FACTBOX - Sudden deaths of soccer players

Published Sun, Mar 07 10 06:22 PM

REUTERS - A Nigerian footballer died at the weekend after collapsing during a game in Khartoum on Saturday, football association officials said.

Here is a list of soccer players who have died suddenly in the last 20 years:

LONGHURST: York City striker Dave Longhurst died aged 25 after collapsing two minutes before halftime in a league match against Lincoln City in September 1990.

DOS SANTOS: In October 2002, the 28-year-old Brazilian striker Marcio Dos Santos died of a heart attack just hours after scoring a goal for Peruvian side Deportivo Wanka.

FOE: Midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe collapsed during Cameroon's 1-0 victory against Colombia in a Confederations Cup match in June 2003 in Lyon, France and died shortly afterwards aged 26.

FERREIRA: Brazilian 20-year-old Max Ferreira died in hospital in July 2003 after feeling unwell during a training session for his club Botafogo-Ribeirao Preto.

FEHER: In January 2004, the 24-year-old Hungarian international Miklos Feher died after collapsing from a heart attack in a Portuguese league game between his club Benfica and Vitoria Guimaraes.

SERGINHO: Sao Caetano defender Serginho, 30, died after suffering an apparent cardio-respiratory arrest during a Brazilian championship match against Sao Paulo in October 2004.

CUNHA: In Portugal, Uniao Leiria midfielder Hugo Cunha collapsed and died during a game with friends in June 2005. He was 28.

PUERTA - Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta, 22, died on Aug. 28, 2007 three days after collapsing during a Primera Liga match against Getafe.

NSOFWA - Zambian 27-year-old striker Chaswe Nsofwa of Israeli second division side Hapoel Beer Sheva collapsed and died during a practice match in the southern desert city on Aug 29, 2007.

O'DONNELL - Motherwell midfielder Phil O'Donnell died after collapsing on the pitch towards the end of a Scottish Premier League match against Dundee United on Dec 29, 2007. He was 35.

TCHINGOMA: Gabon 21-year-old international Guy Tchingoma collapsed and died on the field during a premier division match in Libreville in Feb. 2008 after contact with an opposing player late in a match between his club FC105 Libreville and US Mbiliandzami.

CUSTIC: Zadar winger Hrvoje Custic died on April 3, 2008 after hitting his head on a concrete wall two metres from a touchline during a Croatian championship match on March 29. He was 24.

PINAULT: French second division player Clement Pinault died on Jan. 22, 2009 four days after suffering a heart attack. Pinault, 23, was taken to hospital after collapsing at his home. The defender played for Clermont two days before his heart attack, a 2-0 Ligue 2 win over Brest.

JARQUE: The captain of Spanish club Espanyol Dani Jarque died of heart failure on Aug. 8, 2009 during a tour of Italy. Jarque, 26, had trained in the morning but collapsed in his hotel room in Coverciano.

ESTEVAJO: In Angola, Progresso de Sambizanga player Neridson Estevao died after collapsing during a second division game against Benfica de Cabinda on Sept. 20, 2009. The 26-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital in the capital, Luanda.

IDAHOR: Nigerian Endurance Idahor, 25, who played for Sudan's Al-Merreikh club, died on March 6, 2010 after clashing with another player minutes after the start of the match with Sudan Premier League rivals Al-Amal, held at Al-Merreikh's stadium in the Khartoum suburb of Omdurman.

Source: Web Search