Partizan’s Moreira Recovering After On-field Collapse

It was eerily reminiscent of last season’s tragedy at Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium a year ago, where Sevilla’s Antonio Puerta collapsed on the pitch and later died.

FK Partizan Belgrade’s Portuguese midfielder Moreira collapsed on the same field in Wednesday’s night’s UEFA Cup match between Partizan and Sevilla and was unconscious for several minutes. (It’s at about the :30ish point in the video.)

Fortunately this story has a much happier ending. Moreira was rushed to the hospital and has since regained consciousness. He’s being kept there while more tests are performed.

FC Seville released a statement on their website indicating that Moreira would soon be leaving hospital. “Despite Moreira losing consciousness it appears he has just suffered a scare,” said the statement.

Seville’s club doctor Adolfo Munoz said Moreira suffered a concussion after clashing heads with two FC Seville defenders in the early stages of the match. FC Seville won the match 3-0.

What moved me pretty much to tears in watching this video is the fact that it’s not just his own teammates who are gathered around him trying to help. If you’ll notice, there even more Sevilla players. After suffering tragedy themselves, they’re determined to keep the same thing from happening again to someone else.

I don’t think Puerta could ask for a better tribute.

(Although, yes, moving an injured player around and allowing him to flop back over directly on his face does kind of violate pretty much every principle of first aid. Let’s not get bogged down in details, okay?)

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Category: UEFA Cup, World Football