he scored against the team that launched his professional career, he is now 90 minutes away from winning his first title in Colombia.

At 32 years of age he is a figure of the America de Cali, a team very close to its thirteenth star.

The city of Medellín resembled a red blanket last night, not just in the stands of the Atanasio Girardot Stadium, where fans took over the venue, but also in neighborhoods all over town where red and blue flags were everywhere, before, during and after the 90 minute game.

DIM fans are anxiously expecting their team to bring back their fifth star from Cali on Sunday.

Estiven Velez will return to soccer and the Nacional team after being absent for two months due to personal difficulties in the club. The wing from Manrique returns willing to take advantage of the opportunity and anxious because “the game on Sunday against Equidad is like my first game wearing the green jersey, with which I have always wanted to succeed”.

Major shareholders of the soccer team, Nacional, met with coaching staff and players after the ‘classic’ (name given to games played by 2 teams from the same department).

Everybody is concerned over the difficult time the team is going through (not much soccer and little show of improvement).

In a friendly, but firm and direct tone, there was talk of the need for a comeback. There is no lack of compromise; however, danger is close by next Wednesday’s when they take on Millonarios, now the team of former Nacional coach Oscar Quintabanni, in Bogotá.

The situation puts the ‘green’ team in a stressful position as it could mean being left out of December’s final, the most important one.

Players like Giovanny Hernandez, Radamel Falcao and Hugo Rodallega feel that, in the South American qualifying round, Colombia should apply the same strategy displayed by Brazil Sunday night, with effective counterattack and a stronger defense in the box.

They know that Chile will have the fans on its side, but Colombian players are also conscious of the fact that there is equal pressure and need for both teams.

Rodallega promised the team will recover after a tough loss to Uruguay, and reinforced the promise with the phrase: “if we don’t win, we still can’t lose, especially when we come from being defeated as the home team in Bogotá”.