The Raw Chaos of Colombian Football: My Experience of Atlético Nacional de Medellín

Welcome back to the series "Away Days" where our writers share their experiences of attending football matches not just in England, but also around the world. I'm going to share my experience of attending an Atlético Nacional game in Medellín, Colombia, highlighting the raw chaos of Colombian football and the magnetism it holds.

Hang on! We Need Some Context First!

Apologies, I'm getting ahead of myself. During the summer following graduation from the University of Leeds I decided to go travelling. One of the trips I embarked on was a month backpacking around Colombia with my younger brother, Will, in August-September 2023. We both have a passion for Latin culture and speak Spanish which certainly helps when in Colombia! We were drawn to Colombia by intrigue but also due to the incredible personality of Bea, our Colombian Spanish-speaking assistant during Sixth Form. When we told her we were heading off to Colombia, she was thrilled that we were going to be able to experience the joys of her homeland.

During an unforgettable month we visited nearly every corner of Colombia (Cali we will be back for you one day!) and met some amazing people who we are still close friends with. Highlights included: hiking and getting lost in the coffee region of Salento, partying hard in Cartagena, staying the night on the beach under the stars in Tayrona national park and, our favourite place, Medellín.

Medellín was both our favourite place during the trip. La gente paisa (people from Medellín) are incredibly friendly and welcoming; the same applies for all Colombians. The stereotype that Colombia is simply a drug nation and dangerous needs to be altered. Every day you can see the active effort Colombians make to ensure tourists feel safe and looked after in their country. If you can, go and visit Colombia!

Understanding the Dynamics of Colombian Football

We attended a Clausura league game between Atlético Nacional and Deportivo Pasto on the 25th August. For those who aren't familiar with Colombian football, each calendar year there is 2 league championships. The Apertura (opening) is the first semester of the football calendar and then the Clausura (closing) is the second semester. Therefore, in Colombian domestic football, there are 2 champions crowned each year, one from the Apertura and one from the Clausura.

Prior to the match, we went for some drinks by the stadium, with Nacional fans out in full force before kick-off. The atmosphere was buzzing as anticipation of the match built. But, we noticed, where are the away fans? Yes, it was a Thursday evening match, but in England dedicated fans make outrageous trips to see and support their team. Our tour guides, Jairo and Mike, explained that often away fans don't attend Nacional games out of fear of the Ultras. According to them, the Ultras are super passionate and, if they see an away fan wearing the opposing shirt, it is quite common that they attack those fans with knives! Fortunately, we were proud to be wearing the green and white of Nacional, so nothing bad would happen to us!

The Electrifying Speed of Colombian Football

Colombian football, and Latin American football in general, cannot be compared with modern European style of football. Firstly, there are not the same resources like Europe has to bring through visually perfect players like those of Barcelona or Manchester City's academies. Colombian footballers grew up playing football in the barrios (neighbourhoods), providing them with a technical rawness that gives the Colombian game a very authentic touch. Historically, the very best players stemmed from adversity (Maradona, Eusebio and Pelé to name a few), a component which is fading from the European game. Yet, a vital factor that represents the Latin and African profiles of players is that they are technically astute and physically tough and enduring. This is why so many international domestic clubs are turning their scouts to Africa and Latin America as here there is an unreal amount of untapped potential, particularly as the wider game becomes more focused on the physical aspect of players.

The first thing I noticed about Colombian football was the insane velocity the game is played at. Domestic players have huge engines on them, allowing them to run for hours on end without tiring. Pressing is a common theme, even Deportivo Pasto, who finished the season in 12th compared to Nacional's 5th, did not hesitate to press despite being underdogs. The full 90 minutes is played at a riveting pace, keeping the spectator extremely engaged.

Just to highlight the basketball-styled nature of Colombian domestic football, I'll draw your attention to statistics from this game. Between the two teams, there were a mountain of shots - 40 to be exact - demonstrating the attitude of having a pop on goal from anywhere. Also, 25 fouls showed the drive to win the ball back from the opponents via intense pressing, which led to 5 yellow cards in the game. I think these statistics capture the raw chaos of the Colombian game perfectly.

In the opposing end of the Atanasio Girardot Stadium, the Ultras were in full voice. Genuinely, during the match, I don't think they sat down or stopped chanting! If I was to go again, I'd definitely want to experience the atmosphere from the Ultras end. Their support definitely helped as Nacional cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win with goals from Oscar Perea and frontman Eric Ramírez who dinked the ball over the keeper expertly (check out the goals via the link below on YouTube).

Following the game, we had some celebration drinks, which was on me. Will and I have a tradition of putting £5/£10 on a player to score in the match at any game we go to in person. Will unfortunately chose the wrong winger as Perea scored instead of Will's chosen Palacios. However, I chose Ramírez to grab a goal which returned £35. Now, for 8 friends you probably think that £35 barely covers a round of beer. For context, 1 beer in Colombia is around £1 (approximately 5000 COP) so my winnings served us nicely!

Buenas vibras en Medellín y Colombia

My first introduction to Colombian domestic football was certainly a memorable one. It was an ideal metaphor for the global perception of so-called "less developed countries" as a whole: never rule out seeing or doing something due to negative press or an appearance of lesser quality, you need to experience it yourself to make your own judgement. I'd heard so much of Colombia's dark history but nothing of its positive efforts to transition from a damaging stereotype to an image of sincere warmth and kindness. If you have the chance, Colombia, and it's football, is well worth a visit. Until now, it has been the best country I've visited in my life. ¡Qué chimba Colombia! (How marvellous Colombia!)