Andrés Escobar’s smile remains bright 30 years after his murder

Amid the euphoria over the current participation of Colombia in the America Cup which paradoxically is also disputed in USA, A feeling of nostalgia runs through the country when remembering Andrés Escobar, a gallant defender shot dead 30 years ago in Medellinwhose image is immortalized with her smile.

The life of the Colombian footballer, nicknamed ‘The Gentleman of Football’ for his personality and elegance in the game, was cut short on July 2, 1994, as he left a bar after having scored an own goal ten days earlier in the World Cup in the United States, a mistake that ended up costing the team led by Francisco Maturana the elimination.

“30 years later and it still hits me hard. I was one of Andrés’ best friends and that moment was very difficult”former footballer Gildardo Gómez, who played alongside Escobar at Atlético Nacional and in the Colombian national team that played in the 1990 World Cup in Italy, told the EFE Agency.

Three decades after his death, he is remembered as what he was: one of the most important defenders of Colombian history, who “As a player he was the best and as a person, even better.”

“We called him ‘Muelón’ (in the team),” Gómez says with a smile that accompanies him to say that in the defense that they formed “nobody got past us.”

“We lived some very nice moments. That group was a real family. That ‘Muelon’ was the one who made us laugh every moment.“, adds the full-back, who also played for Atlético Nacional, champion of the 1989 Copa Libertadores and who played in the Intercontinental Cup in Japan, where he looked after Escobar due to injury.

How was it “half”, He encouraged him and made him a promise“I told him ‘don’t worry, I won’t let anyone in’; he knew he could count on me.”

They punctured the ball and the soul of an amateur

When Colombia lost (2-1) to the United States in Los Angeles, where the score was opened by Escobar’s own goal, and days later the elimination in the group stage was consummated, Gómez asked him not to return to Medellín and to wait for the spirits to subside, but “The Gentleman of Football” He wanted to come and show his face. He met death.

It all happened when he was leaving a nightclub in Medellín, the city where he was born on March 13, 1967, and where some fans reproached him for that own goal.

In the parking lot, brothers Pedro David and Juan Santiago Gallón Henao also judged him for his mistake at the World Cup, after which Escobar asked the men to leave him alone.

However, the driver and bodyguard of the Gallón Henao brothers, Humberto Muñoz Castro, got out of his vehicle and, without saying a word, shot the footballer six times, who was negotiating his signing with Milan to replace the veteran Franco Baresi.

“That night I was going to meet Andrés, but I preferred to go home.”laments Gomez, who confesses that for his murder “I retired from football, it made me feel the greatest sadness in my soul; I had two or three more years to play and I didn’t.”

For Mateo Escobar, who was coordinator of the Football Culture program at the Mayor’s Office of Medellín, many in the city have “lost their passion” for football following the death of the legendary defender.

“It’s like someone’s ball has been punctured. It was almost the pinnacle of our society in terms of violence.”he reflected during the conversation ‘Despite everything… we play: Football as a guarantee of non-repetition’.

In a tribute that Atlético Nacional recently made to five of its legends, including Francisco Maturana and René Higuita, the ““Gentleman of Football” before the eyes of their families.

“It is a difficult time for the family, it is 30 years since Andrés passed away and I would like to always remember him with joy, the meaning of what he was during his life,” said coach Santiago Escobar, brother of the missing defender.

So he recalled that in crucial matches, in which stage fright, anxiety and nervousness appear, “Andrés played like he was playing on the street, he bared those teeth. He always played like an amateur, he played like he was making his debut.”