The Real Group of Death

[Matt]

The Real Group of Death

 

Part two of a series of articles reviewing the fortunes of football across the world.

 

"Someone said 'football is more important than life and death to you' and I said 'Listen, it's more important than that'." – Bill Shankly.

In a sweltering Los Angeles Rose Bowl a little after five o’clock on the 22nd June 1994, Andres Escobar had just scored an own goal to give USA a 1-0 lead. Shankly’s maxim was about to take a very real meaning, a significance that not even he would have thought possible. This football match was about money – and in ten days time, Escobar would be dead.

 

Colombia came to the 94 World Cup finals as one of the favourites to win the competition, their squad boasted players like Carlos Valderrama, Faustino Asprilla, Freddy Rincon, Leonel Alvarez and Adolfo Valencia. A few months earlier, Colombia had run riot in Buenos Aires winning 5-0 against Argentina - unsurprisingly, expectations were high. Colombia had been drawn into a complicated group; however it was one that they would more than likely win. Their group included hosts USA, Romania and Switzerland, all achievable and all well within their capability.

 

On 18th June 1994, in the Rose Bowl Los Angeles, Colombia’s game against Romania would get underway. The heat would suit the South Americans rather than the Eastern Europeans, and they settled down quickly enjoying more of the ball. But within half an hour goals from Florin Raducioiu and Gheorghe Hagi had amazingly put Romania 2-0 ahead. Although Stelea in the Romanian goal had worked tirelessly to keep the Colombians out, Valencia had pulled one back just before half time to make it 2-1. The second half saw the Colombian team thwarted and frustrated, unable to break down the deep-set Romanian team. In the final minutes of the match, Raducioiu scored Romania’s third goal to put the encounter beyond all doubt. With Colombia losing 3-1 here, the game against USA now took on a more important feel than it did at first look.

 

Four days later Colombia was looking for their first points, while USA had already managed to get off the mark with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland. Again Colombia set the pace taking the game to their opponents, but USA had weathered the storm. After 33 minutes John Harkes made a run in from the left wing. His tame cross into the Colombian penalty area was met by an instinctive sweepers slide by Escobar. But rather than diffusing the attack, he had wrong footed his goalkeeper Cordoba and deflected the ball into an open net. In the second half, Stewart scored an astounding overhead kick to double their tally, as they turned the screw on Colombia. A late goal from Valencia would not be enough to save them from another defeat, their campaign was now in tatters – only a win against Switzerland and the hope that Romania would lose against USA would keep them in the competition.

 

 

 

As news came through to the Colombian camp that Romania had beaten USA 1-0, the reality that their World Cup was over sank in. A 2-0 victory against the Swiss would be nothing more than a meaningless first round statistic. The Colombians were going home much earlier than many had expected.

 

On July 2nd 1994 Escobar had been out enjoying the evening with friends. Whilst at the Restaurante el Indio in Medellin, three men and a woman had been seen causing some concern for Escobar - they were threatening him, and the tension was increasing. The abuse was to take a more sinister turn, two of the men drew handguns and shot him twelve times at close range. Andres was left on the ground barely alive, clutching his stomach. The attackers then took off in a Toyota pickup, while onlookers raced to aid the stricken footballer. Andres Escobar was pronounced dead 45 minutes later. The owner of the Toyota was to tell police that the assassins had robbed him of the vehicle an hour before the murder, holding him hostage at an isolated point on the road to the airport. They reportedly told him they were keeping him for two hours to prevent him from alerting the police.

 

The Colombian authorities believed the killing had indeed been planned, but the true motives have always remained elusive. Since Colombia's elimination two weeks earlier, the team had received several anonymous threats; Gabriel Gomez withdrew from the team after his family received death threats before the USA game. The murder could have been punishment for the own goal, it was never clear whether the attackers were drunken football fans packing .45’s, or they were hit men acting on the say so of gambling syndicates or drug cartels. There had been rumours at the time that some of the country's drug lords had bet large amounts of money on Colombia to win the Cup, or at least qualify for the second round.

 

In June 1995, Humberto Muñoz Castro was found guilty of Escobar's murder and sentenced to 43 years in prison. His sentence was later reduced to half of the initial time, and was eventually released early on good behaviour.

 

During the1998 World Cup in France, history was to repeat itself again; this time in Lyon - Colombia had just been beaten by Romania 1-0 in the first round group stages. Shortly after the end of the game, the Colombian team started to receive anonymous death threats...

 

 

Rummy

OWTB.

[Matt]