#5 Andres Escobar
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Playing for the Colombian national team in the nineties, Escobar had the unfortunate luck of sharing a surname with one of the most notorious drug lords to have ever lived.
Unlike his name might suggest, he was known for his good behavior on the pitch and was aptly nicknamed “the gentleman of football.”
He was then called up to Colombia’s 1994 World Cup squad, a team that Brazilian great Pele tipped to win the competition. Naturally, the expectations were high and the pressure enormous.
With a 3-1 loss to Romania in the first game in the group stage, Colombia needed a result in their second game against USA to keep any hopes alive.
35 minutes into the match with the USA, Escobar diverted a cross into his own net, condemning Colombia to a 2-1 loss and crashing out of the tournament. With the squad returning home in disgrace, Escobar was understandably in a mood to forget his role in the loss.
He was confronted by 3 men, angered by his failure and was shot 6 times, succumbing to his wounds less than an hour later.
Only 27 years of age at the time and taken away from the beautiful game too soon, this is one curse we hope to never see repeated again.
