BELO HORIZONTE // Star striker Radamel Falcao may be missing the World Cup because of injury, but he will still be in the city today to cheer on his Colombian teammates against Greece, coach Jose Pekerman said yesterday.
Monaco forward Falcao and veteran former captain Luis Perea, who is also injured, will both watch the side's opening Group C match.
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"This is a real group, it's a family. Tomorrow [Saturday] you will see that Falcao and Perea will be there with the team when they could be on holidays," the Argentine coach said. "It's always been a very united group, a family, and we deal with problems like a family. We're not talking about injuries any more, we're talking about players.
"I really believe in this team, and from here on in we're working on every situation we could come across on the pitch."
Falcao tore his cruciate knee ligament in January in a French Cup match and has not been able to play since.
Looking forward to the game at the Mineirao stadium, Pekerman said he was expecting a tough challenge from Portuguese coach Fernando Santos's Greece, even if the style they play is not generally to the taste of South American audiences.
"They're a very competitive team who are aggressive and know very well how to play to their strengths," Pekerman said.
"On top of that they have a coach who is consolidating them in this final stage, improving them with new things while maintaining their identity.
"There's no doubt we're going to come up against a tough rival. Traditionally this is the toughest type of rival for Colombia.
"They're very solid teams with a lot of determination and strong mentality.
"They're not afraid of being reproached for their style, they accept it.
"In South America we think there is only one way to watch football, aesthetically, the most beautiful, but the most beautiful has to be joined to other strengths to be able to compete."
Even so, Pekerman is not about to compromise when it comes to Colombia's style.
"We will maintain our style, our idiosyncrasy, keeping the same idea," he said.
"The idea in Colombia is always to try to have more possession than the other team, to be effective without losing our defensive shape.
"That's what's brought us results, the statistics don't lie. We know how to score lots of goals without conceding many."
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Injured Radamel Falcao will be at stadium to support ‘family’
Monaco forward Falcao and veteran former captain Luis Perea, who is also injured, will both watch the side’s opening Group C match against Greece.
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