9 March 2005 - A Pair Of Clints

On 9 March 2005, Clint Dempsey made his first start for the United States in a 3-0 win over Colombia.

The striker/midfielder had gotten his first cap in November 2004, but had yet to crack the starting line-up until the friendly against Colombia, played on his 22nd birthday. He was one of six players making their starting debut, including goalkeeper Jon Busch and defenders Richie Kotschau and Chad Marshall. Those three, along with substitute Nat Borchers, were playing with the national team for the first time. Dempsey was also one of two Clints on the pitch, joining

The US went up 1-0 with a 25th-minute goal from Dempsey's New England Revolution teammate, Pat Noonan, with an assist from another Revolution player, Steve Ralston. Ralston also assisted on the second goal, scored by Marshall in the 33rd minute. Clint Mathis completed the win with a third goal in the 66th minute.

While Dempsey did not score that day, he has since gone on to net a total of 57 goals in 141 appearances, making him the team's all-time top scorer.

2 September 1961 - Vamos Valderrama

On 2 September 1961, midfielder Carlos Valderrama was born in Santa Marta, Colombia. He went on to become the national team's appearance leader with 111 caps.

Nicknamed "El Pibe" (the Kid) and easily recognized for his bushy blonde perm, Valderrama started his career with Unión Magdalena in 1981. By 1985, he was with Deportivo Cali and made his national team debut in a 3-0 loss to Paraguay and went on to captain the team for three successive World Cups (1990, 1994, 1998).

In the 1990 World Cup, he provided the assist for a stoppage-time equalizer against West Germany to send Colombia into the Round of 16 for the first and only time. He retired from international play after the 1998 tournament, having made a record 111 appearances.

Two years before that, he became one of the high-profile signings for the new American league, MLS, joining the Tampa Bay Mutiny for the league's first season in 1996. He later played for the Miami Fusion (1998), had another spell with Tampa Bay (1999-2000), and then one for the Colorado Rapids (2001-02) before retiring as the league's second-ranked all-time assist leader with 114 (he has since dropped to fourth in the assist table after being passed by Landon Donovan and Brad Davis).

5 September 2009 - Anywhere Else, This Might Have Been Surprising

On 5 September 2009, Colombia's win over Ecuador turned tragic when a grenade exploded during the post-match celebrations, killing one person and injuring at least 30 others. 

The two teams met at the Estadio Atanasio Girardot in Medellín for a World Cup qualifier. Playing before a crowd of 42,000, the match was deadlocked for the first 82 minutes until substitute Colombian striker Jackson Martínez (pictured) scored his first goal for the national team. Martínez played his club ball for Medellín and his goal sent the home supporters into a frenzy. Their excitement grew when striker Teófilo Gutiérrez added a second goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time to seal the victory. 

As joyous Colombian supporters celebrated the win through the streets of Medellín, the grenade exploded in one of the central plazas, the Parque San Antonio. In addition to the lone fatality, three others were seriously wounded, while the remaining injuries were not life-threatening. Although the Parque San Antonio had been the site of a 1995 terrorist attack that killed 23 people, police believed that the 2009 explosion was unrelated. Instead, they suspected that one of the celebrating supporters mishandled the grenade, setting it off accidentally. 

Colombia proceeded to split their last two qualification matches, losing to Chile and winning against Paraguay, to finish just outside the region's World Cup slots. 

7 June 1962 - Yugoslavia Delivers The Knockout Punch

On 7 June 1962, Yugoslavia and Colombia met in the World Cup with a place in the knockout rounds at stake.

Playing on their group's last match day, the two teams were battling to join the USSR, who had won the group the previous day with a 2-1 win over Uruguay, in the quarterfinals. Yugoslavia, sitting on 2 points at the start of the day, could advance with a draw. Colombia, however, had only a single point and needed a win to take the group's second spot in the knockout rounds.

Although the stakes were equal for both teams, the day belonged to Yugoslavia. Striker Milan Galić opened the scoring in the 20th minute and was joined on the scoresheet five minutes later by his fellow striker, Dražan Jerković (both Galić and Jerković had been instrumental in Yugoslavia's run to the Final of the European Championship in 1960).

Colombia tightened up their defense and managed to keep the score 2-0 until the 61st minute, when Galić added another. Not to be outdone, Jerković scored a second goal in the 87th minute, with an intervening goal in the 82nd minute from midfielder Vojislav Melić.

The 5-0 scoreline sent Colombia home and catapulted Yugoslavia into the next round, where they advanced over Hungary 1-0 before falling to Czechoslovakia in the semifinals. It remains their best showing in a World Cup, matched only by their semifinal run in 1930.

