{"id":13218,"date":"2017-08-31T14:16:23","date_gmt":"2017-08-31T19:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=13218"},"modified":"2017-08-31T14:19:46","modified_gmt":"2017-08-31T19:19:46","slug":"panama-doing-it-for-amilcar-henriquez-a-former-panamanian-footballer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=13218","title":{"rendered":"Panama doing it for Amilcar Henriquez, A Former Panamanian footballer"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>Amilcar Henriquez was murdered in April 2017<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Team-mates lamented the loss of a great player and person<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>His memory will serve as inspiration when they visit Mexico<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13219\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/2900712_full-lnd-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/2900712_full-lnd-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/2900712_full-lnd.jpg 652w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><strong>On 15 April 2017, <em>Canalero<\/em> international Amilcar Henriquez was gunned down at the door to his house. News of the 33-year-old defensive midfielder\u2019s death stunned the country and plunged the national team into mourning.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>One of the most carefree characters in the <em>Marea Roja<\/em> dressing room, Henriquez was also a mainstay of the side.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Nearly six months on from his untimely death, his Panama team-mates are drawing on the example he set and his memory as inspiration for their vital 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia\u2122 qualifier in Mexico on Friday.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13222\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Amilcar-Henriquez-Panama-Copa-Centroamericamna_8999907-300x174.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"174\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Amilcar-Henriquez-Panama-Copa-Centroamericamna_8999907-300x174.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Amilcar-Henriquez-Panama-Copa-Centroamericamna_8999907.jpg 667w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>A true competitor and team-mate<br \/>\n\u201cHe got on well with everyone,\u201d recalled Abdiel Arroyo, a former colleague of his at Panamanian club Arabe Unido. \u201cWe all loved him because he was down to earth and always smiling. And on the pitch he was a leader, a player who set the tone and never stopped fighting.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Midfielder Armando Cooper, one of the Panama players closest to Henriquez, echoed those words: \u201cI started out with him right by my side and he always gave me his support. He wasn\u2019t so much a friend as a brother to me. Losing him was very painful. I loved him so much that I still can\u2019t come to terms with it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Like the rest of the Panama players, Henriquez\u2019s former room-mate Gabriel Gomez remembers exactly where he was when he heard the dreadful news.\u201d I was playing in Colombia, against Santa Fe, and one of their players, Omar Perez, came up and told me,&#8221; said the Bucaramanga man, whose family had struck up a close bond with Henriquez and his wife and children.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cI thought he was trying to put me off my game, but when he said it to me again I realised he was being serious. I went to the dressing room and found out what had happened. My wife confirmed the news a bit later. I still can\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Club Deportivo \u00c1rabe Unido is a professional <a title=\"Association football\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Association_football\">football<\/a> club located in <a title=\"Col\u00f3n, Panama\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Col%C3%B3n,_Panama\">Col\u00f3n, Panama<\/a> that plays in <a title=\"Liga Paname\u00f1a de F\u00fatbol\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Liga_Paname%C3%B1a_de_F%C3%BAtbol\">Liga Paname\u00f1a de F\u00fatbol<\/a>, the top tier of the Panamanian football pyramid. The club plays its games in <a title=\"Estadio Armando Dely Vald\u00e9s\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Estadio_Armando_Dely_Vald%C3%A9s\">Estadio Armando Dely Vald\u00e9s<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Founded in 1994 by the Arab immigrants in Panama,<sup id=\"cite_ref-1\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> \u00c1rabe Unido has won 13 <a title=\"Liga Paname\u00f1a de F\u00fatbol\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Liga_Paname%C3%B1a_de_F%C3%BAtbol\">Liga Paname\u00f1a de F\u00fatbol\u00a0<\/a>championships since 1998, the highest total of any team since its first edition on 1988. The club has also finished second five times since 1998.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>They won the 2015 Clausura title after beating <a title=\"Independiente F.C.\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Independiente_F.C.\">Independiente<\/a> 2\u20131 in the season&#8217;s final,\u00a0and three years after winning the 2012 championship.<\/strong><sup id=\"cite_ref-3\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/p>\n<div id=\"toc\" class=\"toc\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"SandboxRoot env-bp-350\" data-twitter-event-id=\"0\"><strong>A vow is made:<br \/>\nPanama lie fourth on seven points in the final six-team group in the CONCACAF, with Mexico out in front on 14. Victory at the imposing Estadio Azteca would thus give <em>Los<\/em><em>Canaleros<\/em>\u00a0a massive boost in their bid to reach Russia 2018.