Wilfer José Toro Morales wants to not only refer to Luis Diaz when talking about La Guajira.
This young man from a humble family in Ryohacha dreams of moving forward through sports. However, he has to earn a living, which is why he and his father distribute bottles and bales of water to shops, restaurants and businesses in his municipality.
Before fulfilling home commitments, he trains from 5:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. beach soccer. At first he tried it in soccer, but he didn’t stand out as much as in the sport he’s played on soft sand since 2019, so much so that he’s part of the list of potential candidates for the Colombian national team. This sports discipline played with five players, counting the goalkeeper and unlimited substitutions. It is played over three 12-minute periods. If there is a tie in the organizational game, three minutes are added and there are penalties if the tie continues.
Welfer was born on January 6, 2001 and has Colombian-Venezuelan citizenship.
“He is a player with very good aerobic ability, strong and has a lot of power. Good shot in the sand and he has a good drop because he is young. He still needs more competition, but he has abilities if he develops them, they can take him away,” He told Semana Santiago Alzate, coach of the Colombian national team.
It is precisely Cel Provich Santiago who is leading and progressing with his technical team consisting of Felipe Gutierrez (AT), Carlos Ruiz (PF), Ana Maria Betancourt (Doctor), Camilo Jiménez (Physiotherapist), Andrés Saldariaga (Goalkeeper Coach), Diego Osorio (Psychologist), Paulina Sosa (Dietitian) and Leon Echavarria (Otelero), the supervisors in La Guajira, Barranquilla, Cali or Tolima to look for young players like Welfer Minicycles for the national team in the future and invite 14 athletes to finish in September. The search will continue in Santa Marta, Covinias and Neiva.
In each region, they see an average of 30 players. The idea is that in November the best players for the Beach and Sea Games in their inaugural Santa Marta will be selected and qualify for the World Cup in March 2023 for the first time in history with a venue set.
In beach soccer, Colombia finished fourth in the South American sub-20 in 2017. Third place at the Odesur Games in Rosario, Argentina 2019 and fourth place in the 2021 World Cup qualifiers.
Its main references are Captain Eduardo Lopez, who plays in Portugal, and Juan Osa and Alejandro Quintero in the United States and El Salvador.
Topping the South American ranking are Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia and Argentina. In the struggle for the top five places, Peru and Chile are fighting hard.
Colombia, which did not qualify for the World Cup finals in Qatar, already has a ticket for the women’s soccer tournaments for seniors and under-17 football and has just made a decent appearance in the under-20 team in Costa Rica. Beach soccer wants to settle into the tropical competition with players like Wilfer.
Who is the coach of the Colombian beach soccer team?
Santiago Alzati is a professional sports coach and specialist in sports management. His beach soccer experience began in Antioquia in 2014. Two years later he became a player and coach in Switzerland, where he became a champion. As an athlete, he has competed in tournaments in the United States and Trinidad and Tobago. He managed a second-tier club in Portugal, was an assistant to the Colombian national team, and was in the first stage as a coach in charge until in 2019 he took over the operation.
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