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Twenty-one years ago, Andres Escobar was killed after scoring own-goal in 1994 World Cup
Thursday marks the 21-year anniversary of the tragic and untimely death of Andres Escobar, the Colombian defender who scored the infamous own-goal against the United States men's national team at the 1994 World Cup.
It was, without a doubt, one of the darkest moments in World Cup history, not so much for the own-goal itself, but for the events that unfolded thereof. Prior to the 1994 World Cup, the Colombian national team was heavily favored to win the Cup, soundly defeating international teams prior to the tournament, most notably, the 5-0 thrashing of Argentina in Argentinean soil.
Colombia's display of collective play and feel for the beautiful game was so incredible that Argentine fans in the stadium applauded Los Cafeteros' performance at the end of the game. Escobar, widely known as the "Gentleman of the Field", was a key figure to his team, serving as the defensive stalwart who provided his teammates with the confidence to play freely up top.
So what went wrong?
At the time, Colombia was being engulfed by domestic drug wars, and Pablo Escobar was the central figure. It is documented, and highly believed, that the rapid and surprising rise of the quality of Colombian soccer was directly related to the rise of power and influence of the Colombian drug cartels. The violence would eventually reach its tipping point in 1994.
During Colombia's second group match, a match against the United States no less, Escobar diverted the ball past his own goalkeeper for the opening goal in a 2-1 loss against the United States. The result would eventually eliminate Colombia from the tournament.
10 days later, the 27-year-old defender was shot dead in a Medellin parking lot. On the day of his death, Escobar had gone out with friends to a disco to take his mind off the own goal but was harassed and ended up being shot six times.
Nowadays, Andres is widely revered in his own country as a casualty of tumultuous times Colombia was experiencing. May he forever rest in peace.
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