Rincón, 55, was hospitalized on Monday after a car crash in the early hours of the morning, CNN en Español reported, citing local media.
Five people were injured in the crash, which involved a van with four occupants, including the former player, and a bus, Cali Secretary of State for Mobility Edwing Candelo told El País Cali newspaper.
Cali’s Imbanaco Clinic said: “Despite the best efforts of our medical and assistance team, the patient Freddy Eusebio Rincón Valencia passed away today, April 13, 2022.”
“There will never be a way to express what this really means to us. We invite the whole country to remember him with joy for all that he brought to life with his sporting achievements,” the hospital added.
A “painful loss”
Rincón took part in three World Cups – 1990, 1994 and 1998 – and scored 17 goals in 84 games for Colombia.
Paying tribute, the Colombian Football Federation said in a statement: “This is a great loss to his family and friends and at the same time a regrettable loss to our sport, where we will miss him and remember him with great care. Appreciation, respect and admiration.”
“We send strength, support and condolences to his family and hope they can bear this sad and painful loss,” the statement added.
Real Madrid, for whom Rincón played between 1995 and 1996, also paid tribute to him, expressing “his condolences and his care and affection to his family, his team-mates and managers, his clubs and all his loved ones”.
Born in Buenaventura in western Colombia in 1966, he was one of the key players of his country’s golden generation in the 1990s.
Notably, he scored against West Germany in the 1990 World Cup at Milan’s San Siro Stadium, his goal coming late in the game to secure a 1–1 draw that secured a place in the last 16 for Colombia after a 28-year absence from the tournament .
Rincón also scored twice in a famous 5-0 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires in 1993.
In Colombia he played for Santa Fe and América de Cali, with whom he won three trophies.
In 1994, Rincón joined Brazilian club Palmeiras before moving to Europe. He played for Italian club Napoli and then joined Spanish giants Real Madrid where he became the first Colombian footballer to play for La Liga club.
Rincón returned to Brazil in 1996 where he won three local titles and a Club World Cup with Corinthians.
In 2004 he retired as a player and later coached third division teams in Brazil. He was assistant to former Brazilian coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo at Atlético Mineiro in 2010 and to Jorge Luis Pinto at Millonarios de Colombia in 2019.
Matias Grez contributed to the coverage.