6 September 1995 - The Scorpion King

On 6 September 1995, Colombia and England played to a scoreless draw in a London friendly. The match remains notable as the debut of Colombian goalkeeper René Higuita's invention of the scorpion kick.

Higuita, who played for Spain's Real Valladolid at the time, had already established himself as an eccentric - but effective - keeper, winning multiple Colombian League titles with his former club, Atletico Nacional. But his flair for the dramatic occasionally backfired, such as when he tried to show off with the ball at the midfield line in a 1990 World Cup match against Cameroon and gave the ball away to Roger Milla, who scored to eliminate Colombia from the tournament.

Playing against England, Higuita played impressively, keeping a clean sheet throughout. But his moment of brilliance came when he defended a shot by midfielder Jamie Redknapp. As the shot arced toward the goalmouth, Higuita dove forward and brought his legs up behind him to swat the ball away. He dubbed the new move "the scorpion kick."

The kick impressed the crowd and England boss Terry Venables, who later said "I've never seen anything quite like that," but added "We won't be teaching our goalkeeper that, even if it does bring back the crowds. We'll leave that to him, he's the only one who can do it." England's Channel Four voted it 94th in their 2002 list of the top 100 sporting moments.

29 July 2001 - Enough Clean Sheets To Fill A Linen Closet

On 29 July 2001, hosts Colombia won their first Copa América title, beating invitees Mexico 1-0 in a Final that saw the visitors finish with nine men and no manager on the touchline.

The competition almost didn't happen, as drug-fueled political violence in the country forced CONMEBOL to cancel it. But promises of increased security by the organizers allowed it to go forward, albeit without CONMEBOL member Argentina and invitee Canada, both of whom withdrew amid concerns over the safety of their players.

Both Colombia and Mexico provided stout defenses throughout the tournament, with Mexico conceding only two goals, while Colombia had not allowed a single one. The Final proved to be much of the same, as the two teams battled through a scoreless first half notable mostly for the touchline ban issued against Mexican manager Javier Aguirre for his repeated excursions outside the bounds of the technical area. Colombia suffered a loss as well, losing the tournament's leading scorer, Victor Aristizabal to injury in the 25th minute.

Colombia eventually got the edge in the second half with a 65th-minute header from defender and captain Iván Córdoba - his only goal of the tournament. The frustrated Mexicans began lashing out, earning two late red cards for Juan Rodriguez and Gerardo Torres, as Colombia earned their sixth consecutive clean sheet of the competition and raised the cup.

5 September 1993 - A Monumental Victory

On 5 September 1993, Colombia humbled Argentina by the score of 0-5 in a World Cup qualifying match at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.

Colombia entered the match brimming with confidence. They were one point ahead of Argentina in the group standings and had just beaten the Albiceleste 2-1 three weeks earlier in Barranquilla, ending Argentina's 33-match win streak. The confidence proved well-placed, as, in the 41st minute, Colombian midfielder Carlos Valderrama sent a through ball to fellow midfielder Freddy Rincón, who then rounded the Argentinian keeper and tapped the ball into the empty net.

After the break, Argentina attacked in an effort to get an equalizer. As the Albiceleste pushed forward, Colombia took advantage of the exposed holes in the back and scored four more goals--another from Rincón (62'), two from striker Faustino Asprilla (49', 64'), and one from striker Adolfo Valencia (84').

After the match, Argentina's manager Alfio Basile was quoted as saying "I never want to think about that match again. It was a crime against nature, a day when I wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury myself in it." The loss was Argentina's first home loss in a World Cup qualifier and their last one for 16 years. Brazil finally snapped that streak with a 1-3 win on 5 September 2009.

2 July 1994 - The Murder Of Andrés Escobar

On 2 July 1994, Colombian defender Andrés Escobar died after being shot 12 times outside a bar in his hometown of Medellín.

Just 10 days previously, on 22 June, Escobar scored an own goal in a World Cup group stage match against the United States when, in the 34th minute, he misjudged a cross from American midfielder John Harkes and deflected it into his own net. The US doubled its lead in the 52d minute with a goal from midfielder Earnie Stewart, before Colombian striker Adolfo Valencia scored in the 89th minute. The match ended 2-1 and Colombia were subsequently eliminated from the tournament, despite winning their last group stage match against Switzerland.

