The world of football said goodbye to several of its protagonists in 2024. Some had already become legends, like Mario Zagallo, Franz Beckenbauer and César Luis Menotti.
For Uruguayan football, it was a year marked by the heartbreaking and unfair loss of Juan Izquierdo.
January 5: Mario Zagallo (92 years old), Brazilian football legend and only four-time world champion, having won two cups as a player (1958 and 1962) and two others as a coach (head coach in 1970, assistant in 1994).
January 7: Franz Beckenbauer (78), German footballer, Bayern Munich legend, three-time European Cup winner (1974, 1975, 1976) and world champion as a player (1974) and coach (1990).
January 22: Luigi Riva (79), Italian footballer and top scorer in the history of the ‘Nazionale’, who won the European Championship in 1968 and played in the World Cup final in 1970.
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February 2: Andreas Brehme (63), German footballer and world champion in Italy ’90. He scored the only goal from the penalty spot in the final against Argentina.
February 22: Artur Jorge (78), Portuguese coach who won the European Cup with Porto in 1987.
May 5: César Luis Menotti (85 years old), former Argentine player and coach of the world champion national team in 1978. A year later he was also world champion with the youth team.
July 15: Juan Ricardo Faccio (87), Uruguayan footballer and renowned coach. He has managed several teams, including Peñarol, Nacional, and the national team, and has also worked in journalism.
August 26: Sven-Goran Eriksson (76), Swedish coach, was the first foreigner to take charge of the England national team from 2001 to 2006.
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August 27: Juan Izquierdo (27 years old). A Nacional defender who played for several clubs (he won the Uruguayan championship with Nacional in 2022 and with Liverpool in 2023), he died four days after suffering an arrhythmia that led to neurological damage during a Copa Libertadores match against Sao Paulo.
September 16: Gary Shaw (63), English footballer who won the European Cup (now Champions League) in 1982 with Aston Villa. He played in the Intercontinental Final, where his club lost to Peñarol.
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September 18: Salvatore Schillaci (59 years old). Italian footballer and top scorer in the 1990 World Cup at the height of his glory.
October 6: Johan Neeskens (73), Dutch footballer, three-time European Cup champion with Ajax and two-time World Cup finalist in 1974 and 1978.
October 25: Zé Carlos (56 years old), Brazilian footballer and vice-world champion in 1998 with the ‘Canarinha’.
December 2: Helmuth Duckadam (65), Romanian goalkeeper, winner of the European Champions Cup in 1986 with Steaua Bucharest. He managed to save an incredible four penalties during the penalty shootout against FC Barcelona.
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In addition to the departure of these recognized figures, we cannot forget that three young Uruguayan club players tragically lost their lives in 2024:
On May 15, Cerrito fourth division player Bryan de los Santos committed suicide.
On August 8, Mateo Estigarribia, a 17-year-old player from Boston River, was murdered during a robbery in the Ideal neighborhood. He had gone to buy a mobile phone after arranging it on social media, but it turned out to be a trap set by his killer.
On December 25, Geral Froste, a 14-year-old goalkeeper for Montevideo City Torque, was shot multiple times in the Nuevo Ellauri neighborhood while trying to publicize a dispute between neighbors on Christmas Day.
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February 11: Kelvin Kiptum (24), Kenyan athlete and marathon world record holder, died in a car accident in his country.
10 avril : OJ Simpson (76), football star, film actor, and acquitted in the “trial of the century” for the murder of his ex-wife.
June 12: Jerry West (86 years old), American basketball player who won the NBA championship in 1972 with the Los Angeles Lakers, and whose silhouette served as a model for the official logo of the league.
June 18: Willie Mays (93 years old), American baseball legend and icon of the San Francisco Giants.
August 22: Peter Lundgren (59), former Swedish tennis player who later coached Swiss player Roger Federer.
September 30: Dikembe Mutombo (58 years old), Congolese basketball player, inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame and eight-time All-Star between 1990 and 2000.
October 6: Kipyegon Bett (26), Kenyan athlete who won a bronze medal in the 800m at the 2017 World Championships in London.
November 15: Bela Karolyi (82 years old), Romanian coach of Nadia Comaneci when she became Olympic champion in 1976.
December 2: Neale Fraser (91), Australian tennis legend and winner of 19 Grand Slam titles, including three singles titles during the amateur era (two US National Championships, predecessors of the US Open, in 1959 and 1960, and Wimbledon in 1960) as well as 16 other doubles Grand Slams.
