Yesterday after the Colombia 3-0 win over El Salvador, Colombian head coach Jose Pekerman talked about the new section that his team is starting to compose on the field. Arriving at the quarter finals at the World Cup in Brazil this past summer will be a hard story to take after.

Heading to the match, movement smacked to a stop on the New Jersey Turnpike well before passageway 15 W, then slithered through Harrison, a string of tail lights leading to the long metal twist of the coliseum. In the parking garages were wreaths of smoke as the scent of simmering meat filled the air. Impromptu merchants sold shirts and snacks to the sellout swarm that pressed the parking areas as fans wrapped in banners gradually went to the entryways. Nobody appeared to be in any hustle to get inside. What was stunning was the measure of clamor made by the slight number of fans who were inside when the teams took to the pitch for their warm-ups. As the swarm rose for the playing of the United States national song of praise, Landon Donovan was being substituted off a couple of hours away in East Hartford, Connecticut. It was an unplanned yet fitting happenstance.

Three nil. It is a misleading final score in a game that was in no way, shape or form uneven. El Salvador met Colombian head on in the first half of the match and had them on their heels at the times when playing a technical game that made Colombian’s jewel formation resemble an inadequately set stone in the metal ring of the stadium.

El Salvador appears to experience the ill effects of a personality emergency. In the wake of viewing them play here a year ago against Trinidad-Tobago in a match that was exceptionally physical and with a gather that was overwhelmingly in their help, it was a much diverse feel the previous evening. First of all the swarm was generally supporters of the Colombia side, including performer John Leguizamo, who postured for pictures with fans. Also at the match end, he was holding a World Cup ball and a sharpie sitting tight for the team to passageway the locker room. Second was the level of play that El Salvador brought to the field, play that was clean to the point that it was truly the main issue of chief Albert Roca’s post game meeting.

Colombia had a much stronger second half. Leading by 1-0 at the end of the first 45 minutes on a goal from Falcao, a goal that Jose Pekerman said was to a great degree critical as far as winning the match as well as of re-making the player on the national side, Colombia scored two brisk goals to put the game out of range of the El Salvador side.

Some place around the 75th minute the fans, knowing the triumph was theirs, begun a wave that roared around the stadium once, on the other hand and a third time, their consideration turned more to themselves as opposed to the game on the pitch, praising the way that they were there.

As moderate as the coliseum had been to fill, nobody was in a hustle to take off. Well past a hour after the game had finished, fans still filled the parking garages kicking soccer balls, cooking on barbecues that had scarcely had an opportunity to cool from their pregame use, praising their team, commending the game, commending soccer. Simply celebrating.