Juan Izquierdo, a Uruguayan soccer player who played for Nacional, died on Tuesday days after he collapsed during a Copa Libertadores match in Brazil. He was 27.
Izquierdo died at Hospital Albert Einstein in Sao Paulo following “cardiorespiratory arrest associated with his cardiac arrhythmia,” according to officials.
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Juan Izquierdo of Uruguay’s Liverpool plays in a Copa Libertadores match against Argentinos Juniors in Montevideo, Uruguay, May 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Doctors said earlier in the week he was put into neurological critical care because of increased intracranial pressure. He had been on a ventilator since Sunday.
He collapsed last Thursday during Nacional’s match against Sao Paulo.
“For many, Juan Izquierdo, my Juanma, my best friend, my husband, the father of my children, my unconditional partner. Today a part of me dies with you,” Izquierdo’s wife, Selena, wrote on the player’s social media channels.
She shared the message to “say goodbye to my half, the love of my life.”
Izquierdo’s teammate, Mateo Antoni, remembered him as a mentor and a friend.
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Juan Manuel Izquierdo of Uruguay’s Liverpool, left, controls the ball under pressure from Julio Joao Ortiz of Ecuador’s Independiente del Valle in Montevideo, Uruguay, May 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File)
“I can’t describe how great you were with me,” he said in a letter. “What remains with me for all my life is that I know that I will always watch your back because I know you will be watching mine.”
Izquierdo started his professional career with Cerro of the Uruguayan Primera Division. But he didn’t stay long. He bounced around the league from Penarol to Wanderers and later to Nacional and Liverpool. He played four matches for Atletico in Liga MX in Mexico.
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He re-joined Nacional in 2024 after 27 matches at Liverpool, helping the team to a Uruguayan league title in 2023. He started 13 of the 14 games he appeared in.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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