Antonio Puerta

"Football player infobox
playername = Antonio Puerta
fullname = Antonio José Puerta Pérez


dateofbirth = birth date|1984|11|26|df=y
cityofbirth = Seville
dateofdeath = death date and age|2007|8|28|1984|11|26|df=y
cityofdeath = Seville
countryofdeath = Spain
countryofbirth = Spain
height = height|m=1.83
position = Left-sided Midfielder
Wing-Back
youthyears =
youthclubs = A.D. Nervión
years = 2002-2004
2004–2007
clubs = Sevilla B
Sevilla
Total
caps(goals) = 040 00(4)
055 00(5)
095 00(9)
nationalyears = 2006
nationalteam = Spain
nationalcaps(goals) = 001 00(0)

Antonio José Puerta Pérez (26 November 1984 – 28 August 2007) was a Spanish international football midfielder. He played for Sevilla FC in La Liga. Affected with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, he died on 28 August 2007, three days after suffering a series of cardiac arrests during a league game against Getafe CF on 25 August 2007. [ [http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SPORT/football/08/28/spain.critical/index.html Sevilla star dies after collapse] ]

Career

A natural left-footer, Puerta joined Sevilla as a boy and spent a total of 14 years at the club,cite news |title=Sevilla midfielder Puerta dies |url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/europeanfootball/story/0,,2157667,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront |publisher=Guardian Unlimited |date=2007-08-28 |accessdate=2007-08-28 ] growing up at the club's acclaimed youth system alongside other players such as Sergio Ramos, Jesús Navas, Alejandro Alfaro and Kepa Blanco.cite news |author=Mark Ellington |title=Spanish football reels after death of Puerta|url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-6881202,00.html |publisher=Guardian Unlimited |work=Reuters |date=2007-08-28 |accessdate=2007-08-28 ] He played on the left side of midfield, although he did occasionally fill in at left back. His impressive performances earned him international recognition and reported interest from Arsenal, Manchester United and Real Madrid. [cite news |author=Graeme Bailey |coauthors=Mark Kendall |title=United join Puerta race |url=http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_2398111,00.html |publisher=Sky Sports |date=2006-12-13 |accessdate=2007-08-28 ]

Antonio is remembered by the goal that he scored against FC Schalke 04 in the UEFA Cup 2005/06 semifinals. In the final moments of the match, he received a long ball and struck it with his left foot, scoring one of the most important goals in Sevilla FC history. From then on, the team won five titles in fifteen months, a record in football history, with Puerta scoring the winning penalty in the UEFA Cup Final 2006-07 shoot-out.

Puerta was capped once by the Spanish national side, making his debut on October 7, 2006, against Sweden in a qualification match for the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship. He was also capped for Spain U-21.

Death

On 25 August 2007, Puerta collapsed and lost consciousness in the penalty area due to a cardiac arrest during Sevilla's first match of the 2007-08 La Liga season at their home stadium Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán against Getafe. [cite news |title=Sevilla star suffers heart attack |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6964586.stm |publisher=BBC Sport |date=2007-08-25 |accessdate=2007-08-25 ] He was seen crouching and then subsequently collapsing upon moving back to his team's goal, after only 35 minutes of the game had passed. His team-mates Ivica Dragutinović, Andrés Palop and a club medical staff and other players were then seen immediately running to his side as he lost consciousness.

After recovering and being substituted, Puerta collapsed once again in the changing room. He was resuscitated by club medical staff and taken, by ambulance, to the intensive care unit of Virgen del Rocio hospital, Seville, where he received cardiopulmonary resuscitation. [cite news |title=PUERTA ESTÁ "ESTABLE", DESPUÉS DE QUE SE HAYA "TEMIDO POR SU VIDA" |url=http://www.as.com/articulo/Futbol/Puerta/desvanece/abandona/estadio/ambulancia/dasftb/20070825dasdasftb_15/Tes/ |publisher=AS |date=2007-08-25 |accessdate=2007-08-28 |language=Spanish ]

Antonio Puerta died on the 28 August, 2007 at 14:30 hours. [cite news |title=Fallece el sevillista Antonio Puerta tras más de dos días en la UCI |url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundodeporte/2007/08/28/futbol/1188310053.html? |publisher=El Mundo |date=2007-08-28 |accessdate=2007-08-28 |language=Spanish ] [cite news |title=Sevilla's Puerta dies three days after collapse |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=457723&cc=5901 |publisher=ESPNsoccernet |date=2007-08-28 |accessdate=2007-08-28 ] Doctor Francisco Murillo reported that Puerta had suffered multiple organ failure and irreversible brain damage as a result of multiple prolonged cardiac arrests due to an incurable, hereditary heart disease known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. [cite news |url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/Fallece/futbolista/Sevilla/Antonio/Puerta/elpepudep/20070828elpepudep_7/Tes |title=Fallece el futbolista del Sevilla Antonio Puerta |publisher=El Pais |date=2007-08-28 |accessdate=2007-08-28 |language=Spanish ] There is no official word on whether he had ever been equipped with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. Puerta's premature death from heart problems is similar to those of Marc-Vivien Foé, Matt Gadsby, Miklós Fehér, Renato Curi, Serginho and Phil O'Donnell all of whom collapsed whilst playing in football matches. His girlfriend was expecting their first child at the time of his death.

Tributes

As a result of Antonio Puerta's death, Sevilla's UEFA Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens was postponed until the fourth of September - which Sevilla subsequently won 4-1 . The club also announced that a one-minute silence would be held before every La Liga match on the weekend of September 1-2, 2007. Also, every 16th minute the crowd at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan (Sevilla's stadium) would increase the volume for a whole minute as an informal tribute (Puerta wore the number 16 shirt for Sevilla).

Sevilla's European Super Cup game with AC Milan on 31 August, 2007 went ahead as a tribute to Antonio Puerta, with all the players on both teams having the name 'PUERTA' printed on the back of their jersey. The players and officials on both sides also wore black armbands.

Sevilla FC subsequently retired Puerta's number 16 shirt, with the provision that should his son, Aitor Antonio (born October 22, 2007) [cite web|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/23/sports/EU-SPT-SOC-Puerta-Baby.php|title=Girlfriend of Sevilla's deceased midfielder Antonio Puerta gives birth to his son|publisher=The International Herald Tribune|date=2007-10-23|accessdate-2007-10-23] , one day play for the club he will have the option to bring the number out of retirement. [cite news|url=http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/futbol/1a_division/sevilla/es/desarrollo/1031086.html|title=Del Nido anuncia que el Sevilla retirará el dorsal '16'|date=2007-09-01] However are not allowed to do so as the Spanish Football Federation rules state that clubs must use number 1 to 25 for their regular squad and that there is no room for maneouvre when it comes to altering that list. As a result, David Prieto will don the number 16 next term in honour of his friend.Following his death, FIFA ordered the installation of resuscitation rooms in every stadium that hosted the South American World Cup qualifiers. [Diario Marca 29th August, 2007]

Former Sevilla and Spanish national teammate Sergio Ramos wore a shirt with Puerta's picture on the front and the number 16, of Puerta, on the back during the celebrations of Spain's Euro 2008 victory. The shirt read "Siempre con nosotros" or, "always with us". Ramos also wore a shirt with Real Madrid that showed his brotherhood with Puerta during a game against Villarreal when he scored a goal.

Honours

Club

*flagicon|ESP Sevilla FC
**UEFA Cup: 2006, 2007
**UEFA Super Cup: 2006
**Spanish Super Cup: 2007
**Copa del Rey: 2007

ee also

*List of footballers who died while playing

References