Soccer-Colombia team for Copa America

SANTIAGO, June 6 (Reuters) - Profile on the Colombia team for the Copa America: Previous appearances: 19 (first in 1947) Best performance: Winners: 2001 Drawn in Group B with Brazil, Peru and Venezuela - - - Coach: Jose Pekerman Pekerman made his name as a developer of talent when he won three successive world under-20 championships in charge of his native Argentina. He was promoted to coach of the senior side after Marcelo Bielsa quit in 2004 and led them to the quarter-finals at the 2006 World Cup. A former midfielder whose career was cut short by injury, he worked as a taxi driver before getting his chance as youth coach at Buenos Aires club Chacarita Juniors. He followed that up with unremarkable stints at Mexican clubs Toluca and UANL and had been out of the game for three years before Colombia came calling in 2012. Taking over with the team in a difficult situation in the qualifying competition, he led them to the World Cup quarter-finals, their best-ever performance in the tournament. - - - Key player: James Rodriguez A gifted attacking midfielder with a magical left foot, Rodriguez was the inspiration behind Colombia's run to the last eight at the World Cup in Brazil last year. He finished as the tournament top scorer after notching six goals in five matches, including a spectacular effort against Uruguay which was voted as FIFA's best goal of the year. Many felt that he, and not Lionel Messi, should have been given the Player of the Tournament award and it was on the back of those performances that Real Madrid signed him from Monaco. He helped Banfield win their first Argentine league title as a teenager in 2009 and then moved to Porto where his potential became obvious. - - - FIFA world ranking May 2015: 4 Squad: Goalkeepers: David Ospina (Arsenal), Camilo Vargas (Atletico Nacional), Cristian Bonilla (La Equidad) Defenders: Camilo Zuniga (Napoli), Santiago Arias (PSV Eindhoven), Carlos Valdes (Nacional de Montevideo), Cristian Zapata (AC Milan), Jeison Murillo (Granada), Pablo Armero (Flamengo), Pedro Franco (Besiktas), Darwin Andrade (Standard Liege) Midfielders: Alexander Mejia (Monterrey), Carlos Sanchez (Aston Villa), Edwin Cardona (Monterrey), Edwin Valencia (Santos), James Rodriguez (Real Madrid), Juan Guillermo Cuadrado (Chelsea), Victor Ibarbo (AS Roma) Forwards: Radamel Falcao (Manchester United), Carlos Bacca (Sevilla), Jackson Martinez (Porto), Teofilo Gutierrez (River Plate), Luis Fernando Muriel (Sampdoria) (Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Ken Ferris)