By Nick Mulvenney
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Colombia’s dramatic 2-1 victory over twice world champions Germany in Sydney was one of the great Women’s World Cup upsets but the South American nation also set new standards for fans at the global showpiece on Sunday.
The most recent census showed there are only about 38,000 Colombian-born people living in Australia and it felt like every single one of them was in the Sydney Football Stadium for the match.
Nearly all sporting the canary yellow shirt of the national team, the Colombians started gathering outside the neighbouring cricket ground hours before the game started, blowing horns, banging drums and waving the country’s tricolour flag.
A passionate rendering of the Colombian national anthem set the tone for the evening with the almost constant cheers, chants and whistles reaching a crescendo when Manuela Vanegas headed home the stoppage time winner.
“It’s very emotional to have Colombia here in Sydney, the other side of the world,” Colombia fan Sol Molinares told Reuters.
“It was incredible. The girls played super well. This is my Colombia. This is my Colombia. I am happy, and let’s see what comes now. I think that we’ll win the World Cup. I am sure. We are playing super well.”
Colombia assistant coach Angelo Marsiglia, fresh from the frenzied post-match celebrations, said it felt like a home game.
“We could feel the backing of our fans at all times,” he said.
Germany coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said the febrile atmosphere must have had an impact on her team, who are ranked second in the world to Colombia’s 27th.
“You’re not untouched if the fans are so passionate, if they’re so loud,” she told reporters.
“We tried to deal with it of course, and some might be better at handling it than others, but I’m sure it wasn’t the decisive factor in why we didn’t win this match.
“It was a great atmosphere. I don’t know where all the Colombian fans came from. They were really a great crowd, my compliments. It wasn’t easy.”
Colombia play Morocco in their last match of the group stage on Thursday in Perth, where anything better than a loss by eight goals will see them progress to the knockout round.
(Additional reporting by Bart Biesemans and Stefan Haskins, Editing by Robert Birsel)
