The footballer killed for an own goal at the 1994 World Cup
Andrés Escobar once told a Colombian journalist named Gonzalo Medina why he loved football. “This sport illustrates the close relationship between life and the game,” he said. “In football, unlike bullfighting, there is no death. In football no one dies; no one gets killed. It’s more about the fun of it, about enjoying.” He was killed for football. He was 27 years old. In the days after Colombia’s elimination from the 1994 World Cup, Escobar sat down and wrote a column for El País. A journalist friend had suggested it. He had been offered broadcasting work in America for the rest of the tournament. He had been offered the chance to stay with his brother’s family in Miami. He declined both. “I want to go to Colombia and show my face,” he told his sister, María Ester. The column was titled “Life Doesn’t End Here.” He wrote the phrase four times. “Life doesn’t end here. We have to go on. Life cannot end here. No matter how difficult, we must stand back up.” He asked …









