Football Tragedies – the death of Andres Escobar
Colombian football experienced a dramatic rise in the early 90s. The main forces behind this revolution were the drug lords, who were injecting money in to the game. With the help of better training facilities and increased standard of its domestic league, Colombia became a formidable force and one of the toughest sides in international football. They qualified directly for the 1994 World Cup after beating Argentina 5-0, in Buenos Aires. The nation had high expectations from its national side, which was declared by Pele, as his favorites for the tournament. The team also included the 1993 South American player of the year, Carlos Valderrama but unfortunately this talented side was influenced by gamblers and drug cartels.
Their goal-keeper Rene Higuita ,who made the famous scorpion ‘kick save’, was imprisoned just before the World Cup for meeting Colombia’s most wanted criminal, Pablo Escobar. Their national team coach received death threats prior to Colombia’s first match of the World Cup. All the chaos off the field had a very negative impact on the squad and they clearly looked unfocused on the field as they were unexpectedly beaten by Romania, 3-1.
Their next match against USA was a crucial one, as they needed a result to give themselves a solid chance to progress into the next round. This match featured an incident which can never be forgotten. The Colombian national team was led by Andres Escobar who used to play in defense. He was a very highly rated defender and was destined to join AC Milan after the World Cup, as a replacement for the retiring Milan legend, Franco Baresi. Andres and his teammates were under immense pressure before this match, as they had been receiving threats from gamblers, who had put their money on the team. They started the match nervously and were looking a shadow of the side, which had been playing wonderful football, prior to the tournament. In the 35th minute, USA came forward from the left wing and the ball was deflected into the goal by Andres Escobar, who was stretching to prevent the cross from reaching the striker. The Colombians were stunned and they couldn’t recover as USA went on to win, 2-1.They failed to qualify for the next round despite beating Switzerland in the final match and had to face a severe backlash, back home.
The main blame was put on, Andres Escobar, for scoring that own goal. The entire team was given security guards, as their lives were under threat but Andres was tired of hiding and wanted to face his people. On 2nd July 1994, he went out to a night club with his friends. At approximately three a.m. in the morning, he was confronted by some guys who began arguing with him. They took out their guns and shot Andres six times. Andres was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. It is widely believed that the drug lords, who had lost their gambling money, were behind his murder. The news came as a shock to the whole nation, which mourned the death of one of its greatest ever footballers. The man who was known by the nickname, “the gentleman of football”, is still remembered by his fans and is held in high regard. His hometown, Medellin, unveiled a statue in honor of his memory back in 2002.It was one of the most tragic incidents in the history of football. The Colombian national team fell apart after this incident, as most of the players decided to retire because playing for the national side wasn’t worth the risk, which came along with it.
Tags: