Former Colombia great Rincon dies following car crash

BOGOTA : Former Colombia captain Freddy Rincon has died after he sustained severe head injuries in a car crash that occurred in the city of Cali earlier this week, doctors said late on Wednesday. He was 55.

Rincon was injured after the vehicle he was driving collided with a bus on Monday.

"Despite all the efforts of our teams, Freddy Eusebio Rincon Valencia has passed away," Laureano Quintero, the medical director of the Imbanaco Clinic in Cali where Rincon was being treated, told reporters.

Rincon, 55, was a commanding midfielder who played for Colombian sides Santa Fe and America.

He also had spells with Italian club Napoli and Spain’s Real Madrid.

He captained Brazilian side Corinthians to the first club world championship title in 2000 and was also part of the 'golden generation' of Colombian players who took the national side to three consecutive World Cups in 1990, 1994 and 1998.

He scored 17 goals during his international career and was on the scoresheet against Argentina in a 5-0 World Cup qualifier victory in Buenos Aires in 1993.

(Reporting by Oliver Griffin and Nelson Bocanegra; Editing by Peter Rutherford)