James Rodriguez rounded off a convincing 3-0 win for Colombia over Greece as the South Americans made light of the absence of injured striker Radamel Falcao in their opening Group C match at the World Cup on Saturday.
Full-back Pablo Armero had given the Colombians -- appearing at their first finals since 1998 -- the lead in the fifth minute while Teofilo Gutierrez's 13th goal for his country shortly before the hour mark wrapped up the three points.
Rodriguez, nicknamed the 'new kid' as he is seen as the successor to legend Carlos Valderrama, known as 'the kid', rounded off an impressive performance with a sweet left footed shot in time added on.
Armero's goal was the fastest in Colombia's five appearances at a World Cup finals, beating the 19 minutes it took another defender Francisco Zuluaga to score against Uruguay in the 1962 finals in Chile.
Colombia coach Jose Pekerman, who guided his native Argentina to the quarter-finals in 2006, said he was delighted with the performance.
"We were strong going forward, we had a nice style of play and we created several chances," said the 64-year-old.
"The crucial thing was that everyone did the job they were tasked with and that allowed us to play calmly.
"This result is very important for us and sets us up well for the rest of the group stage."
Greece's Portuguese coach Fernando Santos conceded that the Colombians had been worthy winners.
"They caused us a lot of problems from the opening minutes," said the 59-year-old.
"We did get back into the game and the end result was a little bit unfair."
It took Colombia just five minutes to send their fans wild.
With Falcao watching from the stands, great work down the right by Juan Cuadrado outwitted the Greek defence and a step over by Gutierrez saw the ball come to Armero.
The 27-year-old fullback fired in a weak shot which took a deflection off a defender and past 'keeper Orestis Karnezis.
The goal sparked an energetic goalline celebratory dance routine which drew in the players on the bench as well.
Greece, whose leading striker Kostas Mitroglou was left on the bench as he battles for full fitness after suffering a knee injury, had little to offer up front.
However, one bustling run from Celtic's Georgios Samaras set up Panagiotis Kone but he had to stretch for the ball and his effort curled harmlessly wide.
Kone made a far better fist of it right at the end of the first-half as once again Samaras's physical approach unnerved the Colombian defence and laid the ball back to his team-mate.
The 26-year-old fired in a powerful shot towards the top right hand corner but Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina produced a superb two handed diving save to deny him.
If the Greeks needed any encouragement to rescue the situation the fans provided them with it wielding a banner which read 'We won't say Greeks play like heroes, we say heroes play like Greeks'.
However, apart from one vain call for a penalty by Samaras the Greeks were incapable of threatening the Colombian goal and it was the South Americans who deservedly doubled their lead through Gutierrez.
Rodriguez's corner was a poor one but a superb deft flick on by Abel Aguilar came to Gutierrez who tapped home from close range -- his 13th goal in 31 appearances -- and provoked another superb dance celebration routine.
Colombia may have thought they were safe but the Greeks gave them a warning that all was not done as Vasilios Torosidis found the unmarked Theofanis Gekas yards out from the goal, but the 34-year-old's header beat Ospina only to cannon back off the bar.
It was the Colombians who rounded off the scoring as a flowing move ended with Monaco star Rodriguez side-footing the ball past Karnezis although the dance routine failed to materialise this time.
AFP
Sun Jun 15 2014
Colombia shrug off Falcao absence to beat Greece
Bekas CEO 7-Eleven, Hishammudin Hasan dilantik terajui Al-Ikhsan
Al-Ikhsan Sports Sdn Bhd melantik Datuk Hishammudin Hasan sebagai ketua pegawai eksekutif (CEO) baharunya berkuat kuasa 17 April.
'Inflasi diunjur meningkat suku kedua kesan pelarasan cukai perkhidmatan, rasionalisasi subsidi'
Momentum inflasi diunjur meningkat pada suku kedua tahun ini kesan daripada pelarasan cukai perkhidmatan serta rasionalisasi subsidi bahan api.
Kontroversi UM: Sarjana ‘berkualiti rendah’ tak patut dijemput - PM Anwar
Anwar menyindir ahli akademik AS yang terbabit dalam kontroversi pro-Israel sebagai sarjana berkualiti rendah dan tidak mempunyai pencapaian luar biasa atau istimewa.
