In football, the country was made famous by the great performances and goals of James Rodriguez at the 2014 World Cup, the scorpion kick of goalkeeper Rene Higuita in the match against England at Wembley, and other famous names such as Carlos Valderrama, Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado. The two worlds of drugs and football were bound to intersect in Colombia.
Narco-football
Since the 1980s, Colombia has become one of the biggest exporters of drugs in the world. The South American country has been engulfed by the cocaine phenomenon. Of course, there are no exact figures, but it is reported that Colombia produce around 70% of the world's supply of the drug. This business has brought it a lot of money, but also a lot of problems.
Increasingly powerful drug lords began to take over the whole country and their attention turned to football, the most popular pastime of the Colombian people. Football clubs were seized by the 'patrons' of the drug cartels not only for pleasure, but also as a handy tool for money laundering and populism. Many of the drug hegemons invested heavily in football. It was a practice that we now hear of as sportswashing.
By investing in football, not only in the first team but also in the academies and the infrastructure of the clubs, the cartels won the favour of the general public - the local communities. On the other hand, however, they legitimised the dirty money through the club and took the vast majority of it back by giving false information about the amounts for player transfers, wages and other accounting items. The term narco-football has come to refer to this specifically Colombian symbiosis between drug trafficking and football.
Large-scale 'narco-football' projects have emerged in three of Colombia's largest cities. The most famous of these is Pablo Escobar's association with the Atletico National club from Medellin. In Bogota, Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha, known as 'the Mexican', joined the Millonarios club. Gacha had been a rival of Escobar's from the Medellin cartel, but over time they had a number of disputes, and their rivalry was strongly reflected in the rivalry between the two football clubs, to which we will return shortly.
The biggest competitors in the underworld were Escobar, Gacho, and by extension Medellin and Bogota, the city of Cali and the cartel there. The heads of the Cali cartel, brothers Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, owned and controlled the America de Cali football club.
Thanks to the narco-barons' financial injections, the standard of Colombian football as a whole grew. The Colombian clubs, especially those that were in the hands of the drug cartels, also brought in quality foreign reinforcements, raising the level and salaries of the players considerably.
The Colombian national team also went to three consecutive World Cups (1990, 1994, 1998). Before that, the last time the Colombians had participated in the World Cup was in 1962. The local clubs have also achieved great success. Especially Escobar's Atletico National.
The war between cartels on the football pitch
A historic moment for Colombian club football was the triumph of Medellin's Atletico National in the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the Champions League, in 1989. It was the first time in history that a Colombian team won in competition with teams from Brazil or Argentina.
There was one very sharp clash during their run to the title. In the quarter-finals of the continent's most prestigious competition, the team from Medellin faced the Millonarios from Bogota. The two clubs were already great rivals before this match.
Their game against each other is a clash between two of the best Colombian teams in history, a battle between the capital and the second most important centre of the country, a rivalry between two different regions and their inhabitants, and in the late 1980s a clash between two rivals from the drug scene - Escobar and 'Mexican' Gacha.
The first match in Medellin was won 1-0 by the home team, Atletico. The rematch in Bogota ended in a 1-1 draw, but the whole match was very controversial.
The Chilean referee Silva seemed to favour the team from Medellin. Later, more and more information leaked out that Silva had been in contact directly with Pablo Escobar on several occasions... Atletico National then managed to go all the way to the trophy. The mutual resentment within the Colombian superclasico, as the rivalry between Atletico National and Millonarios FC is called, intensified.
The saddest consequences of Colombia's 'narco-football'
The unruly and brutal practices of the drug underworld have very often manifested themselves in the football environment. In addition to corruption, intimidation, extortion, money laundering, tax evasion or other fraud, these were unfortunately the worst crimes.
In 1989, referee Alvaro Ortega was murdered after a match between Independiente Medellin and America de Cali. He made some strange decisions during the match. The final draw was not to the liking of the drug cartels. Matches were also routinely fixed for betting purposes.
The most famous and saddest story is the murder of footballer Andres Escobar after the 1994 World Cup. Colombia went to the World Cup in the United States with the label of the black horse of the tournament. But it stumbled in its first match, losing to Romania.
In the second match, the Colombians were expected to return to the tournament with a win over the paper-weak home team of the United States. However, thanks to an own goal by team captain Escobar, Colombia was without a point after two group matches and without a chance to qualify for the knockout stage of the championship.
After returning home to Colombia, Escobar was shot dead in front of his girlfriend on the street in Medellin. It was later revealed that the killer had been hired by one of the drug cartels. He allegedly fired an entire clip at the footballer, shouting "goal" with each shot. He was sentenced to 43 years in prison, but was released after 11 years for good behaviour.
After the 'fall' of the drug cartels in the 1990s and early 2000s, Colombian football also experienced a crisis. The national team did not qualify for the World Cup in 2002, 2006 or 2010. It was not until 2014 that the Colombians fought their way back into elite company. They even reached the quarter-finals at the Brazilian World Cup. They made a dent in the world thanks to Rodriguez.
Colombia also made it to the knockout stage four years later at the World Cup in Russia. They missed out in Qatar and are currently trying to qualify for the next championship, which will be held in 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico. But is the domestic football scene more interested in the national team's qualifying matches or the tense league derbies?
Repre break? A feast of football in Colombia!
Colombia has always gone its own, somewhat peculiar way. And that goes for the relationship between international and league football too. The national break is not a problem for the top competition. It is not a big problem for the Colombian national team, because the national team is made up overwhelmingly of compatriots working in Europe or other American countries. And with club football asleep everywhere else, Colombia's Primera A is pulling out its big aces - the Clásico Paisa o Medellín and the Clásico Vallecaucano in Cali.
Colombians are experiencing a lot and cheering, both for the national team and their favourite clubs in the league, all the more strongly in the derby. The national break is thus a real celebration of football in Colombia compared to other parts of the world. During these days, football is a top priority for the vast majority of Colombian society.
Colombian derby weekend
Saturday October 14th
Colombia - Primera A
Independiente Medellín vs Atlético Nacional
El Clasico Paisa (The "Real Clasico")
Medellín is the second largest city in Colombia, home to over 2.5 million people. It is home to two major football clubs, Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín. Their rivalry is referred to as El Clasico Paisa, or "The Real Clasico" (paisa is a slang word meaning "the real home team"). The two clubs share the 40,000-seat Estadio Atanasio Gigardot, which is a hell on earth, especially during the city's derby.
The last Medellín derby, played a month ago, was won by Independiente 1-0. Currently, Independiente is in third place, Atletico National is breathing down its rival's neck from fourth position, just two points behind.
Sunday 15 October
Colombia - Primera A
América de Cali vs Deportivo Cali
Clasico Vallecaucano ("Clasico" of the Valle del Cauca department)
Cali is Colombia's third largest city, with over 2.2million inhabitants. It is also home to two large and successful clubs. These are America de Cali and Deportivo Cali. The Clasico Vallecaucano has been played 336 times in history. Both clubs have achieved continuously good results, almost throughout their existence. That is why the balance between them is very even, and thus the rivalry between them is very strong.
Even the Cali derby was played in September. America beat their city rival 3-0 and are better off in the league table - America de Cali are in second place, Deportivo are trying to break into the top eight.