By Alfredo Di Cesare
28 Aug 2024, 10:47 AM EDT
27 years in football is not a long time. With a career still ahead of him, Uruguayan defender Juan Izquierdo passed away on the night of Tuesday, August 27. His death was due to health complications after suffering a heart attack in the 84th minute of the match between Nacional and São Paulo for the Copa Libertadores.
Izquierdo’s light went out after several days in the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in Brazil. The news has caused great consternation worldwide.
But who was Juan Izquierdo and what was his career in the world of football? The defender was born on July 4, 1997 in Montevideo, Uruguay. He took his first shots at a ball with the San Francisco de Asís club.
He later went to the youth teams of Liverpool, a Uruguayan team. There is a saying that says: ‘Walker, there is no path, the path is made by walking’. That is precisely what Izquierdo did. He continued his journey through various institutions in Uruguay.
He played in the Cerro under-16 category. There he managed to make the jump and debut in the first division of his country’s football in 2018. It was in a match for the Copa Sudamericana against Sport Rosario. In total there were 32 matches and one goal.
In 2019 he was transferred to one of the biggest clubs in Uruguay. Peñarol welcomed him with open arms, but things did not go as planned. He only played five games and did not win any titles. The finals they played were lost against Nacional.
In 2020 he moved to Montevideo Wanderers. There he was able to get back into the swing of things and was a key player. That year he also got his first international experience. That same year he moved to Atlético San Luis in Mexico and then returned to Wanderers.
In 2022 he signed for Bolso. He did not have an easy time, as he suffered a fracture in his left tibia due to stress. He spent the entire season without playing. After undergoing surgery, he returned at the end of the year. In 2023 he changed teams again. He left for an old acquaintance. Liverpool signed him and football smiled on him.
Juan Izquierdo regained his form and became a key player in the black and blue team’s first title in Uruguayan football.
“All for the family”
In the summer of 2024, the defender signed for Nacional. “I do everything for my family,” he used to say in some interviews. As a professional, he played 135 games. With Nacional he was only able to celebrate one goal.
On May 4, Izquierdo scored his only goal for Nacional. The defender leaves behind a legacy of struggle in Uruguayan football and two children.
Continue reading:
· Juan Izquierdo died days after collapsing during a 2024 Copa Libertadores match
· The heartbreaking farewell of Juan Izquierdo’s wife
· Football mourns the departure of Juan Izquierdo [Reacciones]