Daniel Jarque died on Saturday after training with his teammates in Florence.
The 26-year-old Espanyol captain had just returned to his hotel room and telephoned his girlfriend—pregnant with their first child—when he suffered what doctors are calling “systolic heart failure.”
“Within minutes, the first emergency ambulances arrived from Florence and tried their defibrillators, but again were unable to resuscitate,” read a club statement. “Espanyol are distraught and wish to put themselves at the complete disposal of our captain’s family.”
Jarque had just replaced Raul Tamudo as club captain and was poised to help Espanyol build on their 10th-place finish of 2008-09. On Sunday, more than 50,000 supporters and well-wishers visited the club’s El Prat-Cornella stadium.
“We do not yet believe what has happened,” said head coach Mauricio Pochettino. “It has been a huge blow, and it is very sad. We are full of pain. Something inexplicable has happened.
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