Vargas answers back
Colombia player Fabian Vargas answered back Jorge Luis Pinto's negative
statements about him, when he suggested he made a mistake by calling him up for
the national team.
"I want people in Colombia want all the truth, no matter whether I have to break
some soccer codes I tried to keep them secret, but I see that Mr. Jorge Luis
Pinto was unable to do it despite a 30-year career," Fabian Vargas said through
a statement.
"He (Pinto) broke all the rules when he spoke those words; he wanted to give
excuses and found scapegoats for all the mistakes he made; he was unable to lead
Colombia to the World Cup but I don't want to call into question his knowledge,
willingness, and work," he added.
Jorge Luis Pinto was given the sack after Colombia lost 1-0 to Uruguay and 4-0
to Chile at the South American Qualifiers; after that, he said made a mistake by
calling two players who "were harmful and destructive", and he suggested they
might be Fabian Vargas and Luis Amaranto Perea.
"I always talked to Mr. Jorge Luis Pinto face to face, and I said to him all the
things I had to say without any intention of raising controversy among the
team," Vargas continued; he is one of the regular starters at Boca Juniors (ARG).
Defenders Ivan Ramiro Cordoba (FC Inter, ITA), Mario Alberto Yepes (Chievo
Verona, ITA) withdrew from the national team after last 2007 Copa America due to
arguments with Pinto, while keeper Miguel Calero (Pachuca, MEX) also quitted
soon after the tournament finished.
"I would never quit playing for my country, not in a milloin years, because I've
been an ambassador of my country since I left it; no one loves Colombia, feels
proud of it and suffers for all the things that are going on more than me," the
midfielder remarked.
"So I won't accept any person call into question my commitment, attitude and tie
to my country and the national team," the statement finished.
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