What Arturo Reyes said about the alleged 'cajón' to Carlos Queiroz in the Colombia national team

After more than a year, the departure of Carlos Queiroz from the technical direction of the Colombia national team continues to be a cause for public concern. In recent times, several versions have come to light about why the Portuguese coach was removed from office, and one of them corresponds to the fact that the players made him 'the cajón', as is popularly said.

This term is used to imply that the footballers, supposedly, did not want to correspond to the work of the European strategist, seeking that bad results would lead to his dismissal. Arturo Reyes, who was part of Queiroz's coaching staff when he was in charge of the 'Tricolor', spoke on that particular topic.

In dialogue with 'El VBar' of Caracol Radio, the samario coach gave his position: “I don't know if he quit or was kicked out, but I can say that he is a hard worker and that you learn a lot with him [...] I don't think they made him a drawer. In those days, Spain scored six goals against Germany and it was never said that the players made (Joachim) Low 'a' cajon ', he said about it.

On the other hand, Reyes made an analysis of Bolivia, Colombia's rival on Thursday for the 17th date of the qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup: “They play well, usually in the low block, but that doesn't mean they won't go to the attack. They try to elaborate. They were close to qualifying in the Olympic Qualifying. There we are working with young players for the senior team.”

For the former Barranquila Junior coach, the 'Cafetero' team has the necessary tools to hurt 'La Verde' and achieve victory: “I imagine a match in which Colombia scores a goal in five or seven minutes. After that everything opens up. If that doesn't happen, despair comes.”

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Regarding the decision to remove him as coach of the 'Tiburón' team, the samarium asserted that “I will always respect her”, although he said that “I don't know if it was fair or not”. “I think the Junior we had tried to play, although it was hard for us to come out to propose. We couldn't make it to the final because we found a very strong Cali,” he added.

At the end of February, the Portuguese coach broke the silence on why he left the Colombia national team. As commented in a letter released by the Marca Claro newspaper, Álvaro González Alzate, vice president of the Colombian Football Federation (FCF), led the steps to remove him from office:

“My departure from the Colombia or “Cajón” national team was, as is well known, the result of a fine work done by González Alzate himself, he figures with a vast and recognized curriculum that works behind the scenes in Colombian Football, which, taking advantage of the power and votes he manages, exerts pressure, even on his peers, to achieve their personal interests. And it is not surprising, therefore, that this figure does not assume his responsibility, when he was the first person to demand my resignation from Ramón Jesurun (president of the FCF)”.

The match that triggered Queiroz's impeachment was Colombia's 6-1 defeat against Ecuador in Quito. Different versions pointed out that there were clashes that day in the dressing room; however, in the past several players of the 'Tricolor' were in charge of denying it. Even the former Spanish archer, Ricardo López, Queiroz's assistant at that time, spoke about the relationship that was lived within the squad:

“I saw an exceptional atmosphere, really. The players themselves did group therapy. They sat at the table playing games with each other while waiting for the bus. I was perplexed by the good atmosphere there was,” he said in an interview with Noticias RCN.

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