Shot Colombian coach 'paralysed'

Under Montoya, Once Caldas pulled off a footballing coup

Doctors say one of Colombia's top football coaches may be paralysed from the neck down after he was shot trying to protect his wife from muggers.

Luis Fernando Montoya, 47, remains in a critical condition in hospital and is breathing from a respirator.

Police have arrested four people over the incident in Caldas town, 12km (seven miles) from Medellin.

Mr Montoya won plaudits after his Once Caldas team's surprise victory in the 2004 Copa Libertadores championship.

"The damage to his spinal cord means he will be left quadriplegic," said Dr Ignacio Gonzalez, of the Las Americas hospital in Medellin.

He was visited by his wife Adriana Herrera in hospital.

"When I got close to Luis Fernando he opened his eyes, tried to smile, blinked and started to cry. He shed two tears," she told reporters.

'National tragedy'

Mr Montoya was shot during an attempted robbery of Ms Herrera at their home.

She had been followed after withdrawing a large amount of money from a cash machine, said the police.

"The men stopped me and demanded the money. Luis Fernando then put his hand into the bag and the guy probably thought he was going to pull a gun, so he fired," she said.

Mr Montoya was brought to hospital with two bullet wounds to the neck and transferred to Medellin, Colombia's second largest city, for surgery.

Police have arrested four people, including two women they suspect of being accomplices, over the attack.

Colombia's footballing world is in shock at Wednesday's shooting.

President Alvaro Uribe called it a "national tragedy".

Mr Montoya became a national hero earlier this year after his club beat six-time champions Boca Juniors of Argentina in the Copa Libertadores, regarded as the most important club competition in South American football.

The coach stepped down earlier this month after losing the Intercontinental Cup - a competition that pits the winner of the Copa Libertadores against the winner of Europe's Champions League.