15 USACOL Baldas

 

Rest in Peace, Andrés Escobar

A game frozen in time. An amalgamation of narratives to which the World Cup was secondary were fused on a late afternoon in Pasadena, which resulted in the most terrible tragedy. The terror under which the Colombia played could not have been more different than the boyish excitement in the Rose Bowl generated by the American crowd, who watched on as their team (more-or-less) ensured the star-spangled banner would fly in the knockout stage. The United States' own World Cup was to be a success. 

That is not to say the American team were not under pressure - the future of the sport in their nation more-or-less rested on this one game, as Switzerland's defeat of Romania ensured a loser here would very likely finish in fourth place. But it pales into insignificance with what the Colombia players faced. 

Escobar's unfortunate error, made of course with only the best of intentions, leaving a goalkeeper totally helpless as the ball trundled past him, in a way perfectly encapsulated the paradox in which he and teammates faced. If he didn't go for the ball, Ernie Stewart would have more than likely scored - he had to try and do something. If the United States were playing for the future of their sport, the Colombia players fought for their very livelihoods. Escobar's wanton killing was the repulsive denouement.

It is quite hard to converse how much of a game this was simply on it's own - in a way the performance of United States in World Cup 1994 was secondary to football's ultimate development stateside; Colombia's quite obviously subordinate to how a nation in psychological trauma could start some recovery from anarchic chaos. And yet everything could have been so different had Colombia scored that sixth minute chance. If anything, that should make one realise how unimportant sport should be, and how important it really is.

So what then of the Italian referee, Fabio Baldas? Remarkably, he too has a story behind him. His attendance at all at the tournament was the result of a battle - João Havelange argued vociferously that Italy should not have two officials and that Baldas should be removed (Pierluigi Pairetto would remain), but the referees committee won the battle of wills. To add, Havelange was furious that Italian Antonio Matarrese had challenged his leadership of FIFA, and it's fair to say that Italians were not first on Mr. Havelange's Christmas card list.

Baldas had reached the mandatory retirement age in Italy and World Cup 1994 was to be his swansong. Despite actually being appointed for a further group stage match (Pairetto got injured and was appointed directly for a Round of Sixteen match), Havelange removed him. So the final whistle he blew here was the final whistle of his career. 

Did Baldas perform well in his final match ever? Yes he did, he deserved another match after this successful performance. I liked his simple style, no fuss, he just took his decisions and defended them with good natural authority. Maybe his disciplinary choices weren't totally optimal, but Baldas did a good job (though, rather less a good job in selecting the appropriate shirt colour :)).

Domenico Ramicone incorrectly disallowed a United States goal in quite a confusing situation; Rharib El-Jilali almost definitely made a crucial mistake in the first half, but without replays to confirm otherwise, we should back his offside decision which denied the States a 1-on-1 chance.

Fabio Baldas - 8,4 Domenico Ramicone - 7,9(4) Rharib El-Jilali - 8,4 Lim Kee Chong ITA, ITA, MAR	United States 2-1 Colombia Group Stage
Lalas (49') - Delaying the Restart	de Ávila (23') - Tackle