Nacional’s central defender, Juan Izquierdo, died at the age of 27 after spending five days in the Albert Einstein hospital in Brazil, where he was admitted after suffering heart failure and collapsing on the pitch during his team’s defeat and elimination against San Pablo in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores.
“With the deepest pain and shock in our hearts, Club Nacional de Football announces the death of our beloved player Juan Izquierdo. We express our most sincere condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and loved ones. All of Nacional is mourning his irreparable loss. RIP, Juan, you will be with us forever,” the club wrote on its social media, announcing the distressing news.
It is with deepest pain and shock in our hearts that Club Nacional de Football announces the passing of our beloved player Juan Izquierdo.
We express our sincere condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and loved ones.
All of Nacional is in mourning for… pic.twitter.com/mYU28mqw6m
— National (@Nacional) August 28, 2024
Throughout the day, the player’s family and the management accompanied him in the hospital awaiting the outcome. Rafinha and the Argentine Jonathan Calleri, members of the San Pablo squad, also passed through there. The former Boca striker even offered his credit card to cover the costs of the hospitalization. “He calls me up to four times a day,” said Alejandro Balbi, president of the Uruguayan club.
On Monday, August 26, an alarming medical report was released regarding the health condition of the defender with a past in Cerro, Peñarol, Montevideo Wanderers, Liverpool and Nacional de Uruguay, in addition to a brief stay in San Luis de México.
“Patient Juan Manuel Izquierdo has been hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit since August 22, 2024, at 8:55 p.m., dependent on mechanical ventilation, with a critical neurological condition.” Hours before that statement, they had specified that he showed “cerebral progression and an increase in intracranial pressure,” they reported.
The incident occurred at the Morumbí Stadium and took place after Izquierdo entered the field to play the entire second half in place of Sebastián Coates. A few minutes before the end, the footballer fell unconscious after taking two staggering steps backwards. The medical staff at the stadium gave him immediate attention before he was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, while the public applauded him.
The reports from the medical center stated that he arrived “in cardiac arrest, of undetermined onset, secondary to an arrhythmia.” “The hospital immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers, including the defibrillation procedure, and the patient regained spontaneous circulation. Since then, Juan has been hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit, sedated, on mechanical ventilation and under neurological intensive care,” detailed the report signed by neurologist Marcos Vinicius Tadao Fujino; cardiologist Carlos Vicente Serrano Junior; and the medical director, Miguel Cendoroglo Neto.
The Uruguayan consul in Sao Paulo, Marta Echarte, had referred to the seriousness of the situation during his hospitalization: “We were with the president of Nacional, Alejandro Balbi, and the family of Juan Izquierdo. The situation is practically irreversible.”
Throughout his career, the 1.84m tall defender played 139 games with seven goals, five assists, 36 yellow cards and seven expulsions (4 for double cautions and 3 direct).
He was facing his second cycle at the Bolso after a stint at Liverpool in Uruguay. So far in 2024, he had accumulated 1,801 minutes spread over 23 games and scored his only goal with Nacional on May 3 in the 4-2 victory against Racing de Uruguay at home in the Gran Parque Central.
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“Cardiac arrest”: the medical report of the Uruguayan footballer who collapsed during a Copa Libertadores match