Víctor Hugo Aristizábal was always a striker who knew how to excel in the clubs he passed through and alongside the Colombian National Team, however, there was no doubt that he was a player resisted by a great part of the press and the fans of the time. In the end ‘Aristi’ surpassed the mark of more than 300 goals and the controversy continued.
In his time Maturana lived a controversy that was generated because many asked that different strikers be brought to the ‘Tricolor’. During a recent on ESPN Radio Colombia, Maturana referred to the issue when they inquired about ‘Aristigol’ and Juan Pablo Ángel: “With the love that I have for both … for Victor I almost had myself killed. Before all this, they know all the difficulties they had. I said that Aristizábal was an invitation to play well and if Víctor didn’t score a goal, anyone would.”
Aristizábal scored 15 goals in 66 games for the Colombian National Team between 1993 and 2003. His most memorable honor with “Los Cafeteros” came in 2001 when he led Colombia to their first and only Copa America title in its countries history. Aristizábal was also the tournament’s leading goal scorer with six goals.