Freddy Rincón

Freddy Rincón
	Rincón in 1994
Personal information
Full name	Freddy Eusebio Rincón Valencia
Date of birth	14 August 1966 (age 55)
Place of birth	Buenaventura, Colombia
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
National team‡
Teams managed
2005	Iraty
2006	São Bento
2009	São José
2009	Corinthians (youth)
2010	Flamengo de Guarulhos
2010	Atlético Mineiro (assistant)
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of January 3, 2011; ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of June 20, 2009

Freddy Eusebio Rincón Valencia (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈfɾeði riŋˈkon]; born 14 August 1966) is a retired Colombian footballer who played 84 games for the Colombia national team between 1990 and 2001. A versatile midfielder he was capable of playing on the left, in the centre or as an attacking midfielder.

Club career[]

Rincón began his career at Atlético Buenaventura in 1986. He also played for Independiente Santa Fé, América de Cali (Colombia), Napoli (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain), Palmeiras, Santos, and Corinthians (Brazil).

For América de Cali won the Colombian Championship in 1990 and 1992.

It was his combination with Faustino Asprilla in the 5–0 demolition of Argentina in the 1994 World Cup qualifying campaign that prompted Parma to sign the Colombian midfielder. However the three foreigner rule meant he was loaned out to Napoli, and was eventually sold onto Real Madrid.

Rincón spent the latter part of his career playing club football in Brazil where he played for Palmeiras, Corinthians, Santos and Cruzeiro. During his time with Corinthians the club won the Brazilian championship in 1998 and 1999 and the first FIFA Club World Cup in 2000, his greatest title.

International career[]

Rincón scored 17 goals in 84 caps for the Colombian national team, playing in the 1990, 1994, and 1998 World Cups.

His most important and most memorable goal is the one he scored against West Germany in Milan, Italy on June 19 during the 1990 World Cup. Playing into injury time, Colombia needed a goal to draw the game and avoid elimination from the tournament at the group stages. When played through by a pass from Carlos Valderrama, Rincon held his nerve and calmly fired the ball through the legs of the German goalkeeper to secure the draw his team needed. During a qualifying match for the 1994 FIFA World Cup on September 5, 1993 against Argentina, he scored the first goal of the game receiving the ball from teammate Carlos Valderrama and passing the Argentine goalkeeper, Sergio Goycochea, before scoring.

International goals[]

Scores and results lists Colombia's goal tally first.^[1]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Final	Competition
1.	26 May 1990	Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt	Egypt	1–1	1–1	Friendly
2.	2 June 1990	Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	1–2	1–3	Friendly
3.	19 June 1990	Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy	Germany	1–1	1–1	1990 FIFA World Cup
4.	3 February 1991	Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, United States	Switzerland	2–1	2–3	1991 Miami Cup
5.	6 June 1991	Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden	Sweden	1–1	2–2	Friendly
6.	23 June 1993	Estadio George Capwell, Guayaquil, Ecuador	Argentina	1–1	1–1	1993 Copa América
7.	8 August 1993	Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru	Peru	1–0	1–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
8.	22 August 1993	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay	Paraguay	1–1	1–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
9.	29 August 1993	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia	Peru	2–0	4–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.	5 September 1993	Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Argentina	1–0	5–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
11.	5 September 1993		Argentina	3–0	5–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
12.	5 June 1994	Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, United States	Greece	2–0	2–0	Friendly
13.	10 July 1995	Estadio Atilio Paiva Olivera, Rivera, Uruguay	Ecuador	1–0	1–0	1995 Copa América
14.	16 July 1995	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Paraguay	1–1	1–1	1995 Copa América
15.	22 July 1995	Estadio Domingo Burgueño, Maldonado, Uruguay	United States	4–1	4–1	1995 Copa América
16.	10 November 1996	Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia	Bolivia	2–2	2–2	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
17.	23 May 1998	Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, United States	Scotland	2–2	2–2	Friendly

Coaching career[]

In 2005, he started a football manager career, after he was hired as Iraty manager for the 2006 season.^[2] On September 27, 2006, Rincón was hired as São Bento's manager.^[3] He is currently the coach of São José Esporte Clube of São José dos Campos, São Paulo.

He was hired as Corinthians youth team head coach in 2009.^[4]

Personal life[]

He has been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since August 20, 2005. He was baptized in São Paulo Perdizes Stake in Brazil.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, Rincón came under criminal investigation in Colombia and Panama, facing charges of collaboration with cocaine kingpin and suspicion of money laundering. On May 10, São Paulo police took him into custody after a Panamanian request for extradition.^[5] In August 2013, Rincón suffered multiple injuries in a car accident in his native Valle del Cauca, where he underwent surgery at a local hospital.^[6]

Rincón's son is professional footballer Sebastián Rincón, who currently plays for Vitória de Guimarães in Portugal.