<\/strong><\/div>\n<p><strong>As Eric Davis explained, the Panama players will be taking inspiration from the combative midfielder when they run out against the Mexicans. \u201cIt\u2019s an extra source of motivation for us,\u201d said the left-back, who described Henriquez as a role model. \u201cIf he were here, he\u2019d give 100 percent \u2013 make no mistake. We need him. He was a great player. We have to do it for him because we know how much he wanted to go to the World Cup.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pinpointing what Panama need to do to keep that dream alive, Arroyo said: \u201cWin in Mexico. We\u2019re very committed and we know he\u2019s watching us from up above. There could be no better tribute than getting these three points, for him, for us and for the whole country.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13220\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/534159394-AE-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/534159394-AE-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/534159394-AE-768x1023.jpg 768w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/534159394-AE.jpg 769w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>Am\u00edlcar Henr\u00edquez Espinosa (August 2, 1983 \u2013 April 15, 2017) was a Panamanian <a title=\"Association football\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Association_football\">footballer<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"toc\" class=\"toc\">\n<p><strong>Born in <a title=\"Panama City\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Panama_City\">Panama City<\/a>, Henr\u00edquez began his club career with local side <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Club Deportivo \u00c1rabe Unido\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Club_Deportivo_%C3%81rabe_Unido\">\u00c1rabe Unido<\/a>. He spent one season with Costa Rica with <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Asociacion Deportiva Santacruce\u00f1a\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Asociacion_Deportiva_Santacruce%C3%B1a\">Santacruce\u00f1a<\/a> before moving to Colombia in 2009. He became an important player for <a title=\"Atl\u00e9tico Huila\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Atl%C3%A9tico_Huila\">Atl\u00e9tico Huila\u00a0<\/a>and joined <a title=\"Independiente Medell\u00edn\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Independiente_Medell%C3%ADn\">Independiente Medell\u00edn<\/a> in July 2012.\u00a0<sup id=\"cite_ref-1\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> After a season back at \u00c1rabe Unido,<sup id=\"cite_ref-2\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> he returned to Colombia to play for second division side <a title=\"Real Cartagena\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Real_Cartagena\">Real Cartagena<\/a> in December 2014.<sup id=\"cite_ref-3\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In March 2015, Henr\u00edquez was released by Cartagena due to alleged indiscipline<sup id=\"cite_ref-4\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> and in June 2015 he was snapped up by <a title=\"Am\u00e9rica de Cali\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Am%C3%A9rica_de_Cali\">Am\u00e9rica Cali<\/a>.\u00a0<sup id=\"cite_ref-5\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> In 2016, he returned to \u00c1rabe Unido.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Henr\u00edquez made his debut for <a title=\"Panama national football team\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Panama_national_football_team\">Panama<\/a> in a February <a title=\"2005 UNCAF Nations Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2005_UNCAF_Nations_Cup\">2005 UNCAF Nations Cup<\/a> match against <a title=\"El Salvador national football team\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/El_Salvador_national_football_team\">El Salvador<\/a> and has, as of 10 June 2015, earned a total of 85 caps, scoring no goals.<sup id=\"cite_ref-6\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> He represented his country in 15 <a title=\"FIFA World Cup qualification\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/FIFA_World_Cup_qualification\">FIFA World Cup qualification<\/a> matches<sup id=\"cite_ref-7\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> and played at the <a title=\"2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2007_CONCACAF_Gold_Cup\">2007<\/a>,\u00a0<sup id=\"cite_ref-8\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> <a title=\"2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2009_CONCACAF_Gold_Cup\">2009<\/a><sup id=\"cite_ref-9\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> and <a title=\"2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2011_CONCACAF_Gold_Cup\">2011 CONCACAF Gold Cups<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>His final international was a March 2017 <a title=\"2018 FIFA World Cup qualification \u2013 CONCACAF Fifth Round\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2018_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_%E2%80%93_CONCACAF_Fifth_Round\">qualification<\/a> match for the <a title=\"2018 FIFA World Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2018_FIFA_World_Cup\">2018 FIFA World Cup<\/a> against the <a title=\"United States men's national soccer team\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_States_men%27s_national_soccer_team\">United States<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On 15 April 2017, Henr\u00edquez was killed in his hometown of Col\u00f3n<sup id=\"cite_ref-10\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> in a <a title=\"Drive-by shooting\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Drive-by_shooting\">drive-by shooting<\/a>.