<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- \u201CNo medicine cures what happiness cannot,\u201D wrote Colombia\u2019s most famous son, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and so it proved for his countrymen this Saturday afternoon at a sun-kissed Estadio&amp;nbsp;Mineirao.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Roared on by over 40,000 fanatical fans, Jose Pekerman\u2019s side overcame the loss of injured idol Radamel Falcao Garcia to comfortably beat a stubborn but limited Greece side 3-0. Following Sr. Marquez\u2019s message to the letter, Colombia\u2019s play at times bordered on joyful.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Before the game the Colombian hordes \u2013 there were almost as many yellow shirts on display here as at host nation Brazil\u2019s opening game on Thursday \u2013 were handed something of a surprise when it was announced that coach Jose Pekerman had elected to go for the pace-filled Victor Ibarbo to fill Falcao\u2019s big boots instead of Sevilla\u2019s Carlos Bacca or Porto\u2019s Jackson Martinez.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But in the end it was an inspired choice, as Ibarbo, sometimes cutting in from left midfield, sometimes roving across the line, gave Colombia the energy to keep a hard-working but ponderous Greek side pinned back. The real creative force behind Colombia\u2019s win, however, was exciting young Monaco attacking midfielder James Rodriguez, whose sleight of foot kept Greece off-balance all afternoon.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WATCH: Colombia's awesome team goal celebration&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Waspish, tricky, and, when he plays well, almost impossible to separate from the ball, Rodriguez is the classic diminutive South American No. 10.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CGreece is a defensive team, but we were patient and we were able to find a way through. Once you score, it gets easier, and it helped that our goal came early,\u201D Rodriguez said after picking up man-of-the-match honors.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Inevitably, Rodriguez was involved in Colombia\u2019s opening goal. After Fiorentina\u2019s marauding fullback Juan Cuadrado twisted and turned his way into space on the right and rolled the ball across the penalty area, the youngster\u2019s step over wrong-footed the Greek defenders, allowing fullback Pablo&amp;nbsp;Armero to finish.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After that the first half settled into a pleasing if unthrilling rhythm. Greece held the ball for long periods, but failed to make Colombian goalkeeper Ospina break into much of a sweat, only coming close when right back Vasileios Torosidis headed a free kick past the post and lively midfielder Panagiotis Kone had a rising drive saved just before the break. Ultimately, however, it was a toothless performance from the Greeks.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWe didn\u2019t concentrate well enough,\u201D said coach Fernando Santos. \u201CIn the second half the game become very difficult. We couldn\u2019t get control.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;True enough, as Colombia dominated the second period, grabbing a second goal when Toulouse midfielder Abel Aguilar flicked on a low Rodriguez corner and striker Teofilo Gutierrez finished from close range. Rodriguez himself got on the scoresheet in injury time, carrying the ball forward as the cries of \u201COl\u00E9, ol\u00E9!\u201D rang around the ground and slipping a low shot past goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;All the euphoria will be welcome for Colombia, for this is a team with World Cup scars to heal.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This was Colombia\u2019s first match at World Cup since a group-stage defeat against England in France 16 years ago, which represented the twilight of a golden generation of players such as Carlos Valderrama, Freddy Rincon and Faustino Asprilla.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;At the height of its powers, that Colombia team had destroyed Argentina 5-0 in Buenos Aires in the qualifying stages for the 1994 World Cup, leading none other than Pel\u00E9 to tip the side to go on and win the tournament. Yet as has often been the case, Colombia\u2019s dreams would soon be shattered.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In a horrific reflection of the violence that has troubled the nation\u2019s society for so long, defender Andres Escobar, who scored an own goal in the team\u2019s calamitous defeat to the USA that helped bring about World Cup elimination, was later murdered by a drug trafficker who had bet on Colombia to lift the trophy.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The country has not experienced much World Cup joy since then. But that may change this year.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Group C has been described as this World Cup\u2019s most balanced group, but after this handsome win, Colombia can look forward to its remaining fixtures \u2013 against Ivory Coast in Brasilia and Japan in Cuiaba \u2013 with confidence. Pekerman\u2019s side has surely emerged as the early group favorite.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI\u2019m delighted,\u201D the coach said after the game. \u201CIt\u2019s the first World Cup match we\u2019ve played in a long time, and we were up against a strong team. It\u2019s an important result for us.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Important enough to forget Falcao, who was watching from the stands?\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI\u2019ll repeat what I\u2019ve said before,\u201D Pekerman replied solemnly. \u201CIt\u2019s a shame that Falcao isn\u2019t here. We really miss him.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A few more performances like this, however, and this exciting Colombian team may help their fans forget not just their fallen hero, but also the ghosts of the past.\r\n\r\n&lt;h3&gt;&lt;strong&gt;GALLERY: Scenes from Brazil's World Cup&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/soccer/planet-futbol/2014/06/14/colombia-world-cup-falcao-james-rodriguez-jose-pekerman-greece>