Immediately after his murder, the media reported rampant speculation that the shooting was in response to Escobar's own goal, including theories that he had been targeted by drug lords or gambling syndicates who had bet heavily on Colombia to advance. There was also speculation that he had been killed by Colombians who were angered specifically by the loss to the United States, who was at that time involved in a long-running drug war against Colombia's cocaine trade.

In 1995, Humberto Muñoz Castro, identified by the New York Times as a driver/bodyguard for an unnamed "business executive," was convicted of Escobar's murder and sentenced to 43 years in prison. In 2005, however, he was released after serving only 11 years.

19 April 1958 - A Striking Debut

On 19 April 1958, 20-year old Manchester United striker/midfielder Bobby Charlton made his international debut for England in a British Home Championship match against Scotland at Hampden Park, Glasgow. England won 4-0, with two goals from Derek Kevan, one from Bryan Douglas, and one from Charlton - his first in an English record of 49 international goals. His last international goal came in England's 4-0 win over Colombia in a friendly played on 20 May 1970 in Bogotá.

Charlton played for the English national team through the 1970 World Cup, where England was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Franz Beckenbauer's West German side. In all, he made 106 national team appearances, a record at the time, though later surpassed by Bobby Moore (108), David Beckham (109), and Peter Shilton (125), so he is now the fourth most-capped player for England. 

His goal-scoring record still stands, however, almost 39 years after that last goal in Colombia.

25 July 2012 - Better Late Than Never (Unless You're Colombia)

On 25 July 2012, North Korea delayed their opening-day Olympic match against Colombia by over an hour after the organizers displayed the wrong flag on the scoreboard.

Scheduled to start 7:45 p.m. local time, the match was the second of the day at Glasgow's Hampden Park, following the USA's win over France earlier that day. As game time approached, the Colombian players lined up in the tunnel and prepared to take the field, but the Koreans remained in their locker room. They soon made clear that their failure to appear was a protest, made after they realized that the stadium's scoreboard was showing the South Korean flag next to their players' profiles, which they interpreted as a major insult.

Officials eventually corrected the mistake and the game kicked off at 8:50 p.m. Colombia probably would have preferred that it remain delayed, as North Korea won 2-0 with both goals coming from Kim Song-Hui (pictured).

22 June 1994 - Remember, It's Still Just A Game

On 22 June 1994, the United States got their first taste of victory in a World Cup match in 44 years, beating Colombia 2-1. But it came with a hefty price.

Since their famous win over England in 1950, the United States had failed to qualify for the next nine tournaments. They eventually returned to the competition in 1990, but lost all three of their matches.

They qualified automatically in 1994 as the hosts and opened the tournament by drawing 1-1 with Switzerland, then faced off against Colombia, who were a heavy favorite despite a 1-0 loss to Romania in their first game. The match against the US carried heavy political connotations, as the two nations were heavily involved in conflict over Colombia's drug trade.

Playing before a crowd of almost 94,000 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the US took a surprise lead with Colombian defender Andrés Escobar turned the ball into his own net in the 35th minute. The stunned visitors then surrendered a goal to forward Earnie Stewart in the 52nd minute to fall behind 2-0.

Substitute forward Adolfo Valencia, who had come on at the start of the second half, eventually pulled one back for Colombia in the 90th minute, but that was as close as they got and the match ended 2-1.

The loss ensured Colombia's exit from the tournament at the end of the group stage. After returning to Colombia just over a week later, Escobar was gunned down in what many people believe was a killing motivated by the own goal.

9 March 2005 - A Pair Of Clints

On 9 March 2005, Clint Dempsey made his first start for the United States in a 3-0 win over Colombia.

The striker/midfielder had gotten his first cap in November 2004, but had yet to crack the starting line-up until the friendly against Colombia, played on his 22nd birthday. He was one of six players making their starting debut, including goalkeeper Jon Busch and defenders Richie Kotschau and Chad Marshall. Those three, along with substitute Nat Borchers, were playing with the national team for the first time. Dempsey was also one of two Clints on the pitch, joining

The US went up 1-0 with a 25th-minute goal from Dempsey's New England Revolution teammate, Pat Noonan, with an assist from another Revolution player, Steve Ralston. Ralston also assisted on the second goal, scored by Marshall in the 33rd minute. Clint Mathis completed the win with a third goal in the 66th minute.

While Dempsey did not score that day, he has since gone on to net a total of 31 goals in 92 appearances, making him third on the team's all-time scoring chart.

2 September 1961 - Vamos Valderrama

On 2 September 1961, midfielder Carlos Valderrama was born in Santa Marta, Colombia. He went on to become the national team's appearance leader with 111 caps.

