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- Ancelotti Sends “Strong Hug” to Families of Juan Manuel Izquierdo and Sven-Göran Eriksson
Ancelotti Sends “Strong Hug” to Families of Juan Manuel Izquierdo and Sven-Göran Eriksson
Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, who currently manages Real Madrid, began his press conference ahead of Thursday’s match against UD Las Palmas by sending “a strong hug to the families” of Uruguayan player Juan Izquierdo and Swedish coach Sven-Göran Eriksson, whom he fondly remembered as his coach at Roma.
"Before we begin, we have received two sad pieces of news. Juan Izquierdo, a Uruguayan player, has left us, and also the great coach Sven-Göran Eriksson, to whom I had particular affection because he was my coach at Roma," Ancelotti began.
"I had a very good relationship with him. A great coach and a great person. For many of us, he has been a reference, especially for those who had the fortune to work with him. An inspiration. A strong hug to the families of both," he concluded.
Juan Izquierdo, 27, passed away on Tuesday following a "cardiorespiratory arrest."
The player suffered an arrhythmia after coming off the bench in the second half during the final minutes of the Copa Libertadores match between São Paulo and Nacional last Thursday at Morumbi Stadium. He collapsed on the pitch, was taken off in an ambulance, and was immediately transported to the hospital, where he arrived in "cardiac arrest" and had to be resuscitated with a defibrillator.
Since then, doctors kept him sedated and on mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit.
His health worsened on Monday with a "critical neurological condition," and he passed away on Tuesday, surrounded by his family and a delegation from the Montevideo club.
Meanwhile, Sven-Göran Eriksson passed away on Monday after a long battle with incurable pancreatic cancer.
Eriksson had stepped down last year from his role as sporting director of the modest Swedish club Karlstad, citing health issues. This was the final stage of a long and fruitful career that began in the late 1970s in his native Sweden.