Freddy Rincón: the numerical curiosities left by the classic Cali-America

América and Deportivo Cali drew 1-1 in a new edition of the Valle del Cauca classic, a match that was marked by the tributes paid by the fans and the two teams to Freddy Rincón, who died last Wednesday from injuries sustained in a car accident.

The two teams took to the pitch at the Pascual Guerrero stadium wearing the Colombia National Team shirt, marked with the surname Rincón and the number 19, the same number he used during his time with the national team and with which he scored the most important goals of his career. career, the tie against Germany in Italy-90 and the two 5-0 against Argentina, in the tie for the United States-94.

(Also read: Freddy Rincón: the nightclub where he would have been before the accident)

Freddy Rincón ‘played’ this classic on both teams

But there is more. The two referents of the Valle del Cauca teams, Adrián Ramos (America) and Teófilo Gutiérrez (Cali), decided to use the last name Rincón on their shirts. Ramos, who was playing his 200th match with América, chose number 14, the one that Freddy used in América, while Teo played with 19, the one that Rincón immortalized in the National Team.

Both scored goals in the classic. Teo took advantage of a mistake by Luis Paz (who played with the 19 in America) and beat goalkeeper Joel Graterol. Later, Ramos equalized from a penalty, after a handball by Agustín Vuletich.

The tie did not favor either of the two teams. America was in trouble to qualify and Cali is virtually eliminated. But the result of the classic left another curiosity: America is in box 14, with 19 points. Cali, in 19th place, with 14 units. Do those numbers tell you anything? Yes, they are the bibs that Rincón had…

(In other news: Mayid Arias, the first scorer of the promotion tournament, died)

And, how could it be otherwise, the match ended 1-1, the same score as the most important match in which Rincón shone with the National Team, on June 19, 1990, against Germany…

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