ROAD TO LONDON 2012: Women’s Olympic Football Tournament's medal fires Colombian dream; Brazil's Marta: I’m dreaming of Olympic gold

April 2012

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Women’s football in Colombia is currently enjoying the finest period of its relatively short history, with the past five years witnessing Las Cafeteras breaking their FIFA competition duck to become regulars on the global scene. They have firmly established themselves as a force in South America, though regional superpowers Brazil do still lead the way, and Colombia’s next major challenge is to compete at their first ever Women’s Olympic Football Tournament, held in London from 25 July to 9 August this year.
“Taking part in the Olympic Tournament for the first time brings with it an enormous amount of responsibility for those of us on the coaching staff, as well as for the players and the management,” Colombia boss Ricardo Rozo told.
“We’re doing everything in our power to prepare well enough to send out a side that does us justice. We’re still not feeling the nerves that come before such an important tournament, instead we’re simply focusing on being able to compete on equal footing.”

At the very least, we want to make it through to the knockout stages. That’d be very good for us. 

Ricardo Rozo, coach of Colombia's women's national team

Though Colombia’s debut at a FIFA women’s showpiece came back in 2008, with his predecessor Pedro Rodriguez taking charge of Las Cafeteras at that year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, Rozo has had a highly positive impact since his appointment in 2010. “It’s true that, since we came in, we’ve finished fourth at a U-20 World Cup, appeared at a senior World Cup and have just qualified for the next U-17 World Cup,” said the 50-year-old strategist.
“But it’s all part of a process that started years ago with that team that was crowned South American champions [in 2008]. It’s a positive thing to be going to the Olympics, because it gives more continuity to our project.”
Competition for placesAs he continues to prepare his side for their London 2012 adventure, said desire for continuity is also set to be reflected in Rozo’s squad selection. “The core of the squad will be pretty similar to the one that went to the senior World Cup last year, although you have to bear in mind we can only take 18 players instead of 21. I reckon there’ll be three or four changes, but no more than that.”
Intriguingly, Rozo has not been able to work with his charges since late October 2011, when he guided Colombia to fourth spot at the Panamerican Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. “The idea was to give the girls the time and space they needed to continue their development with their clubs, which are involved in domestic action, or at their universities – given we’ve got players studying and playing in the United States. They’ll all start arriving in the first week of May and we’ll start our training camp after that. Our planning’s all in place, we’re just missing the players!”
In the respected coach’s view, one of the key elements of this pre-tournament planning and preparatory period will involve friendly action against top teams from outside South America. “There’s only one really strong team here, which is Brazil, which is why it’ll be important to test ourselves against opponents from North America, such as USA or Canada, and Europe,” explained Rozo.
“Both those regions have very physical players, who play in very strong leagues. That’s why we’ve been trying to organise international friendlies that’ll help us hit form in time for the competition.”
Staying focusedAnother crucial aspect of readying his players for the rigours of an elite tournament will be their level of mental preparation, with distractions aplenty sure to arise once the squad touches down on British soil. “That’s only natural as it’s going to be an incredible experience for the players, who’ll be rubbing shoulders with athletes from across the world,” said Rozo.
“They just have to understand that they need to stay focused and concentrate on what we’re there to do, because they’re representing their country,” he continued. “Our experiences at the Panamerican Games will help, although of course this is going to have a whole extra dimension. We’ll work hard to make sure nothing affects the group bond and dynamic.”
Not the kind of coach to leave anything to chance, Bogota-born Rozo has already set his side’s objectives for the Olympic showpiece. “We’re aiming for a medal, but we still don’t know what the competition has in store for us, since we don’t even know who’s in our group yet. At the very least, we want to make it through to the knockout stages. That’d be very good for us.
“Everything we’ve achieved up to now has come about because we’ve dreamed of doing it,” continued Rozo, as the conversation drew to a close. “We know we’ve not gone to any competition to make up the numbers and we won’t be making an exception this time. Winning a medal would be another important landmark for women’s football in Colombia. Besides, there’s no law against dreaming yet, is there?”

