Juan Izquierdo dies days after collapsing during a game

SAO PAULO (AP) — Uruguayan soccer participant Juan Izquierdo died Tuesday at a hospital in Brazil 5 days after collapsing throughout a recreation at Sao Paulo. He was 27.

Hospital Albert Einstein in Sao Paulo stated in a press release that the Nacional defender died at 9:38 p.m. native time following “cardiorespiratory arrest related along with his cardiac arrhythmia.”

Izquierdo was taken to the hospital after he collapsed late in a Copa Libertadores soccer match between Nacional and Sao Paulo on the Brazilian metropolis’s Morumbi Stadium final Thursday.

The Uruguayan membership posted a press release on social media saying Izquierdo’s dying is felt “in deep ache and affect in our hearts” and “all Nacional is in grief for his irreplaceable loss.”

South American soccer’s governing physique additionally posted a tribute. CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez stated he’s “deeply sorry in regards to the early departure of Juan Izquierdo.

“South American soccer is in mourning,” he stated. Different federations, together with Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina, additionally expressed their condolences.

In a press release Monday, medical doctors on the hospital stated Izquierdo was put into neurological vital care due to elevated intracranial stress. He had been on a ventilator since Sunday.

Uruguayan media stated Izquierdo’s dad and mom and Nacional executives had been on the hospital in Sao Paulo. Izquierdo was married and had two youngsters — the youngest, a boy, was born earlier in August.

Uruguayan nationwide group gamers had been amongst these expressing their condolences.

“Ache, disappointment, it’s onerous to clarify,” Inter Miami striker Luis Suárez stated. “Might he relaxation in peace. I want a variety of power for his household and buddies.”

Uruguay’s first- and second-division soccer leagues had been postponed final weekend attributable to issues over Izquierdo’s well being. Sao Paulo gamers wore a shirt in assist of the Uruguayan footballer earlier than the group’s 2-1 Brazilian league win towards Vitoria on Sunday.

The Brazilian membership additionally posted a message after Izquierdo’s dying.

“We had days of prayers, union and hope, and as we speak we’re in deep disappointment with the information of the dying of Juan Izquierdo,” Sao Paulo’s membership assertion stated. “Our condolences to household, buddies, teammates, Nacional followers and all of the Uruguayan folks on this second of grief.”

Izquierdo’s skilled profession started in 2018 at native membership Cerro. He joined Peñarol the next yr, however didn’t get a lot taking part in time.

“Peñarol is deeply sorry in regards to the passing of Juan Manuel Izquierdo. We categorical our heartfelt condolences and we embrace his household, his buddies and Nacional on this second of a lot ache,” Peñarol stated in its social media channels.

After leaving Peñarol, Izquierdo moved to Montevideo Wanderers.

His athletic kind and sharp tackles caught the eye of Mexico’s San Luís in 2021, however he shortly returned to the Montevideo Wanderers. Izquierdo was signed by Nacional in 2022, performed one match after which was transferred to the native Liverpool membership.

The defender was one in every of Liverpool’s finest gamers within the marketing campaign that led to a Uruguayan league title in 2023, the membership’s first in additional than a century.

Izquierdo returned to Nacional this yr and was vying for a place within the beginning lineup with veteran Sebastián Coates, who performed for Uruguay’s nationwide group. He performed 23 matches this yr and scored one objective.

Nearly 20 years in the past, Sao Caetano defender Serginho died hours after collapsing at Morumbi Stadium throughout a Brazilian league match towards Sao Paulo. Docs tried to resucitate him on the pitch, as tens of hundreds of followers watched in shock and gamers wept and prayed on the sidelines.

Serginho’s dying compelled Brazilian soccer executives to vary well being protocols to permit defibrillators in each stadium. Docs used a defibrillator on Izquierdo as he was be rushed to the close by Hospital Albert Einstein.

“Such disappointment, 20 years later,” former Sao Caetano participant Anderson Lima stated on Instagram. “Might God consolation his household on this unhappy second.”

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