Uruguayan defender Juan Izquierdo, 27, dies after cardiac arrest on soccer field

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Uruguayan defender Juan Izquierdo has died after going into cardiac arrest and collapsing during a soccer game in Sao Paula, Brazil, his team, Nacional, announced. He was 27.

Nacional said Izquierdo died of "brain death following cardiorespiratory arrest associated with cardiac arrhythmia" on Tuesday at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital.

"Juan Manuel was an athlete committed to the institution and loved by all his teammates and members of the Club Nacional de Football," Nacional said. "Dear Juan, you will always be in our memories."

Several Nacional players also offered emotional tributes to their former teammate on social media.

"We say goodbye to Juan, who left a deep mark on our lives," goalie Luis Mejia wrote on Instagram. "I can't help but remember and thank you for those hugs you gave me every time the team scored a goal, a gesture that I always felt as a symbol of your great camaraderie.

"May God have you in glory, dear friend. Your absence will be deeply felt, but your memories, those that fill the soul, will always be present in every goal, in every laugh, in every moment we shared. You will always be present in our hearts."

Izquierdo took the field as a second-half substitute during Nacional's 2-0 loss to Sao Paulo on Thursday at Morumbi. He collapsed at midfield in the 84th minute. Players from both teams immediately motioned for the medial staff to run to the area and assist the defender.

He eventually left the field in an ambulance. Nacional announced last week that Izquierdo was admitted Thursday night to the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital. The hospital immediately began resuscitation, using a defibrillator, and Izquierdo "regained spontaneous circulation." Physicians determined Izquierdo's cardiac arrhythmia was stable. He remained sedated and was using a ventilator while in intensive care.

Doctors later found an increase in intracranial pressure -- or rise in pressure inside his skull. Nacional said Monday that Izquierdo was in critical neurological condition. His death was reported a day later.

The Mutual Uruguaya de Futbolistas Profesionales -- the Uruguay's soccer union -- announced Friday that weekend play was suspended because of the Izquierdo situation.