Nicknamed "El Pibe" (the Kid) and easily recognized for his bushy blonde perm, Valderrama started his career with Unión Magdalena in 1981. By 1985, he was with Deportivo Cali and made his national team debut in a 3-0 loss to Paraguay and went on to captain the team for three successive World Cups (1990, 1994, 1998).

In the 1990 World Cup, he provided the assist for a stoppage-time equalizer against West Germany to send Colombia into the Round of 16 for the first and only time. He retired from international play after the 1998 tournament, having made a record 111 appearances.

Two years before that, he became one of the high-profile signings for the new American league, MLS, joining the Tampa Bay Mutiny for the league's first season in 1996. He later played for the Miami Fusion (1998), had another spell with Tampa Bay (1999-2000), and then one for the Colorado Rapids (2001-02) before retiring as the league's second-ranked all-time assist leader with 114.

5 September 2009 - Anywhere Else, This Might Be Surprising

On 5 September 2009, Colombia's win over Ecuador turned tragic when a grenade exploded during the post-match celebrations, killing one person and injuring at least 30 others.

The two teams met at the Estadio Atanasio Girardot in Medellín for a World Cup qualifier. Playing before a crowd of 42,000, the match was deadlocked for the first 82 minutes until substitute Colombian striker Jackson Martínez (pictured) scored his first goal for the national team. Martínez played his club ball for Medellín and his goal sent the home supporters into a frenzy. Their excitement grew when striker Teófilo Gutiérrez added a second goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time to seal the victory.

As joyous Colombian supporters celebrated the win through the streets of Medellín, the grenade exploded in one of the central plazas, the Parque San Antonio. In addition to the lone fatality, three others were seriously wounded, while the remaining injuries were not life-threatening. Although the Parque San Antonio had been the site of a 1995 terrorist attack that killed 23 people, police believed that the 2009 explosion was unrelated. Instead, they suspected that one of the celebrating supporters mishandled the grenade, setting it off accidentally.

Colombia proceeded to split their last two qualification matches, losing to Chile and winning against Paraguay, to finish just outside the region's World Cup slots.

7 June 1962 - Yugoslavia Delivers The Knockout Punch

On 7 June 1962, Yugoslavia and Colombia met in the World Cup with a place in the knockout rounds at stake.

Playing on their group's last match day, the two teams were battling to join the USSR, who had won the group the previous day with a 2-1 win over Uruguay, in the quarterfinals. Yugoslavia, sitting on 2 points at the start of the day, could advance with a draw. Colombia, however, had only a single point and needed a win to take the group's second spot in the knockout rounds.

Although the stakes were equal for both teams, the day belonged to Yugoslavia. Striker Milan Galić opened the scoring in the 20th minute and was joined on the scoresheet five minutes later by his fellow striker, Dražan Jerković (both Galić and Jerković had been instrumental in Yugoslavia's run to the Final of the European Championship in 1960).

Colombia tightened up their defense and managed to keep the score 2-0 until the 61st minute, when Galić added another. Not to be outdone, Jerković scored a second goal in the 87th minute, with an intervening goal in the 82nd minute from midfielder Vojislav Melić.

The 5-0 scoreline sent Colombia home and catapulted Yugoslavia into the next round, where they advanced over Hungary 1-0 before falling to Czechoslovakia in the semifinals. It remains their best showing in a World Cup, matched only by their semifinal run in 1930.

6 September 1995 - The Scorpion King

On 6 September 1995, Colombia and England played to a scoreless draw in a London friendly. The match remains notable as the debut of Colombian goalkeeper René Higuita's invention of the scorpion kick.

Higuita, who played for Spain's Real Valladolid at the time, had already established himself as an eccentric - but effective - keeper, winning multiple Colombian League titles with his former club, Atletico Nacional. But his flair for the dramatic occasionally backfired, such as when he tried to show off with the ball at the midfield line in a 1990 World Cup match against Cameroon and gave the ball away to Roger Milla, who scored to eliminate Colombia from the tournament.

Playing against England, Higuita played impressively, keeping a clean sheet throughout. But his moment of brilliance came when he defended a shot by midfielder Jamie Redknapp. As the shot arced toward the goalmouth, Higuita dove forward and brought his legs up behind him to swat the ball away. He dubbed the new move "the scorpion kick."

The kick impressed the crowd and England boss Terry Venables, who later said "I've never seen anything quite like that," but added "We won't be teaching our goalkeeper that, even if it does bring back the crowds. We'll leave that to him, he's the only one who can do it." England's Channel Four voted it 94th in their 2002 list of the top 100 sporting moments.

