His unforgettable goal for Germany in the 90 World Cup and the day he shone against Argentina: two legendary performances by Freddy Rincón

There is no doubt that Freddy Rincón, who died early Thursday after spending a few days in hospital due to a serious traffic accident, is one of the greatest players in the history of the Colombian football. His name is written on the most glorious pages of his country's national team, as it was one of the symbols of the golden generation that led Colombia to participate in three consecutive World Cups (1990, 1994 and 1998).

Rincón, who was 55 years old, is considered the first world crack in his nation for wearing the Real Madrid jersey and also representing great teams such as Napoli, Palmeiras and Corinthians, among others. His figure will always be remembered by fans who saw him touch the sky with his hands on several occasions.

His most remembered goal with the Colombia jersey will always be the one he made against the German team in the 1990 World Cup in Italy, a goal that scored by fire that brilliant group of players led by Francisco Maturana.

It was the 89th minute at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, it had been a very even match, even that Colombian team managed to overcome in some stages who would later be the world champions of that edition. However, the advantage for Die Mannschaft came thanks to Pierre Littbarski's goal and everything indicated that it was going to be a triumph for the Germans.

The match played on June 19, 1990 seemed irremountable and Colombia had to score if it wanted to continue in the World Cup race. In stoppage time, after a good collective play, Freddy Rincón took advantage of a filtered pass by Carlos El Pibe Valderrama to run into space and effectively define between Bodo Illgner's legs. Many Colombians consider it the most important goal in their history, as it allowed them to advance from Group D to the next stage.

“I think we graduated that day. And with everything we did in those years, we put Colombian football in a very high place,” Rincón himself told El Espectador. It was precisely a goal that gave impetus to a great generation of players, filled them with faith and allowed them to continue reaping unforgettable moments, since in the qualifiers for the next World Cup they played at a very high level.

In the qualification process for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in USA, the Colombian national team reached the peak of their performance and one of the samples that no one will forget is the 5-0 that they gave Argentina in that duel played on September 5, 1993 at the Monumental Stadium.

At the close of the first half, Freddy Rincón scored the 1-0 thanks to his speed and, again, to the accuracy of a Valderrama who re-enabled him to score an unforgettable goal. In the second half, Colombia took advantage of the desperation of an Argentina that needed to win not to play the World Cup playoff against Australia and scored the other four goals.

After Tino Asprilla signed 2-0, Rincon again claimed to present to score the third goal of the match after a cross from Leonel Álvarez. Once again the Colossus of Buenaventura became the protagonist of one of the great stories of football in his country, which was closed with the scores of Asprilla (4-0) and the Valencia Train (5-0). No one will forget that generation that marked an era and that Freddy Rincón, by force of goals, built his country's football prestige.

KEEP READING: