The tears that make an entire country happy
Luis Manuel Díaz has been held by a guerrilla group for almost two weeks. In Europe, his son, soccer star Luis Díaz, fears for him. Things come to a happy end. A few days later, there is a new emotional climax.
Luis Manuel Díaz has had a difficult time: for almost two weeks, the Colombian was held captive by a criminal gang who wanted to make a lot of money from his kidnapping. Luis Manuel Díaz is the father of professional footballer Luis Díaz, striker for Liverpool FC and the Colombian national team. The kidnapping case kept soccer in suspense, with Diaz Jr. appealing to the kidnappers on camera after scoring a goal in the Premier League: "Release dad!".
The guerrilla group released Luis Manuel Díaz last Thursday in front of representatives of the United Nations and the Catholic Church amid huge public sympathy, and the Colombian government also intervened. Later that day, he was reunited with his wife and other family members, and a few days later he was able to embrace his son, the soccer star. It was a tearful reunion. "Thank God that we can be together as a family again," wrote the Liverpool professional and posted an emotional photo of himself and his father. The Liverpool star had been advised against an earlier trip to Colombia.
"I love you so much, my friend"
Now Luis Manuel Díaz was crying again, in the stands of the Metropolitano stadium in Barranquilla. They were tears of joy again. Because his son gave his father, his team and probably the whole country two goals in the 2:1 victory over the big favorites Brazil in the World Cup qualifiers. Television footage shows a distraught father after his son's goals. Díaz scored both goals with his head, the first in the 75th minute and the second in the 79th minute. It was Colombia's first win against Brazil in World Cup qualifying for 15 games. "I thank God. He makes it all possible. We've always had difficult moments, but life makes you strong and courageous. That's soccer and that's life," said Luis Díaz after the game. "We deserved this win."
The disappointed Alisson Becker, goalkeeper of the stunned Brazilians, was of course also aware of the magnitude of the moment. At the final whistle, the giant hugged his Liverpool team-mate. "Alisson told me that he's very happy because he knows what we've been through," Díaz revealed. "Te quiero mucho, amigo", Becker says still clearly audible - "I love you so much, my friend".
"They realized it was a mistake"
Díaz Senior and his wife were kidnapped by the guerrilla group "National Liberation Army" (ELN) near the Venezuelan border at the end of October. The wife was quickly released, but the amateur football coach was taken to the nearby mountains at gunpoint. The first two or three days I suffered from the lack of food, we had no fixed place or anything," Díaz said in a tearful interview about his abduction. "It was a lot of riding, quite hard, a lot of mountains, a lot of rain. I couldn't sleep peacefully, it was very difficult, almost 12 days without sleep. After three days I felt a change, when it seemed that I was already in the hands of the ELN, they talked to me and treated me differently."
According to a relative, the ELN had no idea who the kidnappers had handed over to them. "They said that they would release him because they first asked: 'What is his name? They realized that it had been a mistake to kidnap him, that he was Luis Díaz's father and that they would initiate the process for his release, but that it would take time." A commander of the group had previously announced that they were carrying out "economic missions", and that the kidnapping of the elderly Mr. Díaz was one of them. However, he was released because he was a family member of "a great sportsman whom all Colombians love". A ransom was apparently not paid.
"They are our brothers"
The kidnapping of Luis Manuel Díaz has set back the government's peace talks with the ELN, the oldest and largest of the country's remaining guerrilla groups. Colombia has been in a civil war for around 60 years, in which at least 450,000 people have been killed. "They are our brothers. I call on all brothers in the mountains, all legal and non-legal groups, to come to their senses and for us to engage in a dialog with the leadership of our country," said Luis Manuel Díaz after his release, "so that Colombia will be a country of peace in three or four years' time."
The suspects behind the kidnapping have been identified, the police announced at the weekend. They include the criminal hit group "Los Primos" (the cousins). Four suspects were arrested. In September, the news agency Reuters reported that Colombian security sources assume that at least 40 percent of ELN fighters reject a possible peace agreement and could remain armed.
Despite the emotional victory against Brazil in the World Cup qualifiers, Liverpool FC and Colombian national team striker Luis Díaz's focus remains on his family. "I want to dedicate this win to my father," he said, after scoring two crucial headed goals. His father, Luis Manuel Díaz, had recently been released from captivity by a guerrilla group in Colombia. Moreover, Jürgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool FC, expressed his support and congratulations to Luis Díaz for his performance on the field and his family's safety.
Source: www.ntv.de
