The semifinals of the Champions League; an atypical tournament, adapted to the situation and with endless surprises. This Tuesday the first match of this phase will be played at 2:00 pm between the silent and combative Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain, the team of millions that has in its ranks Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappé. The commitment will be played at the Estádio Da Luz and will define the first finalist of the prestigious tournament in Europe.
One by one, the Colombian footballers were left out and there are none in this phase. However, a representative of the country is still in the fight for the title and is part of Leipzig, a German team that achieved one of the great feats and eliminated Atlético de Madrid. Mauricio Sánchez Parra, born in Huila, is the Colombian behind this success and is in the technical direction of the semifinalist club, which has Julian Nagelsmann as coach. His main role: aide-de-camp. Sánchez, in an interview with Futbolred, told details of his journey in Germany.
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Tell us about your history at Leipzig …
In 2010-2011 I studied at the University of Leipzig and did my European A license as a soccer coach with the German Federation. I studied the dominant themes of the sport: physical preparation, psychological preparation, tactical preparation, among others. I have been with Leipzig for three seasons and the first eight months I started working with the training of players, that is, with the talent selection of children aged 10-12 for the club.
What is your role in Leipzig?
With coach Ralf Rangnick there were three players who spoke Spanish and German weighed heavily. I was able to get to work with foreign players, not just Latinos. Today, 60% of the squad is made up of foreign players. I take care of that: to do what the coach wants; the analysis with them and transmit it to the footballers. I’m a team assistant.
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What is Leipzig’s idea of the game?
Leipzig is characterized by high pressure and back pressure. This requires young players, but who already have a specific journey or experience. Our payroll is below 24 years and there are only three that pass the figure. The faster the ball is removed, the easier it is to do damage. That is the great objective, that in a very short time and close to the rival goal we have a high pressure to reach the goal.
How to stop the PSG of Neymar and Mbappé?
All season we were preparing. Since Julian arrived, he had a very clear idea of the game, the players accepted and agreed with what the coach wanted. Everything starts from there. We cannot change anything just because we play against PSG. We are going to do the same thing we do, regardless of the team we have in charge. It is no secret to anyone that Neymar and Mbappé are players of the highest level. However, they are also extremely offensive and we cannot forget that in football there is an offensive and a defensive part. When you stop doing defensive tours, they are spaces that are generated and there you have to take advantage of it.
What problems are there in soccer in Colombia?
In the Colombian soccer culture there is still a lot of structure lacking, we are still a long way from being able to compare ourselves with the powers. If we compare the statistics of playing time in German football with Colombian football, it is almost double that there is no game in Colombia. Juan Carlos Osorio is one of the pillars and is a very wise person in football. He was in England, there football has no pause. It makes a big difference that it is not in Colombia. There is incredible talent and that is why the name of the country qualifies worldwide, but Colombian football is still far away and absent. There must be a specific plan from childhood to take the child to be a professional footballer, not only in the first division. Here in Germany, there are four professional divisions… Every Colombian player who takes the step to consolidate in Europe is still very scarce.
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Tell us about James and his time in Germany …
James came to Bayern Munich as a Real Madrid player and that played an important role: the footballer’s experience. He is extremely talented, it cannot be denied, but football today requires running. There is no way not to run even with the quality you have.
What did you think of the Jhon Córdoba season?
Jhon Córdoba is a very professional player, that is why he can play in German soccer because it requires high professionalism. He showed it in the season with Cologne and was among the scorers, fighting hand in hand with greats like Sancho, Lewandowski, Timo Werner… This shows that Colombian talent can play in the Bundesliga.
Miguel Angel Machado
Football net
@miguelmachadom
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