FOOTBALL, CRIME AND "THE TWO ESCOBARS"

So, I keep banging on about true stories but let’s face it, there is a painfully small number of documentaries actually featured on this blog. Why? Honestly, it’s because my archive doesn’t contain enough of them. The said festival (yes, as I adored every single film I went to; you will be reading about my antics here for a while, he he =) ) contained a documentary section too, but there were so many classics and old masters I wanted to look into, by the time I had my festival program ready there was very, VERY little “free space” left for the documentaries. There were a lot of good ones, but this one stood out for me – and it was the only one I actually managed to squeeze into my schedule.
Now, when I told my aunt about this one later, I started off by saying “Well, it’s a film about the drug cartels and their connections with football in Columbia in the ‘80s and ‘90s. My aunt burst out laughing and wondered out loud what on earth I could have seen in it. I thus started explaining, loudly, on my mobile, in the middle of the street and I can’t help thinking back and realizing I must have looked kinda ridiculous… But here is what I said…
Now, Columbia as you know is not one of the richest countries in the world. It is, however, famous for other things. Cocaine. Drug trafficking. Violence. But at one time, not so long ago, they were also famous for football… It was a short period and the Columbia national team shone briefly but was never seen again. Among them was young Andres Escobar, a star player. He had absolutely nothing to do with Pablo Escobar though. That is to say, they were not related or anything. At the time however, drug cartels and football were pretty well linked… Think about it, football, ticket sales etc are a wonderful way to launder money. The documentary informs us that the drug barons of Columbia noticed this, and united this interest with their true love, nay passion for football – especially in the case of Pablo Escobar – to become closely involved with the teams of their country. True this meant that the teams were into money laundering up to their eyeballs but it also meant that the clubs had money… To pay their star players high salaries, to hire foreign coaches, get equipment. Raw talent in Columbia was plentiful, and with the influx of money, Columbian football began to shine… Unfortunately, this golden period was soon to end…
This is a fascinating documentary about a corner of the world and various topics you wouldn’t necessarily have thought of if not pushed. I am not a football fan, nor am I particularly interested in drug cartels, but it was still fascinating to watch. It also gives one a very realistic image of why football is such a big deal in developing countries. Countries were life is tough. You need something positive, the normal people all need something positive to build their identity on. They need to hear good news, rejoice at something. This is why football is such a big deal… 90 minutes to forget your life and race towards victory and glory… Sad, thought provoking, definitely worth finding and watching…