Nacional de Montevideo’s emotional tribute to Juan Izquierdo in the Great Central Park

He bustle faded little by little this Sunday at Great Central Parkafter the departure of the footballers from National y Liverpoolthe last clubs he defended Juan Izquierdothe soccer player who died at the end of August after spending five days hospitalized for a heart condition that made him faint on the San Pablo playing field, which he was facing for the Copa Libertadores.

little by little the songs were diminishingwhile the players entered wrapped in blue t-shirts with the shields of both institutions and the face of their former teammate in the center.

The emotion slowly invaded the stadium and the volume gradually decreased until silence came to rule the four sides. From that moment on, the footballers’ clapping of palms, in the traditional protocol greeting, was the only thing heard in the Great Central Park, in the presence of the relatives of the footballer who died at the age of 27 in the stands.

Was tears in the eyes of the players and fansafter the stoppage forced by the dramatic episode that occurred on August 27, when Izquierdo collapsed in the 83rd minute of the match played at the Morumbí stadium for the second leg of the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals. He suffered an arrhythmia that led to cardiac arrest.

The shirts with the surname “Izquierdo” next to the number 3 on the number, the one used by the player, also multiplied in the stands, where some flags also remembered the one who in 2022 won the Uruguayan Championship with Nacional and in the last one he repeated with the Negriazul set.

Los applause came from the stands before the start and they were repeated in the third minute of play, while Diego Zabala made Sebastián Lentinelly fly with a spectacular shot that the goalkeeper sent to the corner kick.

In addition, all the players led by Marcelo Bielsa put on a black armband showing their pain for this significant loss.

In the end, Nacional gave him a 1-0 victory, thanks to a goal from Nicolás López after capturing the rebound on the crossbar from a header from Rubén Bentancourt. The celebration, of course, was also dedicated to Izquierdo: the Tricolor footballers hugged each other at one end of the playing field and ‘El Diente’ raised his arms to the sky, remembering his former teammate.