Dennis Marshall, who scored the equalizer for Costa Rica in its Gold Cup quarterfinal match on Saturday at the New Meadowlands Stadium, was killed Thursdayafternoon, along with his wife, Meylin Masis Castro, when his Mazda collided with a truck 12 miles east of the Costa Rican capital of San Jose in themountainous region of El Zurqui.
Marshall, 25, was traveling from his grandfather’s funeral in Limon and was scheduled to return to Denmark, where he plays for Aalborg, on July3.
He was not scheduled to play for Costa Rica at the 2011 Copa America, which begins next month.
What a Tragety; may their souls rest at peace!!!
What a terrible, terrible sadness to see two young lives cut short in this way. My heart goes out to his remaining relatives. May they rest in peace. I assume Costa Rica will have a minutes silence in their honour in their next game and will all wear black arm bands? Somebody should take the initiative to make sure that happens. Deeply saddened by this news.
This is a real tragedy in pretty much all possible ways. Marshall wasn’t just any soccer player. Despite coming from one of the poorest gang infested towns in the country, he actually prioritized his education over soccer (he earned a Bachelor’s degree and was working on his Master’s when he left for Europe). As a result, he got a late start, not really going pro until he was in his 20’s. But he had an almost immediate impact and was called up to the national team for the 2009 Gold Cup after what was in effect his rookie year. Aalborg picked him up shortly afterwards based on his superb performance in that tournament. La Volpe was building his defense around Marshall and this is a considerable blow to Costa Rica’s chances of making the next World Cup – particularly given that the Ticos defense is currently their weakest area, It’s not an exaggeration to say that Marshall was literally the only international quality Tico central defender over the age of 23. The Tico’s can now only hope that getting thrashed by Mexico in the Gold Cup (let alone what’s going to happen against Argentina and Colombia in the Copa America) will not demoralize the youngsters so much that it effects their long-term progress.