![]() Their team featured Andrés Escobar in its lineup, among other home-based internationals who would go on to qualify for USA 94 with such distinction. The wages paid encouraged Colombia’s finest players to remain at home, enabling Nacional to become South American club champions by winning the 1989 Copa Libertadores. ![]() Other cartels followed his lead and in the 1980s, their investment in various clubs led to a resurgence in Colombian football, which had hitherto been on its uppers. He also built football pitches, lots of them, on which many of the stars who qualified so effortlessly for USA 94 honed their skills as young boys.Įscobar also owned the Medellín football team Atlético Nacional, where the sale of tickets for cash and decidedly creative book-keeping when it came to player transfers enabled him to launder hundreds of millions of dollars. Despite his status as bloodthirsty gang lord, Escobar was beloved of his country’s many poor, for whom he provided employment and housing. Medellín was in a state of emergency following the murder of Pablo Escobar, a namesake but no relation to Andrés and head of the multi-billion dollar Medellín drug cartel. Socially, it was also a time of terrible devastation and misery for Colombia. This was the mid-90s, when the notion of blanket football coverage courtesy of niche blogs, satellite TV channels and internet streaming was as hopelessly exotic as the names of Colombia’s many wonderfully talented players. Their coach Francisco Maturana insisted his players express themselves and their natural flamboyance yielded rich on-field dividends courtesy of splendidly gifted individuals such as Carlos Valderrama, Freddy Rincón, Alexis García and Faustino Asprilla, to name just a quartet from a squad that, at the time, remained largely unknown outside of South America. In 26 matches leading up to USA 94, Colombia lost just once. In a final qualifier against Argentina which their hosts needed to win to ensure qualification, Colombia won 5-0 in Buenos Aires, earning a standing ovation from shocked home fans whose team was eventually forced to creep through the back door courtesy of a play-off win over Australia. ![]() Pele wasn’t delusional: they were genuine contenders. in Saudi Arabia in 2003.El Caballero del Futbol, the gentleman of football, was a quiet, disciplined and much-loved leader of a golden generation of Colombian footballers who travelled to USA 94 having conceded only two goals in qualifying. Eddie Johnson and Clint Dempsey took the field for the U.S. In 1999, Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo and Tim Howard were part of the USA team in Nigeria, while Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Oguchi Onyewu represented the red, white and blue in 2001 in Argentina. Jeff Agoos, Marcleo Balboa, Tony Meloa and Keller all played the 1987 edition in Chile. Former U-20 MNT head coach Tab Ramos was a part of the USA’s second U-20 World Cup squad in 1983 at just 16 years old. In total, 43 players have represented the USA in both a U-20 and senior World Cup tournament. While the U-20s advanced from group play with just one win, the USA took down Iraq in the quarterfinals before falling in extra time to Nigeria in the semis.Ī who’s who of MNT all-timers have played in the U-20 World Cup. Keller took home the Silver Ball at the tournament, while fellow future senior team players Mike Burns, Neil Covone and Chris Henderson also played key roles. ![]() finished fourth place in Saudi Arabia that year. Led by future legendary MNT goalkeeper Kasey Keller, the U.S. The USA has made it out of the group stage 11 times at the competition with the high watermark coming in 1989. The United States has qualified for 17 of 23 all-time U-20 World Cups, tied for second-most in the world with Argentina.
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