TThere was a storm of applause following the death of Uruguayan footballer Juan Izquierdo on Tuesday evening. The 27-year-old, a defender for his hometown’s Club Nacional de Football, died in hospital after collapsing on the pitch during a match in Brazil last Thursday.

“All of Nacional mourns his irretrievable loss,” the Montevideo club posted on X. “Juan, you will be with us forever.”

CONMEBOL, the continental governing body of South American sport, also sent its condolences, with the organisation’s president, Alejandro Domínguez, adding in a post on X: “South American football is in mourning.”

Uruguay’s record goalscorer Luis Suárez, who expressed his support for his compatriot on Saturday after his goal for MLS team Inter Miami, posted in his Instagram story after Izquierdo’s death: “Pain, sadness, it’s hard to explain. May you rest in peace and strength to your family and friends.”

Izquierdo collapsed in the 84th minute of a Copa Libertadores match against São Paulo at the Morumbi Stadium in Brazil. The defender had been substituted at half-time and had not made contact with another player when he fell to the ground unconscious. He was taken to the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital.

Izquierdo was in stable condition and sedated in intensive care, Nacional said last Friday, a day after his collapse. On Sunday, Nacional released a hospital statement saying he remained on a ventilator and had experienced “an increase in intracranial pressure.” On Monday, doctors described him as “in critical neurological condition.” He died on Tuesday evening after “suffering cardiac arrest related to his arrhythmia,” the hospital said in a statement released by Nacional.

Uruguay suspended all domestic soccer activities last weekend, citing Izquierdo’s “delicate health condition” as the reason. In Brazil, São Paulo players wore shirts with the words “Furza Izquierdo“ (Stay strong, Izquierdo) in support of the Uruguayan who is in hospital.

“Our condolences go out to the family, friends, colleagues, Nacional fans and the entire Uruguayan people in this time of mourning,” the Brazilian club posted on X after Izquierdo’s death. “A sad day for football.”

Uruguayan newspaper El Pais reported that Izquierdo was surrounded by his family at the time of his death – including his parents, sister, wife and young daughter – and that his body would be returned to Uruguay on a Uruguayan Air Force plane. He also leaves behind a son, whom his wife had given birth to just 10 days earlier, according to El Pais.

Izquierdo’s death is part of a larger phenomenon of athletes suffering sudden cardiac arrests and deaths. During the 2021 European Championship, Danish footballer Christian Eriksen collapsed during the match. His survival was attributed to the quick intervention of doctors who were able to apply cardiopulmonary resuscitation and a defibrillator. However, many are not so lucky. Last November, Ghanaian footballer Raphael Dwamena suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch and died on the way to hospital. In June, British goalkeeper Matija Sarkic died after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest in his apartment.

According to a 2016 study, sudden cardiac death, which affects 1 in 40,000 to 80,000 athletes each year, is the most common medical cause of death among athletes – especially in soccer, football, basketball and baseball. Cases of sudden cardiac arrest are often associated with cardiovascular diseases or abnormalities that are either congenital or acquired, according to the study.

Izquierdo had already broken his tibia in 2022, which kept him off the pitch for six months. The experience, he said El Paistaught him to appreciate the moments in life that otherwise “seem normal,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot that I appreciate when I’m healthy.”