Juan Manuel Izquierdo passed away on Tuesday in São Paulo (Brazil) and plunged Uruguayan football into mourning. The Nacional defender left behind many stories to tell, one of them being a promise he made to his grandfather before he died.
According to the criteria of
For Juan, nothing seemed impossible. That’s why he told him that he would become Uruguayan champion with Liverpool. And he did it, at the end of last year he did the victory lap with that club, which allowed him to return to Nacional.
“I can’t buy the happiness and peace I feel with anything. A few months ago my grandfather passed away and before he left I promised him and I was able to keep it. I want the champion’s diary for the future, to put on my barbecue,” he declared at the time to El País, of Uruguay.
But Izquierdo did not have an easy path in life. At the age of 16 he thought about retiring from football. He worked as a bricklayer and in cleaning work alongside Nelson, his father and idol.
The pandemic was also a difficult time for Juan, who at the time was part of Montevideo Wanderers, but he had to combine his work as a footballer with that of a welder.
“My father didn’t let me work, but if I wanted to go, he made me get up in the morning and tried to instil in me that things are hard. It was more than anything to keep him company and talk about life. Those small gestures taught me a lesson that I want to instil in my daughter one day. Even if everything seems easy, it’s hard,” she explained.
Izquierdo’s goal celebrations were always for his wife
Throughout this process, up to the National Stadium, there was one key person, Selena, his wife, with whom he had a daughter, now 2 and a half years old, and who made him a father for the second time 10 days ago, shortly before the trip to Brazil where, unexpectedly, death came to him.
Izquierdo always dedicated his goals to Selena. “There were days when I came home really sad, but luckily, I have a woman who is worth her weight in gold and who made me see the positive side of things. Her support was fundamental,” he declared a year ago.
Things were never easy for Juan. He was out of football for six months in 2022 due to a fracture, just days after the birth of his daughter. “Next year I’m going to rock it wherever I go,” he declared.
Even now, at Nacional, he had been relegated to the bench by the arrival of a historic player like Sebastián Coates. However, Diego López, one of his former coaches, says that he always supported the coaches, even if he didn’t play. “It’s okay. He’ll have to learn. He’s a monster,” he said after Coates’ signing.
A cardiac arrhythmia caused him to stop and then a brain problem led to his death. That is why today the words he said to El País when he won the championship with Liverpool resonate more than ever, the promise he kept to his grandfather: “I learned a lot to value when I am healthy, when it seems normal.”
SPORTS
With the Country (Uruguay-GDA)
More Sports News
#Juan #Izquierdo #deceased #Nacional #footballer #family #drama #wanted #leave #football #promise #grandfather
