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Born on July 4, 1997, in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, Juan Izquierdo was a soccer player who played as a center-back for various teams in his native Uruguay and Mexico, including Cerro, Peñarol, Montevideo Wanderers, Atlético San Luis, Liverpool Montevideo, and finally Nacional.
Izquierdo enjoyed significant success as a professional, winning the Uruguayan Primera División twice, in 2022 and 2023, and the Supercopa Uruguaya in 2023. Tragically, on Aug. 27, 2024, he passed away in São Paulo, Brazil at the young age of 27. So, what happened?
How did Juan Izquierdo die?
La Comisión Directiva del Club Nacional de Football decreta un duelo de 5 días por el fallecimiento del querido Juan Izquierdo.
Todas nuestras banderas se encontrarán a media asta. El club solo tendrá activos sus servicios básicos. pic.twitter.com/oACdLsXUnB— Nacional (@Nacional) August 28, 2024
In the 84th minute of a match between Izquierdo’s Nacional and Brazil’s São Paulo FC in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores on Aug. 22, 2024, the center-back collapsed on the pitch. He was rushed to the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo with a case of cardiac arrhythmia.
Five days later, he passed away in the same hospital. Following Izquierdo’s death, the hospital issued a statement specifying the cause as being a cardiopulmonary arrest associated with cardiac arrhythmia (as per ESPN).
Nacional posted a statement on their social media pages saying Izquierdo’s passing caused “deep pain and impact in our hearts” and “Nacional are in grief for their irreplaceable loss” (as per CNN).
Izquierdo’s death was felt across the soccer world, and tributes came from all over the globe, including from São Paulo FC, the team he was playing against when he collapsed. They wrote on X, “We live days of prayers, unity and hope, and today we are deeply saddened by the news of the death of Juan Izquierdo, an athlete from @Nacional . Our condolences to the family, friends, colleagues, Nacional fans and all the Uruguayan people at this time of grief. A sad day for football. Rest in peace, Juan.” We echo those sentiments.