Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Soccer Star Shot in Mexican Bar

Salvador Cabanas, about to quit Mexican team, fights for life

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 26, 2010 1:21 AM CST

(Newser) – One of Latin America's leading goal-scorers is fighting for his life after being shot in the head in a Mexico City bar in an attack that may be linked to his role as an athlete. Salvador Cabanas, a striker with Mexican team Club America who was expected to play a major role in his native Paraguay's World Cup bid this year, is in critical condition with a bullet lodged in his brain, CNN reports.

The 29-year-old star was expected this week to sign a lucrative deal with Britain's Sunderland team, according to the Daily Mail. He was shot just before dawn yesterday in the bathroom of a bar. Two suspects have been detained. The Club America president said the attack was unprovoked and robbery was not a motive. "They wanted to assault him," he told a local TV station. "There was no shoot-out nor any quarrel."

Salvador Cabanas celebrates after scoring against San Luis during a Mexican soccer league match in Mexico City last week.
Salvador Cabanas celebrates after scoring against San Luis during a Mexican soccer league match in Mexico City last week.   (AP Photo/Claudio Cruz)
Fans of the Mexican soccer team America, one holding a sign with images of Paraguayan soccer player Salvador Cabanas, sit outside of a hospital in Mexico City yesterday.
Fans of the Mexican soccer team America, one holding a sign with images of Paraguayan soccer player Salvador Cabanas, sit outside of a hospital in Mexico City yesterday.   (AP Photo/Miguel Tovar)
Paraguay soccer star Salvador Cabanas celebrates after scoring against Bolivia during a World Cup 2010 qualifying game in Asuncion last year.
Paraguay soccer star Salvador Cabanas celebrates after scoring against Bolivia during a World Cup 2010 qualifying game in Asuncion last year.   (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File)
Salvador Cabanas celebrates after scoring against Brazil during a World Cup 2010 qualifying soccer game in Recife, Brazil, last summer.
Salvador Cabanas celebrates after scoring against Brazil during a World Cup 2010 qualifying soccer game in Recife, Brazil, last summer.   (AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
0%
3%
69%
0%
26%
3%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 9 comments
jfcd
Jan 27, 2010 2:24 AM CST
Here in Mexico you have the right to bare an arm after you fill a completely reasonable aplication with the army, you don't just get guns here because you feel liek having one, you need a reason.
brawne
Jan 26, 2010 8:28 AM CST
Doubly harsh, but a good time for us all to write a living will and sign off our organs. And--be happy you can give them because most deaths sorta wipe them out--but the few accidents where your most beloved is brain dead would be so much easier if they had made up their mind before hand. I've had friends who lost there most beloved child in motorcycle accidents and they pulled the plug and waited the two hours for that dead brain to stop that heart--all those organs were gone. We are a good people but we are not motivated by things like death until it is too late. Do this now. Living will now--children do they want to or not, now--we fear that talking about it will make it happen--no. The number of people who die with functioning organs that for an hour could save people is so huge that you don't want to know--if, we didn't bury or cremate all the life then there would be no one waiting. How sad and selfish are we--not bad at all, but we never talk about it over dinner when it matters. A kid under 25 on a motorcycle can save seven people---that will mean more to you than you think. Plus, I'm a firm believer that planning for the worst keeps it from happening.
Jojo
Jan 26, 2010 8:00 AM CST
Harsh.

More Newser Stories

Soccer Star Busted in Mexico Kidnappings

3 Dead in 6.5 Mexico Quake

Drug Cartels Kill 41 in Mexico in 24 Hours

Mexico Bans Soccer Stars for Bringing Women to Hotel

Mexico City Volcano Spews Ash Cloud


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne