Serie A: The dramatic collapse of Florence player Eduardo Bove on the pitch

The moment when Eduardo Bove kneeled briefly during a break in the game seemed inconspicuous and all too normal. It seemed as if he just wanted to take a quick breath after 17 minutes of play in the game between Fiorentina and Inter Milan, which had just been interrupted due to a debate between the referee and the dugout. Bove got up again, took a few wobbly steps, then fell to the ground. He caught himself a little with his hands, but the players around him immediately recognized the seriousness of the situation: from one second to the next, normality turned into an emergency.

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi rushed onto the pitch, everyone involved gestured wildly in the direction of the emergency doctors, then they formed a circle around the scene as a visual barrier. Some were unable to watch the drama up close and kneeled on the grass on the sidelines. It took minutes until the rescue stretcher was in place and the ambulance was ready to leave – as we now know, Bove was resuscitated during this time. The use of the defibrillator that brought the 22-year-old Italian back was the beginning of the end of the horror. That’s the hope.

Later in the evening, Fiorentina, together with the Careggi hospital, issued a statement that read like a cautious all-clear: Bove was currently in the intensive care unit under sedatives, it was said. He had already arrived at the hospital stabilized, but above all “initial cardiological and neurological tests had ruled out acute damage to the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system.” Bove will continue to be examined in the next 24 hours, and Viola fans have gathered in front of the clinic to support him. Some of his teammates and his family were also able to visit him.

In Florence they still remember the then captain Davide Astori, who died in a hotel room in 2018

However, the horror will accompany everyone involved in the coming times, not least because of the tragic history that has shaped the club in Florence for years. In March of this year, Vice President Joe Barone died, but above all there is the story of the eternal captain: In March 2018, the then team captain Davide Astori died suddenly in the hotel before the away game in Udine, and to this day he is remembered in Florence before every game . His name was also called out after the team lineup on Sunday evening, “Number 13, Davide Astori, the captain!” In the 13th minute, people applaud in memory of him at games in Florence, and this was also the case on Sunday evening. Four minutes later, Bove collapsed.

The Inter players also had dramatic images in their minds. The Dane Christian Eriksen, who is with the European Football Championship 2021 collapsed was her teammate at the time. He is now seen as a ray of hope for footballers who suffer serious medical problems during their careers, although Eriksen was unable to continue his career in Italy because professional contact sports with a built-in defibrillator are not allowed there. Evan Ndicka from AS Roma was also remembered in the evening, who collapsed with heart problems in the game against Udine in April, but is now able to play football normally again.