“If you have no faith then you are not Colombian,” says Leonardo.
We are at La Bodeguita, a Latin American enclave in Elephant & Castle shopping centre, where he and 150 or so of his compatriots have come to watch Jose Pekerman’s side in their crucial Copa America game against Peru.
A family restaurant by day, La Bodeguita has a carnival atmosphere whenever Colombia are in action, and when I arrive at 6.15pm, almost a full two hours before kick-off, guests are queuing outside on the walkway that leads down to the tube station.
Colombia’s fate in the competition is hanging by a thread, but they could easily already be out. After losing their opener to Venezuela they stunned World Cup semi-finalists Brazil thanks to Jeison Murillo’s first-half winner in a match overshadowed by sendings-off for Colombia’s Carlos Bacca and Brazil captain Neymar.
But Leonardo tells me the outcome was just rewards after a questionable refereeing display when the two countries met in Belo Horizonte last summer.
“I believe in karma,” he says. “Brazil cheated last time and now we have come back.”
As we wait for the match to start, the chef serves up bandeja paisa, a Colombian speciality of pork belly, chorizo, cornbread, plantain, avocado, rice and beans. I tuck in as a showman of a singer belts out popular Latin American cumbia and the clientele sing along.
Live pre-game music pic.twitter.com/HDxd8gMPiP
— Tom Victor (@tomvictor) June 21, 2015
Andres, the manager of the restaurant, is rushing around welcoming guests with hugs and squeezes of the shoulder. He seems to know most of the 150-strong crowd by name.
The entire place is a sea of yellow, with dozens decked out in Colombia shirts (almost exclusively with the names of Radamel Falcao or James Rodriguez on the back), others with their patriotism displayed in the form of face-paint.
Shortly before kick-off Andres disappears for a few minutes, and when he returns he has replaced his collared shirt with a t-shirt in the yellow, red and blue of the Colombian flag.
He leads chants of ‘Viva Colombia’ before everyone stands for the national anthem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZGBJxSVAZA
They are back on their feet early on as Falcao goes close, but aside from that the first half is a quiet affair. Football-wise, that is – the noise from air-horns is relentless throughout the opening period, producing a proper stadium atmosphere despite the background of buses trundling along the main road.
As the attacking threat lessens, some fans grow restless, though William – a carpenter who moved to England from Colombia three years ago – isn’t too concerned.
“The main thing is that we need to relax, then it will be all good,” he says. You get the sense he has seen enough past failures to know that patience is a virtue.
At half-time, and with the game still goalless, some of the optimism seems to have dimmed. The ear-numbing blasts of the horn become more isolated.
Colombia seem unsure whether to stick or twist, with a draw potentially enough to progress but only if the late kick-off between Brazil and Venezuela produces a winner.
Luis, a Spaniard who lives locally, is confident Los Cafeteros will progress.
He is a Real Madrid fan who has become an honorary Colombia supporter for the summer, but his club loyalties show when he tells me with a smirk that “Colombia will win 1-0, James with the winner”.
It’s more of the same early in the second half, however, with no sign of the elusive goal to keep their fate in their own hands.
Falcao leaves the pitch to a standing ovation in La Bodeguita despite another game without a goal, but replacement Jackson Martinez cannot find a breakthrough.
“We wouldn’t get away with playing like this at a World Cup,” Leonardo says.
“Maybe it will be like Italy this time, though. They can play badly in the group stage and then win.”
After all the pre-match excitement, the game peters out somewhat and despite a couple of late set-pieces it ends goalless. The fans must wait and hope Brazil or Venezuela do them a favour, with Argentina awaiting the group’s third-place finishers.
Victory over Brazil should mean they fear no one, but a quarter-final meeting with Lionel Messi and co still inspires dread.
“I think this is Argentina’s time,” says Luis. “You saw it in the World Cup and you see it now.”
This is Colombia, though, and the fans will always have faith, right until the end.
