Real Madrid star dies after a serious car accident

Doctors said late last night that Real Madrid player and former Colombian national team captain Freddy Rincon died at the age of 55 from serious head injuries sustained in a traffic accident earlier this week.

Rincon was injured when the car he was driving collided with a bus last Monday.

"Despite all the efforts of our team, Freddy Rincon passed away," Lauriano Quintero, medical director of the Empanaco Medical Center in Cali, where he was treating Rincon, told reporters.

Rincon was one of the distinguished midfielders and played with the Santa Fe and America teams in Colombia, as well as with Napoli, Italy, and Real Madrid, Spain.

Rincon led Brazil's Corinthians to their first Club World Cup title in 2000.

The late was also among the golden generation of Colombia, which led the team to the World Cup finals three times in a row in 1990, 1994 and 1998, along with players such as Carlos Valderrama and Faustino Aspria.

Rincon scored 17 goals during his international career, including one in Colombia's 5-0 victory over Argentina in the World Cup qualifiers in Buenos Aires in 1993.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news