For soccer fans of the 1990’s the name Freddy Rincón was synonymous with Colombia. The Colombia team of the 1990 World Cup and later the 94 and 98 tournaments put soccer fans on their feet with fluid short passes and great goals.
Freddy Rincón played alongside of Carlos Valderrama, Faustino Asprilla, Leonel Álvarez, Jorge Bermúdez, and Adolfo Valencia in those famed Colombian sides that, while attractive, fell short in the Copa America’s and World Cup’s that followed.
Rincón passed away from severe head injuries suffered in a car accident on Monday, the former Napoli player underwent a three-hour operation and was in critical condition following the procedure. Finally on Thursday, in a Cali hospital Rincón passed away. Here is a look back on the career of Freddy Rincón.
The career of Freddy Rincón
Freddy Rincon, Bernardo Redin, Leonel Alvarez, Carlos Valderrama and Gabriel Gomez. (Photo by Mark Leech/Getty Images)
Freddy Rincón was a talented attacking midfielder who began his career in 1986 with Santa Fe, before moving to America de Cali in 1990-1993. Known for his speed, creativity, and powerful shooting Rincón’s talents shined in the World Cup in Italy 1990 and later was one of the few players to save face in 1994.
In 1993 Rincón moved to Palmeiras, where despite playing only 28 games, he scored 12 goals and finally made the big leap to Europe to play for Napoli in Serie A. While on loan at Napoli his play caught the eye of Real Madrid and only one season later, he was playing for the Spanish giants.
Unfortunately, at Real Madrid, Rincon was a bit player and would return to Brazil, but later from 1997-2000 he may have played the best soccer of his career at Corinthians where he scored 37 goals in 151 games.
Later in his career Rincón played for Santos and Cruzeiro and he would eventually retire in 2004 after playing over 600 matches and scoring 152 goals.
With the Colombian national team Rincón played 84 times and scored 17 goals, none more memorable than his goal against West Germany, and eventual World Champions, in the Italy 90 World Cup. He’d also scored two goals in Colombia’s historic 5-0 victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires in 1993. In the 1995 Copa America in Uruguay, Rincón would be one of the best players in the tournament scoring 3 goals against Ecuador, Paraguay, and the USMNT. Rincón played in the 1990, 1994, and 1998 World Cup’s for Colombia and was one of the faces of the golden generation of Colombian soccer players.
Rincón won 9 championships in his career and despite being heavily sought after by the young MLS in the late 90’s his son, Sebastián Rincón, did play for the Portland Timbers from 2012-2013.
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