Richard Ríos spoke about his dream of being champion with Colombia.
Richard Rios.
Palmeiras midfielder Richard Rios He stated this Monday in Medellín that the Colombian team has to be a “power” in soccer and qualify first in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, in addition to considering that the time will come to win a championship.
“With the national team, for these upcoming qualifying matches, the dream has always been to qualify first because Colombia has to be a power; that is the goal for us,” declared the 24-year-old midfielder at a press conference organized by Nike in Medellín.
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Richard Ríos assures that Colombia will soon lift a title
Ríos, in a moment of balance, recalled that this year the coffee growers “set” the goal of reaching the final of the America’s Cup and be champions, but “unfortunately football is like that” and they had to settle for runners-up in a close final that they lost 1-0 in extra time with Argentina.
“At the moment you don’t understand why you come in second place, but you have to learn to later achieve successto first place,” commented the midfielder. “Those who are now first had to go through this. I am sure that we Colombians will not be the exception and we will become first in a championship, and it will not be in just any championship,” he expressed.
Despite the disappointment of not being able to lift the trophy with the Tricolor, Ríos stated that “this year was one of many personal achievements,” but it was more about learning.
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The Colombian midfielder’s desire in this orbital tournament is “to reach the final and be champions.” Ríos, who in September renewed his contract with Palmeiras until December 31, 2028, He is not thinking now about playing for a Colombian club, something he does not rule out for the future because he continues to visualize dreams and write them down on boards he has at home: “There I put what I want to be, and not only as a footballer, but also as a person.” .
“One day I dreamed of putting on the national team’s shirt, and I put it on. I hope to have it (on) for a long time,” said the midfielder born in the municipality of Vegachí (Antioquia), who He played futsal until he was 18 years old. and who landed in Brazil in 2020 to dedicate himself to eleven football.