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Libertadores Cup Carlos Espsito tells what he lived in Medelln prior to a duel at Atltico Nacional
GRAMWinning the Copa Libertadores for Colombian teams has been somewhat elusive from the 70s to the 90s. Before the title of Atltico Nacional in 1989, our team had played four finals and had not been able to win it. That title of the cast of Francisco Maturana had many stories behind who have always tried to dirty that Olympic round in El Campn that had as protagonists one of the most important generations of our football. The base of the Colombia Selection that went to the 1990 and 1994 World Cups.
Another of those stories that came to light was the one told by the Argentine referee Carlos Espsito. The referee chosen to deliver justice in the semifinal of that edition between Nacional and the Danube of Uruguay. The first leg in Montevideo ended 0-0 and in Medelln 6-0. This is how the Argentine referee goes to the cross in the City of Eternal Spring on May 17, 1989, he counted them to radio La Red:
“Everything started from the moment we arrived at the Medellin airport. The Colombian referees who came to receive us had already handed us over, we were obliged. We were going down the Montaita road where they told us’ ac they killed a referee, ac they shot a line judge … ‘At one point they change our car. We leave with the other car and there is a friction. We had to wait for the police. After a long wait we went to the hotel. The referees weren’t used to leaving the hotel. They invite me to a dinner and I said no … I got up to pay and told the waitress to bring me a bottle of water, because there was no drinking water … they knock on my door. And there was the girl with a small bottle. I reminded him that he had asked for a large one. They knock on the door again and I ask Juan to get up. And it was Bava. They know Bava … It is difficult to move a mass of sas. But Bava vol. Four entered, one with a machine gun, Gnecco had a nine millimeter shot on his head. And behind the famous Popeye entered, well dressed, suit, tie. Bring a briefcase. He opened it and said, here are 250 thousand dollars. Take him away, calm down, they will leave Colombia without problems… Before that they had broken all our phones … We replied that we had gone to work properly. He closed the briefcase and told us. “Your life here is worth nothing. And in Buenos Aires it can cost us 1,000 dollars for each one.” And there they left “.
He added: “They insisted, we said no again. ‘What do we do?’ I asked Bava and Gnecco. We didn’t know which way to start. I suggested they grab their suitcases and go to the airport to sleep. But Gnecco, who knew Colombia, and that once a door had been shot down, he yelled at me: “Listen to me asshole -sic-, we can’t move from here!” This was the day before the game. I peeked out the window and there were five guys downstairs who didn’t move. We thought about calling Grondona. The next day, without sleeping, Bava went out to buy cigars, even though we had stopped smoking months ago. At that, a referee came, I’ll give the last name: Sierra. And he told us that we should get up because we had to go to get a work permit. “
However, the worst was yet to come, this was the arrival at Atansio Girardot: “When we got to the field, they left the car about 300 meters from the entrance. We were surrounded. We arrived at the changing room and the Colombian referee who had told us Visited at the hotel, he appeared with a virgin. Gnecco kicked the virgin who flew I don’t know where. The Medelln police chief arrived and I explained that as soon as the game was over we had to go to the airport. that if Nacional won it would be difficult because of the party. Poor man, if you watch Escobar’s series, after a few days they shot him. “
Once the match was over: “The match ended 6-0. In some of the goals, I looked at Bava and we made the cross. In the end there were about 15 deaths from people who went to the balconies and threw the shots into the air. We ended up going to the airport. And there were the Uruguayans, who were taking the same flight. The president of Danubio came, a great guy, and asked me if we had a bad time. They knew everything. The same thing had happened to them. “
This is how the Argentine referee’s story ends: “Actually, we were never going to tell this story. But someone opened their mouths. Later, as he noted, we went to see Julio, and Julio called the president of Colombia.”
The story ended, as everyone knows, with the title of Atltico Nacional against Olimpia in Bogota at the end of May. A long shootout and a duel to rent a balcony between Ren Higuita and Ever Hugo Almeida. Two historic arches at the continental level. On the other hand, The Medellín cartel ended in December 1993 with the death of Pablo Escobar. Popeye, the last survivor, died of cancer in Bogota last year.
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