Freddy Eusebio Rincón Valencia died on Thursday at the age of 55. Champion in several clubs, especially marked by his victorious stint at Corinthians and highlight of what is considered the greatest generation of Colombian soccer players, he could not resist the injuries resulting from a car accident in his country.
The vehicle in which the former athlete was collided with a bus in the early hours of Monday (11), in Cali, in the San Fernando neighborhood. According to local authorities, the car broke a red light at high speed and was hit sideways. There were two women with Rincón, who had minor injuries. The bus driver had a broken leg.
Admitted to Clínica Imbanaco with head trauma, the former steering wheel underwent a nearly three-hour surgery. Early medical reports said he was in “very critical condition” and “with advanced support measures”. In the early hours of this Thursday, the clinic announced the death.
Rincón received honors from several clubs he passed through. He began his career in teams in Colombia, standing out at Independiente Santa Fe and América de Cali, at the turn of the 1980s to the 1990s. He arrived at Palmeiras in 1994, on his first stop in Brazil, the country where he would live. your best moments.
After a relatively discreet stay in Europe, defending the Italian Napoli and the Spanish Real Madrid – where he claimed to have suffered racism –, he returned to Palmeiras in 1996. In 1997, he changed his shirt and started to wear the one of archrival Corinthians, the one with the which built the greatest identification and raised its most important trophies.
In black and white, Rincón, who was a striker and midfielder, became an exceptional midfielder, initially by decision of coach Joel Santana. In 1998, when he won the Brazilian Championship for the first time, he started to form a historic white midfield with Vampeta, Ricardinho and Marcelinho.
São Paulo champion in 1999 – a title he had already obtained twice at Palmeiras –, the Colombian inherited the captain’s belt from Paraguayan defender Gamarra, who left the team after the state triumph. It was with the stripe on his arm that he lifted the 1999 Brazilian Cup and lived the scene that marked his career, in the 2000 Club World Cup.
“Nothing beats the moment I lifted the world champion cup. It was unforgettable. The moment you pick up the trophy, there’s a feeling of relief. , he said in 2011, in an interview with Gazeta Esportiva, recalling the almost aggressive way he received the silver object from the hands of FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
“Shaking the trophy, right? I really went overboard. Even because I was leaving Corinthians at that time. In my head, I was saying: ‘Wow, I closed my ticket with a flourish’. It was an extremely strong thing in my career”, he added, nostalgic for the party held in Rio de Janeiro that January 14th.
In a Maracanã stadium in which Corinthians fans made much more noise than Vasco’s fans and shouted uninterruptedly “Almighty Timão”, the Parque São Jorge team triumphed on penalties after a goalless draw. Rincón left the team then, going to play for Santos and being called a mercenary – a hurt that dissipated over time.
The drop in performance, naturally, was notorious in the last years of his career, with a passage also at Cruzeiro. In 2004, the Colombian still returned to Corinthians, far from the old way, and participated in a very weak campaign in the Paulista Championship, with risk of relegation until the last round.
For the Colombia national team, Freddy played in three editions of the World Cup, 1990, 1994 and 1998. He was part of a remarkable generation in the country, which also had names like René Higuita, Carlos Valderrama and Faustino Asprilla. In the 1990 World Cup, in Italy, he scored a historic goal against West Germany – who would be champions days later –, defining the classification for the round of 16.
It was a place much celebrated by Colombians, who hadn’t even gone to the World Cup since 1962. On the other hand, the road to the 1994 World Cup had a 5-0 rout over Argentina, with two goals from Rincón. The campaign in the Qualifiers made Pelé point out Colombia as a favorite for the title, but the team did not make it past the first phase.
As a forward and midfielder, Freddy played 84 matches for his national team, scoring 17 goals. At Corinthians, the club with which he had greater longevity, he was on the field 158 times, putting 11 balls in the net. One of them, against the Saudi Al Nassr, put the alvinegra team in the final of the 2000 World Cup.
Retired, he had stints as a technical assistant, working with Vanderlei Luxemburgo at Atlético Mineiro, and came to take over Corinthians’ under-20 and under-23 teams. As in 2000, he left the club complaining about the corruption of the managers. He returned to Colombia, where he also acted as an assistant, without seeing his career on the edge of the field take off.
Rincón had problems in court and was arrested in 2007, accused of money laundering and drug trafficking in Panama. He was arrested in São Paulo, in an international operation, at the request of Panama, with the participation of Interpol and the Brazilian Federal Police. Released with a habeas corpus from the STF (Supreme Federal Court) after four months, he was acquitted in the process.
“I have no doubt that someone wanted to appear at my expense. What remains of all this is my honesty. My conduct in life will not change for anything,” said the Colombian, who was always highly respected in his playing time. He combined excellent technical quality with intimidating physical strength. For opponents and teammates.
In the excellent and disunited Corinthians of the late 1990s, shirt 8 even threw Marcelinho in a closet, accusing him of forcing expulsion. Fights with Edílson were very recurrent, with whom he spent months without speaking. But in a locker room where Edílson even chased Marcelinho with a knife, Rincón was the most respected force.
“It’s complicated to deal with egos, you know? Many players had stardom in that squad. I just cared about setting an example, working and doing the right things, to have morals to collect later. That way, I managed to be respected”, he told the Gazeta. sporty. “There was no union. The important thing is that, when we went up to the pitch, the objective was only one.”
It was with only one objective that the worn out players from Alvinegro entered the field in the decision of the World Cup, days after winning the Brazilian Championship. It was 120 minutes of fight, which left Rincón with a muscle injury. Still, with personality, he opened the penalty shootout with a precise kick.
At the end of it, he was forever in the history of Corinthians.
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