\u00a0<sup id=\"cite_ref-11\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> He was shot while leaving his house, two other people were also injured in the incident.<sup id=\"cite_ref-12\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Club Deportivo \u00c1rabe Unido\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Club_Deportivo_%C3%81rabe_Unido\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13221\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/di-galleries-assets.s3.amazonaws-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/di-galleries-assets.s3.amazonaws-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/di-galleries-assets.s3.amazonaws.jpg 670w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/>\u00c1rabe Unido<\/a> decided to retire his jersey #21 in his honour.<sup id=\"cite_ref-13\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<table class=\"infobox vcard\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"4\"><strong>Senior career*<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong>Years<\/strong><\/th>\n<td><strong>Team<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><abbr title=\"League appearances\">Apps<\/abbr><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>(<abbr title=\"League goals\">Gls<\/abbr>)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong>2003\u20132008<\/strong><\/th>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Club Deportivo \u00c1rabe Unido\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Club_Deportivo_%C3%81rabe_Unido\">\u00c1rabe Unido<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>119<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>(13)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong>2007<\/strong><\/th>\n<td><strong>\u2192 <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Asociacion Deportiva Santacruce\u00f1a\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Asociacion_Deportiva_Santacruce%C3%B1a\">Santacruce\u00f1a<\/a> (loan)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>18<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>(1)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong>2009\u20132012<\/strong><\/th>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Atl\u00e9tico Huila\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Atl%C3%A9tico_Huila\">Atl\u00e9tico Huila<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>90<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>(8)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong>2012\u20132014<\/strong><\/th>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Independiente Medell\u00edn\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Independiente_Medell%C3%ADn\">Independiente Medell\u00edn<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>64<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>(2)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong>2014<\/strong><\/th>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Club Deportivo \u00c1rabe Unido\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Club_Deportivo_%C3%81rabe_Unido\">\u00c1rabe Unido<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>12<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>(1)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong>2015<\/strong><\/th>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Real Cartagena\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Real_Cartagena\">Real Cartagena<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>12<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>(0)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong>2015\u20132016<\/strong><\/th>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Am\u00e9rica de Cali\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Am%C3%A9rica_de_Cali\">Am\u00e9rica Cali<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>27<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>(1)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong>2016\u20132017<\/strong><\/th>\n<td><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Club Deportivo \u00c1rabe Unido\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Club_Deportivo_%C3%81rabe_Unido\">\u00c1rabe Unido<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>18<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>(0)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"row\"><strong>Total<\/strong><\/th>\n<td><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>360<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>(26)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amilcar Henriquez was murdered in April 2017 Team-mates lamented the loss of a great player and person His memory will serve as inspiration when they visit Mexico On 15 April 2017, Canalero international Amilcar Henriquez was gunned down at the door to his house. News of the 33-year-old defensive midfielder\u2019s death stunned the country and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,8,1006,1314,1456,1156,13,14,7,9,10],"tags":[1984,1986,1061,1987,1985],"class_list":["post-13218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-entertainment","category-futbol","category-global-business-entrepreneurs","category-global-news-updates-and-more","category-global-sports","category-health","category-most-commented","category-sports","category-us","category-world","tag-amilcar-henriquez-espinosa","tag-club-deportivo-arabe-unido","tag-fifa","tag-panama","tag-panamanian-footballer","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}