He shoots but doesnt score.......

ANDRES ESCOBAR

Its Derby time here in Medellin.El Classico as they call it.I have been to two games this season but this is the big one.Derbys all over the world are intense affairs and judging by what I have seen so far this could be an experience.This game is considered one of the biggest in Colombia.First I need to get a ticket.The game is on a Sunday night at 7pm but the tickets only go on sale on the Thursday.This is so different from back home.All the big games have early kick offs to stop the fans getting drunk all day.This doesn't seem to concern them here.I ask my Colombian friend to get me and the Peruvian Manc a ticket for the south section behind the goal.Are you sure he asks ? Things can get out of hand some times.There is always some trouble it just depends where.Me and the Peruvian manc really want to go.He explains we will have to pay extra as the touts or the gangs as he puts it, buy up all the south section tickets and then sell them for extra.Don't the club stop them from doing this.He explains that people at the club get money from the gangs so there is no way round it.Its just the way it is.Don't even try to buy from the ticket office.How much ? Face value is 18,000 pesos per ticket, we will all have to pay 35,000 per ticket.Ok no problem,lets do it.My adopted team Nacional play in green and white just like my team back home.They also have the biggest support in the city, and they were the first team from Colombia to win the Copa Libertadores back in 1989.This is like the European cup of South America.There is a lot of controversy surrounding the club at this time.Pablo Escobar, the notorious drug baron ,bought the club and was using it to launder his billions of dollars.He began buying up all the best players and paying them silly money.Similar to Man City now.All the players who won the cup were Colombian.There is still talk now that some of the clubs are financed in part by the drug gangs as its the best way to launder money.The Colombian league was cancelled in 1989 because a referee was shot and many say Pablo Escobar was bribing the other refs.The current manager  of Nacional is Santiago Escobar.He is the brother of the player who was shot for scoring an own goal at the world cup in 1994.His brother Andres used to play for Nacional and was from Medellin.He was the Colombian captain and captain of Nacional.He was gunned down outside a nightclub here in Medellin one week after his own goal had eliminated Colombia.The night he was killed, there were 40 other murders in Medllin that night !! So some people say it wasn't related to the own goal.There is a great documentary on you tube called The Two Escobars.Its made by ESPN and I highly recommend it.Its sad and amazing at the same time.It will give you a good idea of what this place was like at that time.Its a warm evening as we meet at our local bar near my apartment.I only live  15 minutes walk from the Stadium.My side of the stadium is the south so there is no  Deportivo Medellin fans, who wear  red white and blue and occupy the north section.We have a few beers and head to the ground.As we get closer the bars and roads are a sea of green and white.I can sense the different atmosphere tonight.People are more excited,theres more people drinking spirits straight from the bottle.I hear a commotion and see fans shouting.A Nacional fan has been arrested and a crowd are shouting at the police.Soon some more police arrive and the van speeds off.We approach the first search point and theres mounted police.I haven't seen these guys before.They look mean.They have no expression as they stare at you.They have huge sticks at there side.My Colombian friend says he has seen them charge and beat people with these sticks many times.I have not seen one opposition fan yet and wonder where the trouble might be if they are separated so well.My friend told me to not wear a belt as they confiscate all belts,and he was right , there is a large bin full of belts they have confiscated.I have been to many derby games back home but never have we had our belts confiscated.We get in 40 minutes before kick off.My friend the Peruvian manc has jet black hair so he can pass as Colombian.I have no hope.We head to the top tier and my Colombian friend advises us to stand to the left of the goals.To the right of the goals is where the band will be ,and also the hardcore fans.These fans are always topless and are basically a gang.They have a banner relating to the Libertadores win of 1989 when Escobar owned the club.When I came before the band were in place.There are no stewards or police in this section.The fans police themselves.Suddenly I can hear the band and there is a buzz in the air.Bang Bang Bang the drum starts the song and everyone to a man starts singing.This is noisy.The band begins to walk thru playing there song, but its not just the band.They are surrounded by lots of men with no shirts on.Dodgy looking men.The sort of men you wouldn't want to mess with. I can tell by the reaction that these people are looked up too by the people surrounding me.My Colombian friend tells me these are the hardcore element.They decide what goes on in this section.What banners are allowed ,what songs are sung, who stands where.There are at least 300 of them and the procession of them and the band takes a good 5 minutes.The hardcore fans are screaming and shouting as they walk past,whipping the crowd into a frenzy.I am only two rows away as they walk past me.I try not to make eye contact.I am the only gringo I can see in this whole section and I feel a wee bit uncomfortable at this point.The band pass and everyone moves back in place.A fan comes over to me and starts talking in Spanish.He is drunk but I get a friendly vibe from him.He is saying welcome to Medellin