Colombia remembers slain star
[caption id="attachment_39214" align="alignright" width="405"] LIFE CUT SHORT: Colombia's Andres Escobar and Germany's Rudi Voeller during their World Cup match on June 19 1990 in Milan, Ital.y Picture: GETTY IMAGES[/caption]
IF Colombia had reached the World Cup quarterfinals 20 years ago the country might not have been dragged through its international shaming for the killing of World Cup defender Andres Escobar.
Instead, it yesterday relived the trauma of Escobar's gunning down in a Medellin nightclub car park on July 2 1994, 10 days after he scored an own goal in a World Cup group match against the US.
And it must get over the pain in time for the national team to play Brazil tomorrow in its first appearance in a World Cup quarterfinal.
Escobar's death has been widely blamed on the fury of Colombian drug lords at losing a gambling fortune because of the country's World Cup exit. But there are many theories.
A Twitter campaign was launched to honour Escobar ahead of yesterday's anniversary and tomorrow's game. A flood of messages from around the world have been left, particularly after Colombia beat Uruguay to reach the quarterfinals. "We hope you enjoyed the match up there #AndresEscobar! The dream and your team are still alive," one said.
In Medellin, where 80000 people turned out for his funeral and there is an Escobar statue, a special ceremony was to be held yesterday.
The World Cup city of Rio de Janeiro would also pay homage with the streetfootballworld network of organisations holding its commemoration at a museum.
Escobar, 27, had played 50 times for his country and was a stalwart with Atletico Nacional when he was killed.
He had also played with Young Boys Berne in Switzerland and the World Cup in the United States was his second after being in the squad in Italy four years earlier.
In 1994, the South Americans, led by the mercurial Carlos Valderrama, lost their opening match to Romania. In their second match against the Cup hosts, Escobar inadvertently steered a cross into his own net. Colombia were dumped out though they beat Switzerland 2-0 in their final group game.
Ten days later, Escobar went to a nightclub in Medellin, a city then in thrall to drug traffickers and with a homicide rate of 380 per 100000 inhabitants.
Escobar was harangued about the own goal inside the bar. The argument continued in the car park.
He was gunned down with a dozen bullets shot by one of the group. Witnesses indicated the killer shouted "gol" with each shot. The motive for the killing has never been clearly established however.
It could have been the work of drugs dealers or paramilitaries who had bet on the match and lost money through Escobar's mistake.
Or it could have been the act of a disappointed and deranged fan.
A classy defender, Escobar was highly popular in his homeland. That was evident from the huge numbers who turned out for his funeral, where they made clear their hatred of drug-fuelled violence.
Humberto Munoz Castro, who had links to a powerful Colombian cartel, was arrested and confessed to the killing. There were reports he worked for shady characters who had bet on the team.
Found guilty, he was handed a 43-year jail term reduced to 26 but served only 11 years and was released in 2005. – AFP
