Argentina v Colombia (1994 FIFA World Cup qualification)

The qualifying match for the 1994 FIFA World Cup between Argentina and Colombia is a historic football match played on 5 September 1993. It was the last day of qualifying matches in the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification – group A of the South American qualifiers. Argentina, in that time second of the group, needed to win in order to not play the intercontinental play-off against Australia. If Argentina didn't win, the qualification to the World Cup depended on the result of the other match of the group (being held in Lima on the same day) between Peru and Paraguay. For its part, Colombia being the first of its group could reach the qualification with a win or a draw.[1] Colombia won 5–0.

Argentina v Colombia (1993)
The Monumental Stadium, venue of the match
Event1994 FIFA World Cup qualification - South American zone - group 1
Colombia qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup
Date5 September 1993
VenueMonumental Stadium, Buenos Aires
RefereeErnesto Filippi (Uruguay)
Attendance53,000

This is a game highly remembered for the Colombian, Argentinian, Paraguayan and Peruvian fans, with a historical importance and significance for winning in Argentina to a 2-times World champion and in that time undefeated 2-time champion of the 1991 and 1993 Copa América as well as the 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup. In addition, Argentina's 6-year undefeated streak on home soil was broken. Prior to this game, Argentina have never conceded five goals and have never lost on home soil in a World Cup qualifier match. The game has become a milestone in Colombia's football history. After winning this game, Colombia reached its third appearance in a World Cup after playing the 1962 and 1990 editions.

The game was played in Buenos Aires at the Monumental Stadium before about 75,000 spectators, refereed by Uruguayan Ernesto Filippi, replacing the Chilean Carlos Robles.[2] The match was broadcast in Colombia by Cadena Uno (current Canal Uno) through the program Gol Caracol of the then-programadora Caracol Televisión and in Argentina by Canal 13.

Before the game

The situation of the group before the game was as follows:

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Colombia 532082+68
 Argentina 531174+37
 Paraguay 513145–15
 Peru 5005210–80

Colombia was first of the group with 8 points, product of 2 draws and 3 wins (in that time, for a win were given 2 points to the winner). Argentina was in second place, with 7 points, product of 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat.

Permutations were as follows:

  • Colombia would qualify by avoiding defeat.
  • Argentina would qualify by defeating Colombia.
  • Paraguay could not qualify directly but could qualify for the inter-continental play-off in the event that they defeat Peru and Colombia defeat Argentina.
  • Peru could not qualify directly for the tournament or the inter-continental play-off.

Both teams had met in the first leg in Barranquilla (15 August 1993) with 2-1 victory for Colombia. The scorers for Colombia were Iván Valenciano and Adolfo "Tren" Valencia; Argentina scored one goal by Ramón Medina Bello.

The game

Freddy Rincón scoring one of his goals

The match began with insults and slander by the Argentinian fans towards the Colombian team. A few days before the crucial match, Diego Maradona launched a phrase during a television interview: while putting palms of the hands parallel to the ground at chest height, one above the other, said "You can't change history, history shouldn't be changed: Argentina up, Colombia down."[3][4] In Argentina it was exaggerated think about going to the playoffs against the winner of Oceania's qualifying.

The Argentinian team began dominating the match with several arrivals with danger of goal, but the Colombian goalkeeper Oscar Córdoba perfectly conjured Argentinian options. When the Argentinian goal seemed sure to come, Colombia began to control the game and at halftime was winning 0-1, thanks to the speed and accuracy of the player Freddy Rincón after a precise pass from Carlos Valderrama in the minute 41.

For the second half Colombia took Argentina's need and scored the other four goals, as follows:

  • 49': Faustino Asprilla (0-2)
  • 72': Freddy Rincón, after a pass form Leonel Álvarez. (0-3)
  • 74': Faustino Asprilla, after a failed Argentina's ball delivery in midfield. (0-4)
  • 84': Adolfo Valencia, after a pass from Asprilla. (0-5)

While the Argentinian public wasn't believing what was happening, Colombia managed to close a historic day for the Colombian football and world football.

