Juan Izquierdo dies at the age of 27 after collapsing during a match in Brazil

Uruguayan defender Juan Izquierdo died on Tuesday in Sao Paulo at the age of 27. He had been hospitalized for five days after collapsing on Saturday in the 84th minute of the Copa Libertadores round of 16 match between Nacional and São Paulo.

The player had started the match on the bench and came on to play in the second half in place of Sebastián Coates. He collapsed and an ambulance entered the field to urgently transport him. The Uruguayan club announced that he had suffered cardiac arrhythmia. He was admitted to intensive care at the Israelita Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo, where he died despite all the care he received.

Upon arrival, he had to be resuscitated with a defibrillator after going into cardiac arrest, which caused irreversible neurological damage. Since then, doctors have kept him sedated and on mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit.

During those days, Izquierdo’s relatives traveled from Montevideo to São Paulo, where Nacional’s leaders were. On Tuesday, the club announced his death with a message of condolences to his family. “All of Nacional is mourning his irreparable loss. Juan, you will be with us forever.”

Trained at Club Atlético Cerro, Izquierdo spent most of his career in Uruguay, where he also played for Liverpool, Wanderers and Peñarol. He was also a player for Atlético San Luis in Mexico.

His death has shocked Uruguay and especially the country’s football, which suspended its activities last weekend and will not take to the field next weekend either.

Antonio Puerta and other days of mourning in football

The world of football is once again in mourning after seeing a professional player collapse on the pitch. These are other cases – reported by EFE – of footballers who died after collapsing on the pitch:

• Moustapha Sylla in 2023. Ivorian Moustapha Sylla died on 5 March 2023 during a match when his team, Racing Club de Abidjan, was facing Sol FC in the Ivorian League at their stadium, Robert-Champroux. The full-back, who was barely 21 years old, was on the left wing when he collapsed on the field of play. Sylla died of cardiac arrest.
• Raphael Dwamena in 2023. Raphael Dwamena, a player for the Ghana national team, died on November 11, 2023 at the age of 28 after collapsing during a match between his team, Egnatia, in the Albanian Serie A, and Partizani. The Ghanaian, a former player for the Spanish Levante and Zaragoza, died in hospital after an attempt at resuscitation at the stadium. He had a history of cardiac problems. Dwamena had also collapsed in October 2021 during an Austrian Cup match, but recovered and returned to football.
• Patrick Ekeng in 2016. Cameroonian Patrick Ekeng, 26, died in the 70th minute of a Romanian Premier League match between Dinamo Bucharest and Viitorul on 6 May 2016, seven minutes after replacing Eric Bicfalvi. Ekeng fell in the centre circle of the Stefan cel Mare stadium, where he was picked up by an ambulance and taken to a hospital in Bucharest, but was unable to recover from cardiac arrest.
• Cristian Gómez in 2015. Argentine Cristian Gómez, 27, died minutes after suffering a collapse during the match that Atlético Paraná played on May 24, 2015 against Boca Unidos de Corrientes in the Primera B Nacional. Gómez collapsed on the field half an hour into the game.
• Carlos Barra in 2014. Chilean Carlos Barra, 23, of Deportes Maipo Quilicura died of cardiac arrest on September 3, 2014 in a friendly against Palestino. Despite the medical team’s attempts to resuscitate him, he died on the field of the Municipal de La Cisterna stadium in Santiago. Barra collapsed 20 minutes into the first half.
• Héctor Sanabria in 2013. Argentinean Héctor Sanabria, 27, died on August 27, 2013 of cardiac arrest on the pitch during a match between his team, Deportivo Laferrere, and General Lamadrid in the Primera C Championship, the fourth division of Argentine football. The forward collapsed after 29 minutes and was taken by ambulance to a clinic near the stadium.
• Yair Clavijo in 2013. At just 18 years old, Peruvian Yair Clavijo, from Sporting Cristal, lost his life on July 21, 2013 in a match against Real Garcilaso for the Reserves tournament. Clavijo suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest and died five minutes from the end of the match. The exact cause of his death was cerebral edema and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
• Piermario Morosini in 2012. Livorno player Piermario Morosini, 25, died on 14 April 2012 at the Santo Spirito Civil Hospital in Pescara, after collapsing due to a heart attack during a match in the Second Division of the Italian League between his team and Pescara.
• Victor Hugo Avalos in 2009. Paraguayan Victor Hugo Avalos died on April 2, 2009 while celebrating the goal he had scored in an amateur tournament match in Asuncion. He was 37 years old and had been a former midfielder for teams in Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
• Phil O’Donnell in 2007. Motherwell captain Phil O’Donnell, 35, suffered a heart attack on 29 December 2007 as he was being substituted during a match against Dundee United. He died in an ambulance on the way to hospital.
• Antonio Puerta in 2007. The 22-year-old Spaniard Antonio Puerta died on 28 August 2007, two days after fainting on the pitch in the 28th minute of the match between Sevilla, his team, and Getafe. Puerta left the pitch on his own two feet, but in the locker room he fainted five more times. He was resuscitated and transferred to the ICU of the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital in Seville, where he remained on mechanical ventilation. His death was caused by post-anoxic encephalopathy accompanied by multiple organ failure.
• ‘Serginho’ in 2004. Sudden death came to Sao Caetano defender Paulo Sergio de Oliveira Silva, ‘Serginho’, on 27 October 2004 during a match against Sao Paulo for the Brazilian Championship. Doctors from both clubs tried in vain to revive him on the pitch. Serginho, 30, collapsed after 59 minutes of play.
• Miklos Fehér in 2004. Benfica’s Hungarian international Miklos Fehér, aged 24, died on 25 January 2004 in a hospital in Guimaraes due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, after collapsing on the pitch during a match against Vitória. Fehér came on as a substitute. In stoppage time he was cautioned and after receiving the yellow card he crouched down and fell flat on his back.
• Marc-Vivien Foé in 2003. On 26 June 2003, in the semi-final of the Confederations Cup between Cameroon and Colombia, midfielder Marc-Vivien Foé collapsed on the pitch in the 75th minute of the match. The 28-year-old Cameroonian suffered a cardiac arrest that ended his life immediately.
• Catalín Hildan in 2000. Dynamo Bucharest captain Catalín Hildan, 24, suffered a stroke on 5 October 2000 in a friendly against Oltenita. The Romanian international fell on the field after 74 minutes and died in hospital from a heart attack. The striker had undergone a medical examination two days before his death, which revealed no abnormalities.