29 July 2001 - Enough Clean Sheets To Fill A Linen Closet

On 29 July 2001, hosts Colombia won their first Copa América title, beating invitees Mexico 1-0 in a Final that saw the visitors finish with nine men and no manager on the touchline.

The competition almost didn't happen, as drug-fueled political violence in the country forced CONMEBOL to cancel it. But promises of increased security by the organizers allowed it to go forward, albeit without CONMEBOL member Argentina and invitee Canada, both of whom withdrew amid concerns over the safety of their players.

Both Colombia and Mexico provided stout defenses throughout the tournament, with Mexico conceding only two goals, while Colombia had not allowed a single one. The Final proved to be much of the same, as the two teams battled through a scoreless first half notable mostly for the touchline ban issued against Mexican manager Javier Aguirre for his repeated excursions outside the bounds of the technical area. Colombia suffered a loss as well, losing the tournament's leading scorer, Victor Aristizabal to injury in the 25th minute.

Colombia eventually got the edge in the second half with a 65th-minute header from defender and captain Iván Córdoba - his only goal of the tournament. The frustrated Mexicans began lashing out, earning two late red cards for Juan Rodriguez and Gerardo Torres, as Colombia earned their sixth consecutive clean sheet of the competition and raised the cup.

5 September 1993 - A Monumental Victory

On 5 September 1993, Colombia humbled Argentina by the score of 0-5 in a World Cup qualifying match at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.

Colombia entered the match brimming with confidence. They were one point ahead of Argentina in the group standings and had just beaten the Albiceleste 2-1 three weeks earlier in Barranquilla, ending Argentina's 33-match win streak. The confidence proved well-placed, as, in the 41st minute, Colombian midfielder Carlos Valderrama sent a through ball to fellow midfielder Freddy Rincón, who then rounded the Argentinian keeper and tapped the ball into the empty net.

After the break, Argentina attacked in an effort to get an equalizer. As the Albiceleste pushed forward, Colombia took advantage of the exposed holes in the back and scored four more goals--another from Rincón (62'), two from striker Faustino Asprilla (49', 64'), and one from striker Adolfo Valencia (84').

After the match, Argentina's manager Alfio Basile was quoted as saying "I never want to think about that match again. It was a crime against nature, a day when I wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury myself in it." The loss was Argentina's first--and to date only--home loss in a World Cup qualifier.

2 July 1994 - The Murder of Andrés Escobar

On 2 July 1994, Colombian defender Andrés Escobar died after being shot 12 times outside a bar in his hometown of Medellín.

Just 10 days previously, on 22 June, Escobar scored an own goal in a World Cup group stage match against the United States when, in the 34th minute, he misjudged a cross from American midfielder John Harkes and deflected it into his own net. The US doubled its lead in the 52d minute with a goal from midfielder Earnie Stewart, before Colombian striker Adolfo Valencia scored in the 89th minute. The match ended 2-1 and Colombia were subsequently eliminated from the tournament, despite winning their last group stage match against Switzerland.

Immediately after his murder, the media reported rampant speculation that the shooting was in response to Escobar's own goal, including theories that he had been targeted by drug lords or gambling syndicates who had bet heavily on Colombia to advance. There was also speculation that he had been killed by Colombians who were angered specifically by the loss to the United States, who was at that time involved in a long-running drug war against Colombia's cocaine trade.

In 1995, Humberto Muñoz Castro, identified by the New York Times as a driver/bodyguard for an unnamed "business executive," was convicted of Escobar's murder and sentenced to 43 years in prison. In 2005, however, he was released after serving only 11 years.

19 April 1958 - A Striking Debut

On 19 April 1958, 20-year old Manchester United striker/midfielder Bobby Charlton made his international debut for England in a British Home Championship match against Scotland at Hampden Park, Glasgow. England won 4-0, with two goals from Derek Kevan, one from Bryan Douglas, and one from Charlton - his first in an English record of 49 international goals. His last international goal came in England's 4-0 win over Colombia in a friendly played on 20 May 1970 in Bogotá.

Charlton played for the English national team through the 1970 World Cup, where England was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Franz Beckenbauer's West German side. In all, Charlton made 106 national team appearances, a record at the time, though later surpassed by Bobby Moore (108), David Beckham (109), and Peter Shilton (125). Charlton now stands as the fourth most-capped player for England. His goal-scoring record still stands, however, almost 39 years after that last goal in Colombia.