The Two Escobars (22 Jun. 2010)

The rise of Colombian soccer is attributed to the influx of drug money into the sport by Pablo Escobar and the other drug cartels. However, the team's swift decline after Escobar's death results in the murder of star player Andres Escobar.

Directors:

Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist

Writers:

Nick Sprague (original concept), Michael Zimbalist,

Stars:

María Ester Escobar, Francisco Maturana, Alexis García V.

1 nomination.

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
María Ester Escobar	...	Herself
Francisco Maturana	...	Himself
Alexis García V.	...	Himself
Jaime Gaviria Gómez	...	Himself
Jhon Jairo Velásquez V.	...	Himself
Rubén Darío Pinilla C.	...	Himself
Juan José Bellini	...	Himself
Fernando Rodríguez Mondragón	...	Himself
Eduardo Rojo	...	Himself
Leonel Alvarez	...	Himself
Luz María Escobar	...	Herself
Luis Fernando Herrera	...	Himself
Fernando Brito	...	Himself
Tom Cash	...	Himself
Alirio López	...	Himself

Storyline

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, many believe, Pablo Escobar's Medellín Cartel and the Cali Cartels were largely responsible for financing and building the Colombian National soccer team into one of the world's best. But in an early match against the United States in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, a Colombian defense man named Andres Escobar-no relation to Pablo-committed an own goal that led to the team's elimination. Less than ten days later, Escobar was gunned down outside a bar in a suburb of Medellin. He was shot 12 times, and the murderer shouted "goal" each time the trigger was pulled. Was Escobar's murder an isolated incident, or were gambling organizations controlled by the cartels responsible? Award-winning director Jeff Zimbalist will examine the mysterious events leading up to and surrounding Andres Escobar's death.

---

Plot Keywords:

team | soccer | goal | colombian | kingpin | 

---

Genres:

Sport

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Colombia USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 2010 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

All Rise Films, ESPN Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

References Favela Rising (2005)

User Reviews

Interesting but way overlong.

This film is about the influence of the Columbian drug cartels on the national soccer team. The team was, at one time, financed by Pablo Escobar--the world's most notorious drug lord. And, following his death, this team of super-stars was expected to win the World Cup. And, when they didn't, mobsters in Columbia decided to exact revenge on players and their families--culminating with the assassination of Andres Escobar (no relation to Pablo).

While this is a very compelling subject matter for a "30 for 30" film and I am glad I watched it (as I'd remembered Andres' murder). However, the filmmakers REALLY needed to tighten this one up, as it ran over 100 minutes--much longer than a typical episode of this series. 60 minutes would have been plenty--and as a result, I found my attention flagging. Now this is NOT because I can't take long films (heck, I watched a three hour movie just a couple days ago)--but pacing is the key, not length of a show...and the pacing was a bit issue.

If you do watch this one, be cautioned--it is pretty bloody and you'll be looking at quite a few corpses.