In the latest of his series of guest articles for Impetus during the World Cup, freelance journalist David Astill looks at the influence that Ana María Guzmán had on the South American nation’s superb tournament (15/8/23).
Above: Young Colombian star Ana María Guzmán. Photo: SuperSport.
Their time at the World Cup might now be over, but there is little doubt that Colombia have left their mark on the tournament, both on and off the pitch, by putting on some outstanding displays and participating in many memorable moments on the field and bringing energy, colour, and passion to the stadiums and cities off it.
In many ways, it has been a tournament of transformation for the Colombian team, as not many would have been well-known before travelling to Australia, and yet they will return home as household names and with pride in what they have achieved.
One of the players who has especially caught the eye, despite the briefness of her time on the field, is defender Ana María Guzmán. She had yet to make her senior debut before the tournament had got underway, and yet her performances showed that she is on track for a long and successful career in the game.
Background
It has been a meteoric rise for the 18-year-old Deportivo Pereira player, and yet, to those that have known her, it is nothing short of what they always knew that she was capable of.
From a very young age, she showed immense promise and was constantly given chances to build her game, with time spent at Club Sueños Dorados de Mistrató (based in her hometown of Mistrato, around 400km west of the capital city of Bogota) and Club Atlético Dosquebradas, whom she joined at the age of 11, providing her with solid opportunities to hone her craft.
At every stage of her development, it was clear that Guzmán had talent and would be a star of the future, and each person who came across her did what they could to shape her into the player that she is today.
In 2022, she made her first senior career move when she joined Pereira in the Colombian women’s top flight, the Liga Femenina, helping them to a sixth-place finish that year before they improved on that in 2023 when they ended the campaign as the fourth-best team.
Her strong performances quickly attracted the attention of those involved in the international game, with her being called up to represent Colombia at the 2022 Bolivarian Games (a multi-sport tournament contested by Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela), helping them to their fourth consecutive gold medal and on home soil.
She was also included in the U17 squad for their own World Cup later that year, held in India, and played alongside fellow stars of the game like Linda Caicedo and Gabriela Rodríguez. She quickly became an integral part of the side that reached the final of the tournament, and, even though she contributed the own goal that ultimately handed Spain the title, there was little doubt that she emerged having gained valuable experience on the international stage and had really made a name for herself as one to watch in the future.
The 2023 World Cup
Given all of this, it was of no surprise to anyone who had been a part of her development that she was included in the senior setup at such a young age, with her being first called up in 2021. However, she had to wait for her first cap until the World Cup, when she started in the Round of 16 against Jamaica, replacing the suspended left-back Manuela Vanegas, with head coach Nelson Abadía not wanting to rush her and instead showing patience until he felt that she was ready to play for her country’s senior team.
It was a decision that ultimately paid off, with Guzmán looking very much at home on the pitch and demonstrating composure with the ball and a strong spatial awareness of where her teammates were, and her speed meant that she was constantly seen in advanced areas as well as dropping back to engage in 1-v-1 duels and be the archetypal Colombian defender that fans have come to know over the last month.
She was undoubtedly one of the reasons that Jamaica were unable to break the South Americans down in that game, and the fact that she set up Catalina Usme’s winning goal with a well-taken cross meant that she stayed in Abadía’s mind and was once again the player he turned to when right-back Carolina Arias suffered an early injury during the quarter-final with England.
Once again, she showed a calmness in possession that helped Colombia to give the European champions plenty of scares, and it was clear that she had a good tactical understanding and was very mature in her performance for someone who is still at the very start of their professional career.
Looking to the future
Even with her having made a limited number of appearances for the senior squad, Guzmán has already attracted a strong following and there are a number of clubs at home and abroad who are reportedly interested in acquiring the versatile full-back’s services.
One of them is América de Cali, who are regularly ranked among the best clubs in the country, whilst another is Atlético Nacional, who ended the 2023 campaign one place above Pereira in third and who will be looking to build as they try to close the gap even more to the top two of América and Santa Fe (who ended up as 2023 champions).
There has also been reported monitoring of her progress from Liga F in Spain, although no specific clubs have yet been named as having solid interest, and yet the fact that she is being touted with a move to one of the leading divisions in the women’s game indicates just how highly rated she is.
It also shows how much the Colombian women’s game is growing, with Linda Caicedo’s move to Real Madrid in January proving to many that the Liga Femenina is a league filled with jewels if clubs know where to look for them. There have already been plenty of players who have moved to big teams around the world to further their careers, and it surely won’t be too long before Guzmán earns her big break too.
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