Freddy Rincon, a former star player of Real Madrid, died after a car crash in Cali, the doctors announced on Wednesday. He was 55.
Rincon’s crashed into a bus early morning on Monday, after which he was rushed to the hospital with severe head injuries. The medical facility announced that the former Colombian footballer and captain was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and underwent head surgery.
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Imbanaco Clinic’s medical director Laureano Quintero told reporters: “Despite all the efforts of our teams, Freddy Eusebio Rincon Valencia has passed away.”
Multiple sports bodies and football associations were quick to pay tributes to the legendary player. The Colombian Football Association released a statement that read, “The Colombian Football Federation deeply regrets the death of Freddy Eusebio Rincon Valencia.”
It added, “This constitutes a great loss for his family and friends, and it is also an unfortunate departure for our sport, where we will miss him and remember him with great affection, appreciation, respect and admiration”, Daily Mail reported.
FIFA also paid homage to the footballer and wrote, “Our sincere condolences go to his loved ones, former teammates and fans from the clubs he played for, and of the @FCFSeleccionCol national team who he represented at three World Cups.”
A video was also shared by FIFA in the tweet and showed one of the highest points of Freddy Rincon’s football career. The video was of the 1990 world cup, when the Colombian team needed a goal to avoid elimination in the final moments of the match.
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Rincon played for Colombia in the 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cups. He is one of the team’s iconic players during that decade, alongside Carlos Valderrama and Faustino Asprilla.
Rincon retired from the national team in 2001.
His club career began in 1985 and took off at America de Cali. After a brief and successful spell at Brazil’s Palmeiras, he joined Napoli in 1994. He played the following season for Real Madrid and returned to Palmeiras in 1997.
Rincon also played for Brazil’s Corinthians from 1997-2000, and as the team captain was the first to lift the new FIFA Club World Cup.