Uruguayan soccer player Juan Izquierdo has died following a tragic on-field incident.
Izquierdo was pronounced dead on Tuesday, August 27, five days after he collapsed to the field after colliding with an opposing player. He was 27 years old.
The Nacional defender fell to the ground unconscious during Copa Libertadores’ game against Sao Paolo on Thursday, August 22. He was taken off the field in an ambulance and had been receiving treatment in the intensive care unit of a Brazilian hospital.
In a statement, the hospital said Izquierdo died as a result of brain death following a cardiopulmonary arrest associated with cardiac arrhythmia.
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“It is with the deepest sorrow and shock in our hearts that the Club Nacional announces the death of our beloved player Juan Izquierdo,” Nacional wrote via X. “We express our most sincere condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and loved ones. All of Nacional is in mourning for his irreparable loss.”
Juan Izquierdo is carried into an ambulance after collapsing onto the groundNELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images
FIFA President Gianni Infantino released a statement on Wednesday, saying, “I am deeply saddened to learn of the tragic passing of Uruguayan footballer Juan Izquierdo. On behalf of FIFA and the entire footballing community, I would like to express my sincere condolences to his family and friends, to the Uruguayan Football Association, to Club Nacional de Football and to everyone at [Copa Libertadores]. RIP.”
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Fellow Uruguayan soccer star Mateo Antoni posted a lengthy remembrance of his friend via Instagram on Tuesday.
“Since day one you were always an amazing person to me,” Antoni wrote. “You helped me, you advised me, you taught me, you demanded me, you whore me, you hugged me, you laughed at me. I have so many things that I don’t know to describe what a great person you were to me.”
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Antoni mentioned Izquierdo’s wife and 2-year-old daughter, writing, “You reminded us that nothing more important than family and that you had to give everything for it.”
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“I will miss you forever my dear friend,” Antoni’s post concluded.
Luis Suárez, Uruguay’s all-time leading scorer, also posted about Izquierdo on social media.
“Pain, sadness, it is hard to explain,” Suárez shared via Instagram Story. “”May he rest in peace. I wish a lot of strength for his family and friends.”
In memory of Izquierdo, Brazilian Football Federation president Ednaldo Rodrigues said a moment of silence would be observed before every match organized by the league on Wednesday.
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