Word: colombia
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Fevers are building, temperatures rising. Last week, before 93,194 fans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the unsung U.S. soccer team defeated mighty but flighty Colombia, 2-1. It was the Americans' first Cup victory since 1950, when a lineup of inspired nobodies stunned the powerhouse English squad, 1-0, in one of the sport's most notorious upsets. The victory over Colombia (following a tense tie with Switzerland) nearly ensures that the U.S. will advance to the second of five rounds in the 24-team bash. It also drew praise for the upstart Yanks from a skeptical...
...Against Colombia, the U.S. team realized its own fantasy through luck and pluck. For starters, it was playing a stricken team: Colombia, some of whose local teams have been sponsored by drug lords. Just before the game, defensive back Jaime Gabriel Gomez was removed from the lineup because his family in Medellin had been threatened with death if he played. After the defeat, coach Francisco Maturano said, "The team played bad on purpose. I don't know...
...something. We'd win the ball, exploit the space and go out with fast forwards. It's like a fast break in basketball." Ernie Stewart's goal, which put the U.S. up 2-0, was the climax of fleet choreography involving seven intricate passes. Faced with this brisk juggernaut, Colombia turned dyspeptic, seemingly resigned to being humiliated by the U.S. "They deserved the win," wrote a Bogota daily, "as much as we deserved the loss...
...done well so far. Now it must prove it can play with the big boys: Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Italy. But getting even halfway to the final would be further than anyone but these Cinderella soccer kids expected. Today, Colombia. Tomorrow ... the World...
...conversation, recorded sometime during the run-up to last week's presidential election in Colombia, moves on to a casual discussion of providing candidate Ernesto Samper Pizano with 3 billion pesos, or $3.7 million, in campaign funds. "We've already talked to Medina," Rodriguez says, apparently referring to Samper's campaign manager, Santiago Medina. "We'll send around some money on Wednesday, and then the rest about Monday of next week...