Fallen For The Game – Deaths In Soccer
Cameroon Legends : The late Marc-Vivien Foe commemorated by Samuel Eto’o and Rigobert Song
Football, a game of passion, emotions, unity, tempers, controversies, sacrifice, teamwork, spirited commitment, hard work, love and total respect.
Running to and fro an adult football pitch of average size 115 yards long and 74 yards wide, kicking a leather ball weighing 420 g, and covering an average of 6 miles 332 yards, discounting goalkeepers, I have to give credit to professional footballers all around the globe, because you definitely need stamina, intensity, desire and strength to kick on.
A wise man once said no passion without pain, and right there football has also experienced its own fair share. Football comrades have died while playing the game, some have been near death and survived while others have been unlucky when the man in black robe came for them while playing.
Running to and fro an adult football pitch of average size 115 yards long and 74 yards wide, kicking a leather ball weighing 420 g, and covering an average of 6 miles 332 yards, discounting goalkeepers, I have to give credit to professional footballers all around the globe, because you definitely need stamina, intensity, desire and strength to kick on.
A wise man once said no passion without pain, and right there football has also experienced its own fair share. Football comrades have died while playing the game, some have been near death and survived while others have been unlucky when the man in black robe came for them while playing.
I remember the popular reggae song ‘destiny’, and then realise man can only walk in his predefined destiny not create them. In this piece we will pay tribute to some of those tenacious heroes who died playing the beautiful game. Time cannot erase the pains we do feel from these sad incidents, but we pray that they all rest in perfect peace in the bossom of the Almighty.
Marc- Vivien Foe collapsed with no other player on him in the centre circle of the pitch at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, France on the 72nd minute in a game between Cameroon and Colombia at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup
Marc-Vivien Foe
On June 26 2003, Cameroon international Marc- Vivien Foe collapsed with no other player on him in the centre circle of the pitch at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, France on the 72nd minute in a game between Cameroon and Colombia at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, a tournament played between continental champions. Attempts to resuscitate him on the pitch was futile, Medics spent 45 minutes attempting to restart his heart, and although he was still alive upon arrival at the stadium’s medical centre he died shortly afterwards. This came as a big blow to the game and a second autopsy concluded that Foé’s death was heart-related as it discovered evidence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a hereditary condition known to increase the risk of sudden death during physical exercise. If he had known.
Brazilian defender, Serginho died of another heart related disease on the pitch in October 2004
Serginho
It didn’t end there as strong Brazilian defender, Serginho would die of another heart related disease on the pitch in October 2004. Viewing footage from that day, 27 October 2004, a game in the Campeonato Brasileiro match against São Paulo with his team São Caetano when he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest 60 minutes into the match. Serginho had chased down covering his position after his defence partner had won a goal kick from a tussle with an attacker and was returning back to continue play he slumped to the ground, and immediately his goalkeeper and other players signaled to the technical area to come with a stretcher and soon medics arrived, continuous attempts were made to save his life on the pitch but to no avail. Never have I seen footballers want to take care of themselves on the pitch like that, even opposing players, everyone was in panic and dismay. A later autopsy showed Serginho’s heart weighed 600 grams, twice the size of an average human heart.
Miklós Fehér was another unfortunate incident in the same year as Serghinho on 25 January 2004, he died of a cardiac arrest
Miklós Fehér
Miklós Fehér was another unfortunate incident in the same year as Serghinho. On 25 January 2004, he died of a cardiac arrest during a Primeira Liga in the Portugese top flight football match between Vitória de Guimarães and his team Benfica in Guimarães. That game was live on television and Fehér who had just come off the bench as a substitute and assisted another player also off the bench, Fernando Aguiar, for the match’s only goal, but received a yellow card in injury time for a foul on the opposing player during a throw-in and almost immediately suddenly bent forward, seemingly in pain; he then fell backwards with his head hitting the ground real hard. Members of both teams rushed immediately to aid Fehér before medical personnel arrived on the pitch. CPR was performed as everyone looked on in visible distress. An ambulance arrived on the pitch and Fehér was rushed to the hospital. However, before midnight, his death was confirmed, the cause of death being cardiac arrhythmia, brought about by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Another dark day on the pitch for everyone in football, was 29 December 2007, when club captain, Phil O’Donnell of Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League died after suffering cardiac arrest while on the pitch playing against Dundee United
Phil O’Donnell
Another dark day on the pitch for everyone in football, was 29 December 2007, when club captain, Phil O’Donnell of Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League died after suffering cardiac arrest while on the pitch playing against Dundee United . He had just scored a header goal and was celebrating, then all of a sudden he stopped and went bending on the turf. Later he collapsed just as he was about to be substituted. He was treated on the pitch for about five minutes by the Motherwell and Dundee United club doctors before being taken by ambulance to Wishaw General Hospital. However, he was pronounced dead at 5:18 pm. A postmortem examination was carried out on 1st January 2008 and it was revealed O’Donnell died of left ventricular failure.
Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji was a professional footballer who played internationally for Nigeria. He collapsed and died of congestive heart failure in the 77th minute of a World Cup qualification match against Angola
Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji’s statue
Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji’s statue
A statue to honour him still stands at the old National Stadium in Surulere- Lagos, Nigeria. Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji was a professional footballer who played internationally for Nigeria. He collapsed and died of congestive heart failure in the 77th minute of a World Cup qualification match against Angola at the Lagos National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos State on 12 August 1989. He made the Green Eagles squad in 1988 and at that year’s African Nations Cup he scored one of the fastest goals in the history of the championship. An autopsy showed that the 25-year-old had an enlarged heart and high blood pressure. Etim Esin, a teammate of Okwaraji claimed his death did cost the team qualification to the World cup in 1990. Esin claims that other players became afraid after the incident and it affected their performances. He is quoted as saying “During the game [against Angola], he slumped, was rushed to the hospital and that was it. His death cost us the Italia ‘90 FiFa World Cup because we were all scared as no one wanted to fall and die. When we were at the airport to board a flight to Cameroon, the likes of Peter Rufai, Owubokiri and a couple of players dropped”. The Green Eagles were beaten 1-0 by Cameroon in Yaounde 15 days later, ending all hopes of appearing in their first ever World Cup at the time.
Immortalized Legends
Heroes die, death is eternal but real love is forever. I might not be able to highlight every one of them but we remember them all, we love them, they brought joy, laughter, sweet moments, they served the game to the fullest, they gave hope to others and we pray we meet them at the other side. Till then rest in peace.
Gone but never forgotten
… we love them, they brought joy, laughter, sweet moments, they served the game to the fullest, they gave hope to others and we pray we meet them at the other side. Till then rest in peace. Always in our hearts …
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