In a recent interview, the president of National AthleticMauricio Navarro, had a hard encounter with the former soccer player Oscar Cordobawho criticized him for keeping Pedro Sarmiento in the interim and not deciding to ratify him, or to look for a technician who is in charge of preparing the payroll thinking regarding the challenge that will be next year’s Copa Libertadores.
Navarro, who was presented at the end of August to replace Emilio Gutiérrez, mentioned that Nacional has no desire to find a coach to take ownership following the departure of Hernán Darío ‘Arriero’ Herrera. “We don’t have to run so much,” he mentioned following referring to the fact that the team in the hands of Sarmiento and Carlos ‘Piscis’ Restrepo is “apparently getting good results from the start.”
His comments have echoed and, in addition to causing annoyance in the fans, provoked reactions such as that of Carlos Valdés, former defender of the Colombian National Team, who mercilessly targeted him, assuring that he suffers from “football ignorance”. The former player who played with Colombian clubs such as América and Santa Fe, is a panelist on ESPN Fútbol Show. There he spoke without ‘hair on the tongue’.
“They asked me which coach would be good for Nacional and what Pedro (Sarmiento) is doing is very good. He is a coach who, within his knowledge, has adjusted some pieces that are working for him today,” Valdés said regarding the current affairs of Atlético Nacional and the possibility that Sarmiento continue as a proprietary technician.
After the comment regarding the coach, Carlos Valdés threw the hard dart at the president of Nacional. “I did not want to miss the moment to talk regarding Mauricio (Navarro) and the statements of this director, and I do not know him, I may sound disrespectful, but it is part of the football ignorance in our country. There are many like him”.
The former soccer player recalled that Nacional is the only Colombian team that has won two Libertadores Cups and that is why he put the magnifying glass on it. “I speak of ignorance because until we understand that having good players and that having talent is not enough, we are not going to win much as a country,” he added.
Finally, Valdés pointed to Mauricio Navarro for not making a decision when thinking regarding the good of the club before. “How are you going to have a coach who doesn’t know if he’s leaving him or not, having a challenge like the Copa Libertadores next year, and expecting another coach to arrive in two or three months, and forcing him to win.”
