Drugs, Murder, And The World Cup Part 2: The Narco History Of Colombian Football

Drugs, Murder, And The World Cup Part 2: The Narco History Of Colombian Football

From It Was What It Was : The Football History Podcast by The Overlap

March 10, 2026 · 47 min · Season 1 · Episode 145

About this episode

The episode discusses Colombia's historic 5-0 victory over Argentina and the surrounding circumstances in the context of narco influence and the 1994 World Cup.

Welcome back to It Was What It Was, the football history podcast. In this second part two of our three-part special on Colombian football and the tragedy of Andrés Escobar. Co-hosts Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper dissect one of the greatest World Cup qualifying matches ever played: Colombia's stunning 5-0 victory over Argentina at El Monumental in Buenos Aires. This episode explores the dramatic buildup to the match, the hostile reception faced by the Colombian team, and the extraordinary performance that shocked the football world. The discussion then examines the dangerous euphoria that followed, as Colombia began to believe that they could win the 1994 World Cup, and the dark realities of the narco state. You can listen to this episode ad-free over on our Patreon - Follow the link here - or go to Patreon.com and search for It Was What It Was. You will also get access to our World Cup countdown, magazine retrospectives and bonus episodes as well as a monthly Q&A with Rob and Jonathan. 01:39 Colombia's Mindset Before the Match & The Hostile Reception 04:07 The Lineup: Colombia vs Argentina at El Monumental 11:25 The Match Begins: Early Tension & Argentina's Miss…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jonathan Wilson, Rob Draper

Topics covered

  • Colombian football
  • World Cup history
  • Andrés Escobar
  • football matches
  • narcotraffic
  • sports psychology

Keywords

  • Colombia
  • Argentina
  • Andrés Escobar
  • World Cup
  • football history
  • narcotraffic
  • El Monumental
  • Jonathan Wilson
  • Rob Draper
  • football matches

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Argentina, Colombia, El Monumental

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