Italians shocked by Livorno player's death during match
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Xinhua, April 15, 2012
The Italian soccer was shocked on Saturday by the sudden death of Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini who collapsed during a Serie B match.
 |
|
Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini collapsed during a Serie B match. |
The 25-year-old midfielder, who was on loan at Livorno but owned by Udinese, suffered a cardiac arrest during a Serie B match in the city of Pescara, in central Italy.
In the 31st minute of the Pescara-Livorno game, Morosini began to stagger and then fell to the ground.
Medical staff tried to revive the player and then rushed him to the hospital. It was not clear whether the cause of his death was a heart attack or aneurysm, doctors said according to local media.
"Morosini was in cardiac and respiratory arrest, we performed cardiac massage for over an hour both manually and with different instruments, but there was nothing to do," doctor Leonardo Paloscia said. An autopsy, he added, will tell whether the cause was cardiac or cerebral.
As doctors confirmed Morosini's death, squads of players and managers waiting for good news at the hospital burst into tears.
"We are all shaken to the core," said Livorno President Aldo Spinelli.
"It is such a tough moment for us and we must try to come out of it together. We need to find courage, but right now everyone is in a haze of confusion. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be done against destiny," he said.
Lecce Coach Serse Cosmi also felt it was destiny to take Morosini. "Life forced him to confront things that were bigger than him," said the coach, who gave the player his Serie A debut for Udinese against Inter in 2005.
Morosini had an unlucky and tragic life. Both parents had died when he was young age, and his handicapped little brother had committed suicide by jumping out of a window. His sister had some physical handicaps too.
Born in the northern city of Bergamo, the midfielder had grew up in the prestigious Atalanta youth academy and was an Under-21 Italy international.
"I have been his roommate for two years, he was a fantastic person," Atalanta defender Cristian Raimondi said.
He stressed he was not surprised by all the lovely things people have said about his friend, "as nobody could have a bad word about him. He had so many unhappy moments in his life, but never let you see them affect him."
Atalanta youth team chief Mino Favini also knew Morosini well, as he saw him playing as a very young boy. "Udinese signed him from us, he was very talented. He had a strong career, and was respected by all his teammates. He had a heart of gold," he said.
For Udinese President Giampaolo Pozzo, Morosini's death was "a terrible shock" and "one of the saddest days" of his career.
"The lad had been here for some six years since we took him from the Atalanta youth academy. I remember he was always a good boy, professional and serious," he told a press conference in northern Udine.
Pozzo said the Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) has made the right decision to call off this weekend all Serie A, B and Lega Pro games, including Saturday's planned Udinese-Inter, as a sign of mourning.
"The state of mind of the team was in no way ready to step on to the field. I have heard that Inter said the same .... It shows there is great humanity in sport," he pointed out.
However, some experts denounced the ambulance was blocked for some precious minutes by a police parked car, thus it arrived too late to help the unfortunate player on the spot. An investigation was also opened over the case.
Every minute lost in first aid means 10 percent less of probabilities to save a life, cardiologist Daniela Aschieri, who has developed the first European project for an "early defibrillation" to prevent sudden deaths due to cardiac arrest, told Rai state television.
She said defibrillator, a fundamental saving-life instrument that everyone can easily handle, should be available not only in ambulances, but on the benches of all matches.
Saturday's sad accident was the last of a long series in recent months, including Fabrice Muamba's collapse during Tottenham-Bolton, and former Olympic volleyball silver medalist Vigor Bovolenta death during a second-tier league game.
More should be done in screening players for heart problems, Sport Minister Piero Gnudi said.
"It is not possible that a 25-year-old boy dies playing soccer. The idea of equipping all fields with a defibrillator is to be evaluated very positively. But perhaps medical checks are not sufficiently detailed, they should be frequent and increasingly accurate," he said.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)