and is telling me how much he hates the other team.He is shouting and giving the middle finger to the opposition fans.I copy him and this gets a laugh from the other fans around me.A few more start  talking to me and the vibe is feeling a lot more friendly.Suddenly theres a commotion behind me.People are pushing and I get shoved forward.It looks like a fight but its not.The fans are handing out ticker tape and everyone wants one.A few of the fans make sure me and the Peruvian manc get one.There are also green balloons being handed out and white paper.I am told to wait until the teams come out and then we all throw the tape.At the bottom of the stand I can see some of the guys with no shirts have what look like fire extinguishers.This is obviously some kind of some  smoke they are gonna let off.Ten minutes to kick of and we are all squeezed in together.The band is in full flow and everyone to a man is singing.I look at the opposition fans and its exactly the same.Nacional haven't come out to warm up,which I find very strange.The two teams come out and everyone goes mental.The ticker tape and paper is thrown,green smoke is fired out and I cant see a thing for thirty seconds.The noise is deafening and then everyone starts to jump up and down as they sing.The balloon's are being waved and I can only imagine how good it looks.The game kicks off and it doesn't live up to the hype.Nacional were playing in the Libertadores on Wednesday night and they look sluggish.Deportivo are near the bottom of the league and they look like there happy to sit back and hit Nacional on the break.I am more interested watching the fans when I suddenly spot a commotion to the left of me.Some of the Nacional fans are fighting with each other.This is not a good sign.The one thing you can say about the games I go to back home is there is never any fans fighting from the same team.As long as your wearing the colours of my team you are with me.We are all as one no matter who or what you are.I have never seen a fight between the same teams fans.This alarms me greatly and I feel uneasy.The commotion dies down as people are holding each other back and order is restored.The first half has been poor and its heading for nil nil when disaster strikes.Deportivo score a goal with the last kick of the first half.Stunned silence around me as the opposition fans go wild.There is no time to take the kick off as the ref blows for the end of the first half.This is painful as we have to watch the other fans celebrate during the half time break.Everyone takes this as a chance to relax and grab a seat.I notice everyones face is slightly green with the smoke and I imagine mine is too.The players come out for the second half and it all starts again.This is noisier than Ive ever seen it.Theres 5 minutes gone when disaster strikes again and Deportivo Medellin score from a corner in front of there own fans.This is terrible.The Nacional fans are stunned but it lasts only a minute as they are back on it. Again I notice another fight behind me and theres people getting knocked about.There are no stewards or police so any fight seems to be sorted out by the fans.Nacional are attacking the goal we are standing behind and they lay siege to the goal trying to get back into the game.A cross is whipped in and the Nacional forward powers in a header.The place erupts and I get pushed forward a few rows.I manage to stay on my feet but a few people are pushed to the floor.Everyone is going mental and I feel relieved to have survived the celebrations unscathed.Its all Nacional now and they are pounding the goal looking for an equaliser.Again there are a few skirmishes around me and its hard to concentrate.I have one eye on the game and one eye looking out for any one starting some trouble.I was expecting maybe some trouble outside with opposition fans but not my own.The game ends in defeat for Nacional and this has made people very unhappy.A lot of these fans have been drinking all day and the smell of cannabis is strong everywhere.No one leaves for ten minutes after the final whistle as the opposition fans are allowed out first.We head out the stadium and head for the bar near my apartment.We have to walk past the metro station and this is where everyone is hanging about.I can feel the tension in the air.There are no Medellin fans I can see.Suddenly people are running and we get on our toes too.I don't know whats happened but we don't hang around.Me and the Peruvian manc get to the bar which is ten minutes away and order a beer.Our Colombian friend joins us 5 minutes later and tells us its all kicked off.The tear gas is out and the police are bashing a few fans.Not our scene and I am glad we managed to get away in time.This was an amazing derby and an experience I enjoyed.I wouldn't recommend it to everyone as the fighting in the ground made me feel uneasy at times.The next day made me realise that this is serious stuff were dealing with.The newspaper was reporting that a Nacional fan had been shot in the head by another Nacional fan.There were over 300 arrests with 400 weapons found or confiscated, including a gun.Can you imagine if this happened back home, there would be uproar.Its all anyone would be talking about for days or weeks.I mention it to Colombians I know expecting a reaction and all they say is " yes I heard " in a matter of fact sort of way.You can read about it if you google" Nacional fan killed in Medellin".I dont think there is the hatred I get from other derbys I have been to.There is hatred but I think its more the hardcore element looking to cause trouble and others getting involved for the buzz.There is another one in a few weeks.Same time same place.....maybe.
In the words of Carter Burwell " Death is always around the corner,but often our society gives it inordinate help "