When Freddy Rincon died following a traffic accident last week, he became the fourth player from Colombia’s “golden generation” of the early 1990s to die in a shocking way.
Before Rincon, known as the “Colossus”, center-back Andres Escobar and striker Albeiro Usuriaga were shot dead in 1994 and 2004 respectively, while midfielder Herman Gaviria was struck by lightning during a training session in 2002.
On Saturday, hundreds of people paid homage to Rincon, the former Napoli, Real Madrid and Corinthians attacking midfielder, who died at the age of 55 after a collision between his vehicle and a bus in Cali.
Colombia’s first golden generation qualified for the 1990 World Cup, the country’s first in 28 years, and qualified again four years later.