Marta: I’m dreaming of Olympic gold

2012

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Brazil forward Marta is without question one of the biggest names in the women’s game today. With her beloved Seleção, she earned a runners-up medal at the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in 2007 and has been voted FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year no fewer than five times. Such is the regard in which she is held in her homeland that the Brazilian magazine Epoca named her as one of the country’s most influential personalities in 2009.
After a bittersweet 2011, the 25-year-old is now focusing on her overriding objective for the coming year: the Women's Olympic Football Tournament London 2012, a competition she has won silver at in the two previous editions. With that elusive gold foremost in her mind and a customary smile on her lips, Marta made time recently for an exclusive interview with FIFA.com.
FIFA.com: Marta, on balance, how was 2011 for you in footballing terms?
Marta: It was quite positive, especially from an individual standpoint, although in terms of the national team, we obviously came up short of our main objective, which was to win the Women’s World Cup in Germany. That said, I believe we learned some important lessons at that championship. So yes, the year could have been better, but you can’t get always get what you want, and we just have to keep on working.
What do think prevented Brazil from going further at Germany 2011?We started well enough by topping our group and the team looked pretty strong. Then unfortunately we lost our quarter-final to USA, a team we’ve had a keen rivalry with for some years now. Our games are usually very hard-fought and decided by some small detail, and that’s what happened again in Germany. We switched off for half a minute at the very end of extra time, allowing them to equalise, and then we lost on penalties. It was a disappointment as I think we had enough quality and a good enough game to reach the final.

I already have two silver medals, so now is the time to make amends for those lost finals.

Marta on her quest to win a gold medal at the London Olympics

Do you feel Lady Luck turned her back on Brazil?I believe you do need an element of good fortune in every sense, but you also need to be prepared. When two teams of a high calibre face off, there is always a lot of tension, so small details tend to decide the outcome. That’s the main lesson we learned.
Next on the horizon for Brazil is the Women's Olympic Football Tournament. How are you looking forward to that?[Winning the Olympics] has been a dream of mine for a long time. I already have two silver medals, so now is the time to make amends for those lost finals, and that will require hard work and dedication. If we can make it to the final, then hopefully we’ll have learned from our past mistakes and avoid a repeat of what happened in the two previous editions.
You also have Jorge Barcellos back in charge of the team this year, a coach under whom the team did very well before.Jorge was with us in 2007 and 2008, and we’re familiar and comfortable with the way he works. He gives you opportunities to express opinions and takes them into account, and we feel at ease with him. I think that’s going to help the squad because the foundations are already there. Furthermore, I like his plans, as they include a lot of training camps, which will be key to getting the best possible performances from us at the tournament.
Looking back over your career to date, what would you say is your fondest memory?The final of the 2007 Pan American Games at the Maracana, because of the atmosphere, the manner in which the home fans enjoyed it and the significance of the triumph. From that moment on we became stronger and began to really believe in ourselves. It was thanks to this that we reached the World Cup Final in 2007.
Brazilian supporters can be as demanding as they are passionate. Do you feel there’s more pressure on the women’s team these days?Yes. With the exception of what happened at the 2011 World Cup, people have got used to seeing us make almost every final in recent years. Obviously that leads to raised expectations. Moreover, a few years ago women’s football was still not widely accepted, in part because people didn’t really know us. Today that has changed a lot. People follow our results and know all the players, and as a consequence demand more of us.
Though just shy of your 26th birthday, you’re already one of most experienced players in the team. Has your role changed as a result?
My role is the same as that of the other player’s. While I’ve been with the team a long time now, I’m not as experienced as, say, Formiga, who is one of the players whose example I try to follow. That said, I try to chat with the younger girls to fire them up and take some of the pressure off them. I’ll also discuss past performances with them, identifying things we were lacking or things we need to do in the future.
Lastly, what does the future hold for you at club level?  I’m still not sure. I’ve had offers from Sweden and Russia, but I’ll take my time to weigh up the options before deciding what suits me best.