Uruguayan Soccer Player Juan Izquierdo Dies After Collapsing During Game

Nacional's defender Juan Manuel Izquierdo (covered) is carried into an ambulance afte
NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images
Warner Todd Huston

Uruguayan footballer Juan Izquierdo collapsed on the field during a match in Brazil last Thursday and was pronounced dead the following Tuesday, according to reports.

The 27-year-old defender collapsed on the pitch in the 84th minute of Nacional’s Copa Libertadores game against Sao Paulo on Aug. 22. He fell where he stood and had no contact with another player.

He was quickly transported to Albert Einstein Hospital’s intensive care unit, but five days later, doctors said he died from brain death after the cardiopulmonary arrest, according to GBN.

The hospital had placed him on a respirator on Sunday and then put him under neurological care on Monday.

Club Nacional posted a message on social media mourning the young player’s death.

“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 in an Aug. 27 X post.

“We express our most sincere condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and loved ones. All of Nacional is in mourning for his irreparable loss.”

Uruguayan football icon Luis Suarez wrote about his “sadness” at the player’s passing.

“Pain, sadness, difficult to explain,” Suarez wrote, adding, “May you rest in peace and lots of strength for your family and friends.”

For its part, Sao Paulo paid tribute to Izquierdo by wearing the fallen player’s name on their jerseys during their Sunday match against Vitoria.

Izquierdo played for Cerro, Peñarol, Wanderers, Liverpool in Uruguay, and Liga MX’s San Luis, during his soccer career.

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