Rincon and the golden generation of Colombia
Τhe death of Freddy Eusebio Rincón joins that of other famous members of the best Colombian generation
Τhe death of Freddy Eusebio Rincón, as a result of the injuries from a car accident, shocked the world football community last week, and in particular, that of Colombia. The deceased is the fourth member of the first "golden generation" of Colombian football - who "shone" in the early 1990s on the world's stadiums - who died tragically, thus confirming an informal "curse".
Before the 55-year-old Rincon, the defender, Andres Escobar, in 1994 and the striker, Albeiro Usuriaga, ten years later, were killed "in the cold", while the midfielder, Herman Gaviria, died from a "lightning strike" (!), During duration of training in 2002.
On Saturday, April 16, hundreds of people said goodbye to Rincon, the former Napoli, Real Madrid and Corinthians footballer, who died at the age of 55, after his vehicle and a bus collided in Cali.
This "golden generation" stood out for the first time by qualifying for the 1990 World Cup, the first for the Colombian national team in 28 years. And from the show of strength against Argentina (5-0) in September 1993 in Buenos Aires, it ended in tragedy, with the assassination of Andres Escobar, because he was considered responsible for the exclusion from the continuation of the 1994 World Cup, as he had scored an own goal in fight with the USA.
A few days after his return home, Atletico Nacional's defender, nicknamed "El Caballero", for his flawless handling of the ball, was shot outside a bar in Medellin by the driver of a drug dealer.
According to the rumors of the time, the blockade of Colombia had "hit" financially the high-ranking officials of some cartels, at a time when Medellin was experiencing a wave of violence due to drug trafficking.
Holder in 1989 with Escobar of the Copa Libertadores (s.s. of the South American "equivalent" to the Champions League), with the "colors" of Atletico Nacional, the striker, Albeiro Usuriaga, scored the qualifying goal in his World Cup 1990.
But then his career was full of scandals, such as his exclusion in 1997, after he was found "positive" in cocaine use, while competing in Argentina with Independiente. And in February 2004, the then-37-year-old Ussuriga was shot seven times at a nightclub near his home in Cali.
Local authorities, believing that his death could be linked to information he had about a massacre committed in the area a few days earlier, finally described the case as a "crime of passion".
Finally, the talented Herman Gaviria, who opened the scoring in Colombia's only 1994 World Cup victory over Switzerland (2-0), was one of the few to emerge unscathed from the "American fiasco" at the sporting level.
In October 2002, he died on a pitch, struck by lightning (!), During training with Deportivo Cali, at the age of 32.
It is worth noting, however, that other members of the first "golden generation" of Colombian football had ... a turbulent life. Like the "scorpion bat" goalkeeper Rene Higuita.
Famous for his whimsical character on and off the field, a Colombian goalkeeper was jailed from late 1993 to January 1994 for illegally receiving money as he acted as an intermediary in the release of a kidnapped woman which was eventually released.
Also, Rincon had made a ... passage from prison to Brazil, where he was arrested in 2007 at the request of the Panamanian authorities, who were investigating him for "money laundering" from drugs. A few months later, he was released after being acquitted.
Today, Rincon's teammate in the America de Cali and in the 1994 World Cup, striker Anthony de Avila, has been in Italian prison since late last year, accused of drug trafficking.
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