Juan Izquierdo: the situation of the footballer in Brazil is critical and at Nacional they ‘expect the worst’

Football is in suspense over the case of the player of National of Uruguay, Juan Izquierdo, who is in a “critical” condition after suffering a heart attack in the game of the Copa Libertadores in Brazil against São Paulo.

“The patient Juan Manuel Izquierdo remains hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit Since August 22, 2024, at 8:55 p.m., dependent on mechanical ventilation, with a critical neurological condition,” reported the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital of Sao Paulo.

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Nothing encouraging

The 27-year-old footballer collapsed on Thursday during the match and was quickly transported by ambulance from the stadium pitch Morumbi to the nearby hospital.

He was admitted “in cardiac arrest of undetermined onset, secondary to an arrhythmia,” and has remained sedated and on assisted breathing ever since, the attending physicians reported on Saturday.

Last Sunday the doctors carried out new evaluations and they showed “a progression of brain involvement and an increase in intracranial pressure,” according to the hospital report.

The family

“In the family we always say that in the world of football it is Juan, and for us it is Juanma.” Sandra, Juan Izquierdo’s mother, lights up when talking about her oldest son, 27 years old, in the hotel lobby. Sofia, the youngest, arrived in São Paulo last night and so a large part of the family gathered in Brazil, the same one that a few years ago – before the pandemic – put together a comparsa (Raíces del Sarandí del Yi), in honor of the town of Juan’s parents, or Juanma. The footballer got hooked, and when they traveled to the interior to perform, he just had time off from his team, he wasn’t playing, and he was able to play the drum,” she reports this Tuesday. El País of Uruguay, member of the GDA group, newspapers of America.

And she adds: “The conversation takes place in a context of great pain, but even so Sandra likes to talk a lot about her son and her face lights up as if it were daytime, when night had taken over the city of São Paulo some time ago. A few minutes earlier, Nelson – Juan’s father – had left for the airport with Fernando Brusco to pick up Sofia, who arrived with her seven-month-old son. She tends to fight a lot with Juan, like all siblings, but now she wanted to be as close to him as possible, even if it meant going to the doctor urgently to get the little one cleared to travel.”

The family arrived in Brazil and is aware of the critical situation Izquierdo is in, and they understand that hopes are slim.

“Every day that passes, Izquierdo’s setback generates disappointment and much sadness. Although his heart is working, his neurological condition is seriously compromised by the strong intercranial pressure on his head caused by the cardiac arrest that the defender suffered for many minutes. It is difficult for him to overcome this episode and the family is aware of what is happening, beyond the grief that is generated every time they receive the medical report from the Albert Einstein Hospital,” the newspaper states.

“Before the match between São Paulo and Nacional, Juan, or Juanma, wrote to Sandra to tell her that he was going to the bench. He was happy, he wanted to have those minutes in the Copa Libertadores, he wanted to play in Morumbi, he wanted to help get the tricolors to the quarterfinals. “He must have gotten into an argum
ent with someone and he’s making trouble,” she told Nelson when her son fainted on the field. As the minutes passed, the tension grew in the Nuevo París house, even more so when the ambulance arrived.The footballer’s father went to her bedroom, changed, and told her he was ready to do whatever she wanted. A few hours later they were already in São Paulo, accompanying their son, the one who at 17 or 18 years old rolled up his sleeves and went to help his father in construction, the one who intended to give away his glasses when they were prescribed because he didn’t want his father to spend money,” reports El País.

“Today, hope is fading, pain is growing, and the uncertainty of those who are not familiar with the situation is shocking, crying out for answers that are very difficult to provide. Those answers are wanted by those who know Juan, or Juanma. Those answers are longed for by those who were his companions and who know of his human warmth. “The neurological condition is critical,” The Einstein Hospital only limited itself to saying at around 9:45 p.m.: “Whatever happens, Juan, or Juanma, will live it accompanied by his family. The one that has always been there,” the newspaper states.

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