He collapsed on the pitch
Defender Juan Izquierdo dies at the age of 27
28.08.2024, 07:35
During a match in the South American Copa Libertadores, Juan Izquierdo collapsed and was taken to hospital unconscious. The doctors were unable to help the 27-year-old. His club has now announced that the defender has died.
A few days after collapsing during a Copa Libertadores match in Brazil, Uruguayan footballer Juan Izquierdo died on Tuesday evening. The 27-year-old’s cause of death was cardiac arrest, his club Nacional announced, citing the doctors treating him at the Albert Einstein Hospital in the Brazilian metropolis of São Paulo.
The central defender staggered and fell over in the 84th minute of the second leg of the round of 16 match against São Paulo FC last Thursday. He fainted and had to be taken off the pitch in an ambulance. According to the hospital, a cardiac arrhythmia was diagnosed.
“South American football is in mourning”
Izquierdo’s death was an “irreplaceable loss” for his club, it said in a post on the platform X. “Juan, you will always be with us.” São Paulo FC also announced that it was a sad day for football. The president of the South American football association Conmebol, Alejandro Domínguez, expressed his condolences to Izquierdo’s club and his family. “South American football is in mourning.”
In 2018, Izquierdo made his debut in the first division for the club Atlético Cerro. He has played for Nacional with a break since 2022, during which time he played 33 games and scored two goals.
He leaves behind his wife Selene and two children – the second was born just days before Izquierdo’s collapse, according to Nacional president Alejandro Balbi. São Paulo won last Thursday’s match 2-0 and advanced to the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores. The South American tournament is comparable to the Champions League in Europe.