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Spanish soccer almost mourned the loss of another player this past weekend when Salamanca’s Miguel García suffered a heart attack in the middle of his team’s second division match against Betis.
The eerie footage, taken in the 56th minute, shows García suddenly struggle to maintain balance after tying his shoe laces before buckling on his knees and smashing face-first into the ground. In a matter of seconds, other players and the match referee realized something was terribly wrong and frantically waved for medical help.
The eerie footage, taken in the 56th minute, shows García suddenly struggle to maintain balance after tying his shoe laces before buckling on his knees and smashing face-first into the ground. In a matter of seconds, other players and the match referee realized something was terribly wrong and frantically waved for medical help.
García was legally dead for 25 seconds, according to team physician José Ignacio Garrido, before being revived on the pitch and rushed to Salamanca's University Hospital, where he is currently in stable condition.
Although a tragedy was averted, the 31-year-old midfielder knows that his playing days are over.
“We’ve tried to make him (García) realize that, given what he went through yesterday (Sunday)… not playing again isn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened,” Salamanca Sporting Director Baltasar Sánchez told Marca.
García’s brush with death left many teammates and opponents visibly distraught, and stirred painful memories of Antonio Puerta, a rising Spanish star who died of cardiac arrest at the age of 22 while playing for Sevilla in 2007.
While not on the pitch, another Spaniard, 26-year-old Espanyol captain Dani Jarque, suffered a fatal heart attack last year while talking on the phone with his pregnant girlfriend. And just a few months ago, a similar accident claimed the life of Jordi Pitarque, a player from the Catalonian third division.
According to Wikipedia, four professional soccer players have died during games this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzd3ze6toaI
Although a tragedy was averted, the 31-year-old midfielder knows that his playing days are over.
“We’ve tried to make him (García) realize that, given what he went through yesterday (Sunday)… not playing again isn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened,” Salamanca Sporting Director Baltasar Sánchez told Marca.
García’s brush with death left many teammates and opponents visibly distraught, and stirred painful memories of Antonio Puerta, a rising Spanish star who died of cardiac arrest at the age of 22 while playing for Sevilla in 2007.
While not on the pitch, another Spaniard, 26-year-old Espanyol captain Dani Jarque, suffered a fatal heart attack last year while talking on the phone with his pregnant girlfriend. And just a few months ago, a similar accident claimed the life of Jordi Pitarque, a player from the Catalonian third division.
According to Wikipedia, four professional soccer players have died during games this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzd3ze6toaI
