14/02/2022
The story of Andres Escobar and the reason why player bashing must have limits.
~Andres Escobar is summarily remembered for being the Colombian player who was shot dead after scoring an own-goal in the 1994 World Cup. To wrap our heads around the stakes of the "deadly" own-goal, we must understand the bad blood that existed between the Colombian masses and the US prior to the tournament.
Stakes:
~ The 1980s saw the rise of billionaire drug lord, Pablo Escobar (different person to Andres Escobar the footballer). Pablo's multi-billion dollar cartel made him one of the most powerful men in the world. He was later arrested following a crackdown on his international operations led by the US. Pablo Escobar was detained in his hometown prison in Medellin which he transformed into a private estate; that was his condition to stop his drug activities. However, this did not go down well with security forces as Pablo's popularity only grew with frequent high profile visits. In an attempt to stop the trend, plans were made for Pablo to be moved to a stricter environment. In a desperate attempt to escape, the drug lord was gunned down to death.
~Pablo meant everything to the Colombian people. "The boss was dead so everyone became their own boss. Pablo had prohibited kidnappings. He ran the underworld with complete order. Anything illegal, you asked for Pablo's permission," Jaime Gavira, his cousin, explained in "The Two Escobars". Crime soared to new heights.
~FIFA World Cup USA 1994. On the back of Pablo's death came the 1994 World Cup hosted by the US, a country that had masterminded the arrest of Pablo. Colombia were going to play in enemy territory. More to that, Colombia were drawn in the same group as the US. The Colombian team came into the competition on the back of a 26-match unbeaten run during which they thrashed Argentina 5-0. The Colombians were among the favourites. This sat well with the masses who nursed illusions of lifting the trophy in the enemy's backyad
