Uruguayan Footballer Passes Away After Collapsing Mid-Match in Brazil Due to Cardiac Arrest
Juan Izquierdo, a player for the Uruguayan club Nacional, has tragically passed away in Brazil, five days after suffering a heart attack during a Copa Libertadores match against Sao Paolo, the club announced on Tuesday. The 27-year-old collapsed in the 84th minute of the game, which was part of the competition for a spot in the quarterfinals of the prestigious Copa Libertadores, South America’s premier club tournament. Izquierdo was quickly taken by ambulance to the Albert Einstein Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with “cardiac arrest of undetermined onset, secondary to an arrhythmia.”
The footballer, who had been sedated and placed on a ventilator, experienced further complications, including “a progression of brain involvement and increased intracranial pressure,” according to a statement from the hospital. “With the deepest pain and shock in our hearts, we announce the death of our beloved player Juan Izquierdo,” Club Nacional de Football wrote in an emotional post on the social media site X, accompanied by a black-and-white photo of the athlete. Izquierdo leaves behind his wife, Selena, who had given birth to their second child just a week ago.
It was revealed on Monday that Izquierdo had been diagnosed with “a small arrhythmia” around ten years ago during routine health screenings for youth teams, as stated by the director of the National Sports Secretariat, Sebastian Bauza. Despite this, Club Nacional president Alejandro Balbi mentioned that Izquierdo had never shown any signs of cardiac issues during medical examinations since joining the club in January of this year.
Born in Montevideo in 1991, Izquierdo began his professional football career in 2017 and played for various first-division clubs in Uruguay. He also had a stint with Atletico San Luis in Mexico. His untimely death has sent shockwaves through the football community, leaving fans, teammates, and loved ones mourning the loss of a talented player.
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