Sixteen years since the tragic passing of Antonio Puerta. Seville still does not forget

It’s been 16 years since Antonio Puerta passed away. The talented Sevilla left-back collapsed on the pitch during a match and died three days later in hospital.

Antonio Puerta was born in the Nervión district of Seville, where he also started playing football. He first joined a smaller club, AD Nervión, before moving to Sevilla at the age of nine.

From a young age, they observed his great talent, moreover, he was part of a great generation along with Sergio Ramos, Jesús Navas, Kepa Blanco or José Antonio Reyes. He progressed through all the youth categories up to the A-team. In 2004, he made his debut for Sevilla at left-back in a match against Málaga.

He broke into the first team in the 2005/06 season and his career ran like clockwork. Thanks to his great performances, Sevilla were playing for the Top4 until the last rounds and even better in the Europa League, then the UEFA Cup.

Puert’s most famous moment came in the semi-final rematch. The first leg at Schalke ended 0:0, and the rematch went to extra time. In the 101st minute, Jesús Navas headed the ball on the right side, sent a centre across the whitewash where Puerta was waiting, and bounced the ball into the net with a shot against the bar. It sent Sevilla into their first ever EL final.

The club itself describes Puerta’s goal as the one that changed everything. The whole history of the club and launched Sevilla to European success. In the final, they beat Middlesborough 4-0 to win their first trophy, adding six more. The following season, Sevilla and Puerta continued on a cloud of success. In the UEFA Super Cup, Sevilla beat Barcelona 3: 0 and added another trophy.

In October 2006, Luis Aragones called Puerta up to the Spanish national team for the first time, where he made his debut. Puerta played so well that Arsenal, Manchester United and Real Madrid circled around him with interest. Sevilla, however, turned down all offers.

On 25 August 2007, Sevilla played Getafe in the first round. It was the 35th minute when Nacho of Getafe headed the ball down the right wing, but his centre ended up in touch. Goalkeeper Palop wanted to play a quick cross, but Puerta went down just outside the box.

His heart stopped. It was Palop who ran to him first, with defender Dragutinovic trying to keep his tongue from sticking out. After a moment of treatment, they managed to wake up the unconscious Puerta and everyone in the stadium breathed a huge sigh of relief. Puerta ran to the booth to the overwhelming applause of the stands and it seemed that everything was under control.

But that was far from the truth. In the booth, Puerta’s heart stopped for the second time. He was immediately taken from the stadium to the Virgen de Rocío hospital, where they tried to rush him to the intensive care unit. Not only Spain, but all of Europe was in shock. At that moment, it was still unknown how the whole situation would turn out, the whole country was watching the latest news with suspense and concern. On Sunday morning, the news went around the world that Puerta had fallen into a coma.

But by 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the fears became reality. Puerta died, according to Dr. Francisco Murillo, of irreversible brain damage due to multiple prolonged cardiac arrests caused by an incurable congenital heart disease called arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Thus, at just 22 years old, one of Spain’s most promising defenders left the world.

Source: Sevilla FC