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Uruguayan Nacional soccer player Juan Izquierdo dies in Brazil 5 days after collapse during game in Sao Paulo
Sao Paulo — Uruguayan soccer player Juan Izquierdo died Tuesday at a hospital in Brazil five days after collapsing during a game at Sao Paulo. He was 27.
Hospital Albert Einstein in Sao Paulo said in a statement that the Nacional defender died at 9:38 p.m. local time following “cardiorespiratory arrest associated with his cardiac arrhythmia.”
Izquierdo was taken to the hospital after he collapsed late in a Copa Libertadores soccer match at Sao Paulo’s Morumbi Stadium last Thursday.
The Uruguayan club posted a statement on social media saying Izquierdo’s death is felt “in deep pain and impact in our hearts” and “all Nacional is in grief for his irreplaceable loss.”
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South American soccer’s governing body also posted a tribute. CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez said he’s “deeply sorry about the early departure of Juan Izquierdo.”
“South American soccer is in mourning,” he said. Other federations, including Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina, also expressed their condolences.
In a statement Monday, doctors at the hospital said Izquierdo was put into neurological critical care because of increased intracranial pressure. He had been on a ventilator since Sunday.
Uruguayan media said Izquierdo’s parents and Nacional executives were at the hospital in Sao Paulo. Izquierdo was married and had two children – the youngest, a boy, was born earlier in August.
Uruguayan national team players were among those expressing their condolences.
“Pain, sadness, it is hard to explain,” Inter Miami striker Luis Suárez said. “May he rest in peace. I wish a lot of strength for his family and friends.”
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Uruguay’s first- and second-division soccer leagues were postponed last weekend due to concerns over Izquierdo’s health. Sao Paulo players wore a shirt in support of the Uruguayan footballer before the team’s 2-1 Brazilian league win against Vitoria on Sunday.
The Brazilian club also posted a message after Izquierdo’s death.
“We had days of prayers, union and hope, and today we are in deep sadness with the news of the death of Juan Izquierdo,” Sao Paulo’s club statement said. “Our condolences to family, friends, teammates, Nacional fans and all the Uruguayan people in this moment of grief.”
Izquierdo’s professional career began in 2018 at local club Cerro. He joined Peñarol the following year, but didn’t get much playing time.
“Peñarol is deeply sorry about the passing of Juan Manuel Izquierdo. We express our heartfelt condolences and we embrace his family, his friends and Nacional in this moment of so much pain,” Peñarol said in its social media channels.
After leaving Peñarol, Izquierdo moved to Montevideo Wanderers.
His athletic form and sharp tackles caught the attention of Mexico’s San Luís in 2021, but he quickly returned to the Montevideo Wanderers. Izquierdo was signed by Nacional in 2022, played one match and then was transferred to the local Liverpool club.
The defender was one of Liverpool’s best players in the campaign that led to a Uruguayan league title in 2023, the club’s first in more than a century.
Izquierdo returned to Nacional this year and was vying for a position in the starting lineup with veteran Sebastián Coates, who played for Uruguay’s national team. He played 23 matches this year and scored one goal.
Almost two decades ago, Sao Caetano defender Serginho died hours after collapsing at Morumbi Stadium during a Brazilian league match against Sao Paulo. Doctors tried to resucitate him on the pitch, as tens of thousands of fans watched in shock and players wept and prayed on the sidelines.
Serginho’s death forced Brazilian soccer executives to change health protocols to allow defibrillators in every stadium. Doctors used a defibrillator on Izquierdo as he was be rushed to the nearby Hospital Albert Einstein.
“Such sadness, 20 years later,” former Sao Caetano player Anderson Lima said on Instagram. “May God comfort his family in this sad moment.”
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Nima Momeni has been found guilty of second degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee, a verdict reached by a San Francisco jury after seven days of deliberations.
The verdict of second degree murder carries a 15 years to life sentence and includes an enhancement for using a knife in the crime. Momeni was found not guilty of the more serious charge of pre-meditated first degree murder.
Prosecutors Dane Reinstedt and Omid Talai were present in the courtroom for the verdict, as was Sgt. Brent Dittmer – who testified in the trial – and a handful of members of the DA’s office.
Defense attorneys Tony Brass and Zoe Aron were also present along with Nima’s mother Mahnaz Momeni.
Outside the courtroom, Lee’s brother Timothy Oliver Lee said the family was satisfied with the verdict.
“We we’re happy with the result today. We’re happy that Nima Momeni won’t be on the streets, no longer has the opportunity to harm anyone else in this world,” he said. “The verdict of murder two will put him away for a long time.”
Shocking murder
Momeni was accused of fatally stabbing tech executive Lee in a secluded part of San Francisco’s East Cut neighborhood under the Bay Bridge in April 2023.
Court officials announced late Monday afternoon that the jury had reached a verdict shortly before 4 p.m.
Prosecutors accused Momeni of stabbing Lee with a kitchen paring knife following a heated discussion regarding his sister’s relationship with Lee as well as their ongoing drug use. During the trial, Momeni’s lawyers claimed that their client acted in self-defense, alleging that Lee lunged at Momeni with a knife in his hand while high on ketamine and cocaine. The defense said Lee became erratic and aggressive after Momeni made a “bad joke” at the expense of Lee’s family.
Intense trial
The trial, which lasted six weeks, was punctuated by dramatic testimony, including an appearance on the stand of Momeni’s sister, Khazar Momeni. She testified as a witness for the prosecution and insisted during her first day of testimony that her brother didn’t kill Lee. She also detailed consuming several drugs with Lee and others in the days leading up to the fatal stabbing.
During cross examination by defense attorneys, Khazar Momeni described Lee as “all over the place” and “aggressive” while high on drugs. Her testimony was criticized outside the courtroom by Lee’s ex-wife Krista Lee, who accused her of trying to “make herself a victim.”
The testimony turned contentious when Nima Momeni took the stand, as the defendant sparred with the prosecution during cross-examination after earlier describing how Lee allegedly attacked him while his defense team questioned him about the confrontation.
Prosecutorial challenge
San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai challenged Momeni’s version of the story and focused on his actions immediately after Lee’s death, including his calls to attorneys and text messages with his sister.
The case wrapped up in the first week of December with prosecutors trying to tear down Momeni’s defense in their closing arguments and asking why he didn’t call police or tell anyone about Lee allegedly attacking him.
The defense showed a bombshell video during their closing arguments, presenting surveillance footage they claimed showed Lee doing cocaine on the street outside a private club with the same knife used to kill him hours later. Defense attorney Saam Zangeneh used a cardboard cutout of the knife in court so the jury could see the size of the paring knife he said the video proved Lee had in his possession all along.
That video sparked a tense exchange between Zangeneh and Lee’s former wife, who let out a loud, mocking laugh as he showed the footage.
Zangeneh turned to directly address her, saying it wasn’t funny. Prosecutors quickly objected and the judge intervened to restore order in the courtroom.
The jury began deliberations on the morning of Dec. 4.
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