Agong, Raja Permaisuri zahir ucapan Ulang Tahun Keputeraan kepada Sultan Terengganu
Ucapan itu dizahirkan Seri Paduka Baginda berdua menerusi poster yang dimuat naik di Facebook Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar hari ini.
Ada wajah kita tak mahu berpisah, tapi terpaksa melepaskannya - Datuk Red
Menerusi perkongsian itu, Adnan mengatakan ada perkara yang dia terpaksa reda dan menerima takdir yang sudah tertulis untuknya.
Komen jelik nahas helikopter Lumut, peniaga didenda RM23,000
Seorang peniaga dalam talian didenda RM23,000 di Mahkamah Sesyen di sini, selepas mengaku bersalah atas tuduhan memuat naik komen jelik berhubung nahas helikopter TLDM.
Bursa Malaysia dibuka rendah, jejaki prestasi Wall Street
Pada 9.10 pagi, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) susut 2.29 mata kepada 1,566.96 daripada 1,569.25 ketika ditutup pada Khamis.
AWANI Ringkas: Pesawat ringan mendarat cemas di Subang
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Cambodia Airways mulakan penerbangan terus Phnom Penh-Kuala Lumpur
Syarikat penerbangan Kemboja, Cambodia Airways, secara rasmi memulakan penerbangan terus dari ibu negaranya, Phnom Penh ke KLIA pada Khamis.
Semangat baharu bina ekosistem inovasi lebih dinamik
Perbadanan Pembangunan Teknologi Malaysia, MTDC meneruskan kesinambungan dalam memacu pembangunan teknologi negara, dengan melancarkan Citra MTDC, untuk mewujudkan ekosistem inovasi yang lebih dinamik.
Ribuan warga Colombia bantah reformasi di bawah pimpinan Gustavo Petro
Ribuan penduduk berarak di bandar-bandar besar di Colombia sebagai protes membantah reformasi politik, ekonomi dan sosial yang disokong Presiden Gustavo Petro.
Colombia usir duta Israel
Kementerian Luar Colombia pada Isnin menuntut duta Israel "meminta maaf dan keluar" selepas beliau mengkritik Presiden Gustavo Petro kerana kenyataannya mengenai konflik Israel-Palestin.
Piala Dunia Wanita: Colombia, Perancis ke suku akhir
Colombia menewaskan Jamaica dalam pusingan 16 Piala Dunia wanita untuk mencongak perhitungan suku akhir dengan England sambil Perancis pula menamatkan cabaran Maghribi.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Tiga maut letupan lombong arang batu di Colombia
Insiden berlaku pada awal pagi di lombong arang El Roble dan El Manto 6 di Cucunuba, utara ibu negara Bogota.
Lelaki bakar bekas teman wanita hidup-hidup ditahan
Seorang lelaki yang didakwa membakar bekas teman wanitanya hidup-hidup ditahan di Colombia pada Rabu.
Colombia naikkan tahap amaran kemungkinan letusan gunung berapi Nevado del Ruiz
Letusan gunung berapi itu pernah mencetuskan bencana alam terburuk dalam sejarah negara pada November 1985, menyebabkan lebih 23,000 orang terkorban.
Bertahan dengan sos tomato di lautan, syarikat Heinz mohon bantuan jejaki kelasi ini
Syarikat pemprosesan makanan, Heinz kini dalam proses menjejaki seorang kelasi yang selamat selepas hilang berminggu di laut pada Januari lalu.
Colombia: Hakim guna AI ChatGPT untuk buat keputusan
Padilla berkata penggunaan alat itu tidak bercanggah dengan undang-undang Colombia dan membantu menjimatkan masa hakim.
Penyerang Colombia berusia 34 tahun, taruhan terbaharu Selangor FC
Selangor FC hari ini mengumumkan penyerang dari Colombia, Ayron Del Valle menjadi pemain import ketiga skuad Gergasi Merah untuk menghadapi saingan Liga Malaysia (Liga-M) 2023.