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Sevilla Puerta dies after collasping during Saturday game

Sevilla's international left-back Antonio Puerta died Tuesday afternoon at the age of 22, after suffering a heart attack during his side's victory over Getafe on Saturday night, the Guardian online reported.

Puerta, who had twice before been forced to pull out of matches after suffering dizzy spells, was pronounced dead at 1.30pm Spanish time and the news was made public 2? hours later. Jos? Mar?a Del Nido, the Sevilla president, described yesterday as "one of the saddest days in the history of the club".

Sevilla were due to play the Greek side AEK Athens in the Champions League last night but the match was postponed and the squad flew back to Spain last night. Puerta's body has been transferred to a chapel at the S?nchez Pizju?n stadium, where it will remain until his funeral tomorrow. The Sevilla squad will then travel to Monaco for the European Super Cup against Milan on Friday and from there to Greece for the rescheduled Champions League tie on Monday.

The new league season was just over half an hour old when Puerta collapsed at the S?nchez Pizju?n. Although he was revived and was able to leave the pitch, he collapsed again in the dressing room and was rushed to the Virgen del Roc?o hospital in Seville. It was later revealed that he had suffered "five cardio-respiratory stoppages".

Messages of support flooded in from all over Spain and Puerta was visited by team-mates, as well as players from the city's other club Real Betis and the former Sevilla and Arsenal players Jos? Antonio Reyes and Julio Baptista.

But the news was increasingly bleak, as Puerta's condition changed from "stable but critical" to "extremely critical". After 36 hours in an induced coma connected to a ventilator, Puerta's condition worsened and late on Monday night his family and friends were told that it was only a question of hours before he passed away. His partner is expecting the couple's first child in the next six weeks. Doctors confirmed his death in a statement: "The death was caused by postanoxic encephalopathy and a multiple failure of his organs caused by the prolonged cardiac arrest that provoked his admission to hospital."

Puerta, who had been watched by Manchester United and Arsenal, will always be remembered for scoring the 101st minute goal that carried Sevilla past Schalke to their first ever European final in 200