Letter: The boys from Bogota

IN YOUR otherwise very enlightening analysis of the World Cup teams (World Cup supplement, 12 June), the Colombian team is described as 'at times (looking) like a gang of pickpockets moving through a fairground when they move forward in closely linked numbers'.

This is both a gratuitous and tasteless metaphor, and quite out of line with the standards of a high quality newspaper. It suggests a preconceived - and completely erroneous - idea about the hard-working, highly professional members of an oustanding team.

Julio D Davila

University College London

London WC1