The Pascual Guerrero stadium still echoes the goals and dribbles of Freddy Rincón, when he wore the América de Cali shirt, at the beginning of the 90s, and today, after his departure, the world, Colombia and his beloved Cali still have that feeling of emptiness left by the Colossus of Buenaventura.
This Sunday, in the classic between América and Deportivo Cali, the red fans extended the different tributes that have been paid to Freddy since the news of his accident was known in the early hours of April 11, which finally caused his death, announced Wednesday night at the Imbanaco Clinic in Cali, where they made every effort to save his life.
(Also read: Freddy Rincón: they reveal their link with the women involved in the accident)
Precisely on that same stage, Pascual Guerrero, his former teammates from the Colombian National Team, the two coaches who helped project him from the country to the world, Jorge Luis Pinto and Francisco Maturana, and many football personalities had gathered on Saturday to honor his memory and recognize the importance it had for the growth of this sport in our country.
All united by the memory of Freddy
Thus, Pascual lived another Sunday of pure emotion. The first tribute of the afternoon-evening was made through the women’s teams of América and Medellín, who met on date 13 of the League, participating in the minute of silence, and the scarlet team with a banner that read: ‘ #ForeverFreddy’. The defeat of the local team ended up being an anecdote in the midst of an atmosphere full of feelings.
As the minutes passed, soccer fans approached Pascual with white jerseys, the number 19 on the back and the same legend.
The stadium filled up and national team shirts began to be seen, from the one used by the national team from the 1990 World Cup in Italy to the current one. In addition, next to the bench of substitutes of America, a small altar was set up with the red shirt that had the number 14 and the name of Freddy, accompanied by a floral arrangement of white and red roses and four white candles.
Before the start of the game, the public was getting into the mood, the popular began to sing their usual songs and above all pronouncing the lyrics of one of the iconic songs in which the Colossus is mentioned.
Everyone in one shirt
Both teams took to the field for the Valle del Cauca classic wearing the Colombia National Team jersey, which bore the name and number with which Freddy always identified himself with the Tricolor, 19. In one corner, the garments had the legend ‘Our Corner of the soul’.
Both the América and Cali players remained dressed in yellow during the anthems, and each team, in its own way, displayed a banner of thanks to Rincón.
It should be remembered that Freddy played for América between 1989 and 1993: he appeared in 194 games, between the League and Copa Libertadores, and scored 53 goals. However, he always recognized that the team of his heart was Deportivo Cali, although on the field he always wanted to beat them. He almost always did.
(You may be interested in: Freddy Rincón: the nightclub where he would have been before the accident)
In the intermission of the Valle del Cauca classic, the national team jerseys with the name and number of Rincón with which the players came out on the field were raffled among those attending the Pascual Guerrero. Rincón’s heritage continued on the pitch, on both teams. Adrián Ramos, striker and captain of América, who reached 200 matches dressed in red, played with number 14, the same number worn by Freddy on the team.
And Teófilo Gutiérrez, who entered the second half, did so with the Rincón on his back and number 19, the one he had in the National Team. As fate would have it, the classic was tied, and that the goals were scored by Ramos and Teo… Valle del Cauca soccer united yesterday around Freddy Rincón, and he did so in peace.
Juan Andres Arias Arias
Football Correspondent
Cali
@AriasJuan_5
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