Match details

Argentina 0–5 Colombia
report Rincón  41', 72'
Asprilla  49', 74'
Valencia  84'
Argentina
Colombia
GK1Sergio Goycochea
DF14Julio Saldaña
DF15Jorge Borelli
DF6Oscar Ruggeri
DF3Ricardo Altamirano
MF17Gustavo Zapata
MF5Fernando Redondo 69'
MF10Diego Simeone
MF20Leonardo Rodríguez 54'
FW18Ramón Medina Bello
FW9Gabriel Batistuta
Substitutions:
FW16Claudio García 54'
FW19Alberto Acosta 69'
Manager:
Alfio Basile
GK1Oscar Córdoba
DF4Luis Fernando Herrera
DF15Luis Carlos Perea
DF3Alexis Mendoza
DF20Wilson Pérez
MF14Leonel Álvarez
MF8Gabriel Jaime Gómez
MF19Freddy Rincón
MF10Carlos Valderrama
FW11Faustino Asprilla
FW13Adolfo Valencia
Substitutions:
none
Manager:
Francisco Maturana

Assistant referees:
Pedro Risso
Juan Kerekes

[5][6][1]

After the game

After the game, the group results were as follows:

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Colombia 6420132+1110
 Argentina 63127927
 Paraguay 61416716
 Peru 601541281
The Argentine players leaving the field after the catastrophic defeat

With the win, Colombia automatically qualified for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, while Argentina had to play the intercontinental play-off against Australia to define their qualification for the World Cup because Paraguay had a 2−2 draw against Peru.[1]

Argentine sports magazine El Gráfico published a black cover after the game titled "Vergüenza" (Shame) without background images.[1][7][8][9] Fifteen years later, for Fox Sports, the 0−5 is "one of the most thunderous beatings suffered by the 'albiceleste' in its history, and was also the end of a six-year winning streak at home". After the match ended, Argentinian spectators, among whom was Diego Maradona, were applauding the Colombian team for several minutes.

Argentina's defeat against Colombia in this match was the first time in history that the Albiceleste lost at home, and the first time it lost in the Monumental in a World Cup qualifier. She remained unbeaten at home 33 matches until, curiously, another 5 September (of 2009) suffered the second defeat in its history, this time against Brazil (1−3) in the city of Rosario.[10] The 0−5 was the first time that Argentina lost by a landslide in the history of World Cup qualifying until its defeat of 1 April 2009 against Bolivia in La Paz, with Diego Maradona as coach (6−1).

Argentina's national team did not lose in the Monumental Stadium for official matches until 8 October 2015, when the team was defeated by Ecuador (0−2). Later, in the qualifiers it played just two games out of the stadium (for qualifying) without being able to win (in 1997 they drew 1−1 against Colombia in La Bombonera and in 2009 lost 1−3 against Brazil in the stadium Gigante de Arroyito). This streak was reversed in 2012, beating Paraguay in Córdoba and Uruguay in Mendoza. For its part, Colombia has been unable to win again to Argentina in visitor status since then.

In the final tournament itself, Argentina was eliminated in the round of 16 by Romania after Diego Maradona, who returned to the team following the 5−0 loss, was expelled from the tournament after it was discovered that he had failed a drug test, as he had ephedrine, a weight loss drug, in his blood. As for Colombia, they ended up getting eliminated in the group stage partially due to an own goal against host nation United States scored by Andrés Escobar; he was later murdered upon his return to Colombia after their elimination in retaliation for the own goal. Note that there is controversy over this assertion. Andres Escobar was in an argument with a restaurant owner in the parking lot when he was killed. It was not a simple assassination in retaliation.

The five-goal margin of defeat for this match is Argentina's largest losing deficit in any match, and is Argentina's third of only five matches in which the national team has lost by a margin of five goals; their first five-goal loss occurred at the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, where they lost 6−1 to Czechoslovakia; their second five-goal loss was a 5−0 loss to Uruguay a year later in 1959; their fourth five-goal loss was a 6−1 loss to Bolivia in a qualification match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in La Paz, Bolivia; their fifth and most recent five-goal loss was a 6−1 loss to Spain in a friendly match in Madrid, Spain, that acted as a warm-up preparation match for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

References

  1. "Argentina vs Colombia - Monumental humbling for Argentina". FIFA. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  2. "UN JUEGO DECISIVO PARA FILIPPI" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 5 September 1993. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  3. "El pasado 5 se septiembre se cumplieron quince años del recordado 5-0" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 5 September 2008. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  4. "1993: Argentina vs Colombia". 23 December 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  5. "14 años del histórico Colombia 5 - Argentina 0" (in Spanish). ADN mundo. 5 September 2007. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  6. "Argentina v Colombia, 05 September 1993". 11v11.com. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  7. "Partidazo: Argentina 0-5 Colombia, 5 September 1993 - Argentina's shame". Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  8. "Hace falta un gesto..." (in Spanish). El Gráfico. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  9. "A 15 años de la peor derrota de la Selección Argentina" (in Spanish). Diario de Mendoza. 4 September 2008. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  10. Aguirre Blanco, Roberto (5 September 2009). "Luego de 16 años Argentina perdió el invicto de local" (in Spanish). Asteriscos.tv. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
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