Five players who died after on-field incidents

Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel died on Tuesday as a result of injuries he suffered in a sickening collision with FC Andorra’s goalkeeper in a Spanish second division match.

The 30-year-old is sadly not a unique case of a player dying either on the pitch or because of an injury sustained during the match.

AFP Sport highlights five such fatalities:

Marc-Vivien Foe, June 2003

Cameroon midfielder Foe collapsed after a heart attack during a Confederations Cup semi-final against Colombia in Lyon, France.

The former Manchester City, West Ham and Lyon player was carried from the pitch as medical staff tried to revive him with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and oxygen.

After trying to restart his heart for 45 minutes without success he was declared dead, aged just 28.

His death prompted improvements in both the testing of footballers for heart problems and the treatment they can receive during matches, including training club medical teams in CPR and using defibrillators.

Antonio Puerta, August 2007

Spain international Puerta, 22, collapsed while playing for Sevilla in a La Liga match against Getafe and died three days later from multiple organ failure stemming from prolonged cardiac arrest.

It was three months after he had helped Sevilla to win the UEFA Cup.

Spanish legend Sergio Ramos has a tattoo tribute to Puerta and wore a T-shirt dedicated to him as Spain won the 2010 World Cup.

“Antonio has always been with me. The next game, I went out on the field with his shirt and for a long time after that, I wore one that was dedicated to him,” said Ramos.

Phil O’Donnell, December 2007

The Motherwell captain died of heart failure towards the end of his side’s 5-3 Scottish Premier League win over Dundee United in December 2007.

The 35-year-old midfielder collapsed just as he was about to be substituted and was treated for around five minutes on the field before being taken to a waiting ambulance.

O’Donnell played for Scotland, Celtic and Sheffield Wednesday during his career and his death caused widespread grief in Scottish football, causing a number of fixtures to be postponed.

“He was a man among boys in every sense, in his attitude, his professionalism and integrity and sincerity,” his manager Mark McGhee said.

Cristiano Junior, August 2009

The 25-year-old Brazilian, who was then the highest paid footballer in India, collided with the opposing goalkeeper when he scored a goal for his club Dempo 12 minutes from time in the 2004 Federation Cup final in Bangalore.

Junior, who had moved to India to earn enough money to build a house for his mother back home, collapsed and was immediately attended to by his Nigerian strike partner Santi Martins.

Martins stayed with him until an ambulance whisked him off to hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival having suffered cardiac arrest.

“The match continued. We played the remaining 12 minutes, received the trophy and were told of Cristiano’s death only when we reached the hospital. We broke down, unable to control ourselves,” his teammate and club captain Stanley Colaco told the Times of India in 2021.

Juan Izquierdo, August 2024

The 27-year-old Uruguayan central defender suffered cardiac arrhythmia during his club Nacional’s Copa Libertadores last 16 match with Brazilian outfit Sao Paulo FC.

Taken to hospital, he died five days later of “cardio respiratory arrest associated with his cardiac arrhythmia”.

His second child had only been born 10 days prior to his death. His club described his death as an “irreplaceable loss”.