The Uruguayan defender Juan Izquierdo He died on Tuesday at the age of 27 from “brain death following a cardiorespiratory arrest” associated with an arrhythmia, according to the São Paulo hospital where he had been hospitalized for the past five days.
“The Albert Einstein Israeli Hospital regretfully announces the death of Mr. Juan Manuel Izquierdo, who passed away on Tuesday, August 27, at 9:38 p.m. local time, as a result of brain death following a cardiorespiratory arrest associated with arrhythmia,” the latest bulletin stated.
The Nacional player suffered an arrhythmia, coming off the bench in the second half, in the final minutes of the match between São Paulo and Nacional last Thursday at the Morumbis stadium in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores.
Izquierdo collapsed during the Libertadores match against Sao Paulo
He collapsed on the pitch, was taken off the pitch in an ambulance and immediately taken to hospital, where he went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated with a defibrillator. Since then, doctors have kept him sedated and on mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit.
The case has shocked Uruguay and especially the country’s football, which suspended its activities last weekend and will not take to the field next weekend either.
Major Brazilian clubs such as Flamengo, Palmeiras, Fluminense, São Paulo itself, Botafogo, Santos and Internacional, among others, have also deeply regretted the death of Izquierdo and expressed their condolences to fans, employees, colleagues, as well as family and friends of the defender.
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Trained at Club Atlético Cerro, Izquierdo spent most of his career in Uruguay, where he also played for Liverpool, Wanderers and Peñarol. His only adventure abroad was with Atlético San Luis in Mexico.
