July 2 - The Tragic Own Goal | On This Football Day

COLUMBIAN football fans hold one player in higher regard than any other. He was not an outstanding player, he was not a goal scorer, he was not an inspirational captain and he never achieved anything of any particular note on the football field. Andres Escobar will be forever remembered for paying with his life for scoring an own goal.

The Columbian defender was part of the squad that took part in the 1994 World Cup in the USA. The team arrived with high expectations following a dazzling qualification campaign that saw them crush Argentina 5-0. They were even tipped by Pele to win the tournament.

But all was not well in the camp and there were rumours that betting syndicates and drug cartels were exercising their influence over the squad and the manager Hernan Gomez was reported to have received death threats over matters of team selection.

Understandably nervous the team crumbled to a shock 3-1 opening defeat to Romania. In their second game against the USA Escobar scored the fateful own goal that helped the hosts to a 2-1 win, and effectively eliminate Columbia from the tournament.

It would cost Escobar dearly and on this day in 1994 he was gunned down outside a nightclub in the Columbian city MedellÃn. According to police the gunman was heard to shout “Goal!” as he shot Escobar 12 times. It was suggested the gambling cartels had ordered his killing after losing out financially on Columbia’s unexpected early exit.

The same problems were still around four years later as the team were again threatened before they left South America for the 1998 World Cup in France.

Nicholas Rochanf, a Bogata based journalist said at the time: “Apparently, a specific player, Victor Aristizabal, was not wanted to go with the team, and the coach was threatened as well. And in fact Aristizabal played very little in Colombia’s three World Cup matches.”

The team had extra security for the duration of the tournament but they were not really expecting trouble according to Rochanf.

He said: “People were not really expecting very much from the team, neither in the match against England nor in the whole World Cup. The odds against them were very high, so I do not think there was that much money on them.

“If it is so, then it is less dangerous for the team.”

Have a look at Escobar’s tragic OG below, and remember his name.