Andrés Escobar

Andrés Escobar is a victim of the madness that football can bring. Behind this tragic end hides a talented player.

Trophies

Goal

280

Games

1986/89 Atlético Nacional (COL) 78 matches

1989/90 Young Boys Bern (SUI) 8 matches

1990/94 Atlético Nacional (COL) 144 matches

With the National Team :

50 caps, 1 goal

(Friendly matches: 24 caps)

(World Cup qualifiers: 6 caps)

(World Cup: 7 caps)

(Copa America: 11 caps)

(Rous Cup: 2 caps, 1 goal)

1st cap: March 30, 1988 against Canada (3-0)

Last cap: June 26, 1994 against Switzerland (2-0)

Andrés Escobar Saldarriaga

Born March 13, 1967 in Medellin (COL)

Died on July 2, 1994 in Medellin (COL)

Colombian, Central defender, 1m84

Nicknames: El caballero del fútbol, Inmortal

A talented Colombian player

Andrés Escobar was born on March 13, 1967 in Medellin, Colombia. He made his professional debut in 1986 for the Atlético Nacional de Medellin club. With his club, he won 2 Colombian Championships and the 1989 Copa Libertadores. A solid player known for his notable defensive performances, he joined Switzerland and the Young Boys club in Berne for one season in 1989.

Nicknamed the "Gentleman of Football", he quickly became a pillar of the Colombian national team, his first match for his country dating back to 1988 when he was only 21 years old. As part of a Colombian golden generation, he participated in the 1994 World Cup, it would be his last major competition before his death.

A tragedy that will have shaken the football world

Considered notable outsiders at the start of the competition, Colombia would ultimately disappoint and be eliminated in the group stages after a 2-1 defeat against the United States, on an own goal by Escobar. An unfortunate scenario that would become a tragedy.

This mistake that cost his country qualification would also cost him his life. On his return to Colombia, he decided to go out with one of his teammates and two friends. Going to a bar in the suburbs of Medellin on July 2, 1994, he got angry with 2 brothers who called him a "traitor". As he left the bar, he met the two men who told him "You don't know who you're talking to!" That's when an armed man got out of a van and shot him 6 times in the head. With each shot, according to witnesses, he shouted "Goal".

This is how, so sadly, the life of Andrés Escobar ended, killed by the madness of one man. He was then 27 years old and one of the best players in the history of his country.