Christian Eriksen's sudden cardiac arrest and collapse during the Euro 2020 match against Finland has sure resurrected dark memories for the football world.
For almost one hour, the world of Football watched in horror and shock as one of the most talented midfielders of this generation, Christian Eriksen, became lifeless on the football pitch in front of his home crowd at Parken Stadium.
As seen in video and pictures, teammates surrounded Eriksen, medical professionals gave him CPR and as tears flowed from the eyes of his teammates, every football fan started thinking the worst.
However, hours after the incident, it was reported that Christian Eriksen had regained consciousness and his health stabilized.
The incident which was an image that the world of football had hoped to never see again revived the memory of top football player Fabrice Muamba amongst others who did not survive the cardiac arrest like Christian Eriksen did.
Fabrice Muamba had suffered a cardiac arrest nine years ago moments before half-time in an FA Cup tie against Tottenham. Just 23 years of age at the time, Muamba was technically dead for 78 minutes on that day in March, his heart no longer beating.
Like Eriksen, Muamba had fallen on the pitch without any real indication of the internal trauma that had been inflicted. It was a moment that sent shockwaves across the sport, a harrowing reminder of the fragility of life even at this elite level of the game, where footballers are rarely thought to be susceptible to such medical events.
But cardiac arrest can affect the healthiest of hearts and is often triggered by a genetic abnormality as was the case with Muamba.
Marc Vivian Foe was a Cameroonian footballer who played for Manchester City. In June 2003, his team faced Colombia in France during an international tournament. In the 72nd minute of the match, Foé collapsed in the centre circle and he was stretchered off the field after failed attempts to resuscitate him on the pitch. Even though he was still alive upon arrival at the stadium’s medical centre, he died shortly afterwards.
An 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.
Mertens suffered a cardiac arrest during a reserve game for Lokeren against K.R.C. Genk on 27 April 2015. He was immediately taken to hospital where he was put in an artificially induced coma.
He died on 30 April 2015 around 16:30. Lokeren declared that Mertens had passed all fitness tests set by UEFA, and therefore the cause of his cardiac arrest needed to be established. On the day after his death, Lokeren lined up for their play-off match against Westerlo in T-shirts bearing Mertens' name and squad number 4.
Sevilla and Spain wing-back Antonio Puerta died at the tender age of 22 after collapsing in a match against Getafe on a Saturday. Puerta collapsed after jogging towards his own goal, just 35 minutes into the opening league game of the season at the Sánchez Pizjuán.
Puerta reportedly died three days later from multiple organ failure stemming from prolonged cardiac arrest.
Phil O’ Donnel was the Motherwell captain and died of heart failure during a match against Dundee United in December 2007. The 35-year-old midfielder had a wonderful career and played for Scotland, Celtic and Sheffield Wednesday in his career. He collapsed just as he was about to be substituted.
Junior’s death was one of the most tragic. Cristiano Sebastião de Lima Júnior arrived in India in 2003 and signed for East Bengal ahead of the new National Football League season.
After a wonderful season with East Bengal, he joined Goan club Dempo. In October 2004, during a match against Mohun Bagan, he collided with the goalkeeper trying to score his second goal after chasing the ball into the box. He never got up. There were no doctors on the pitch or in the stadium to help him, and at just 25, Cristiano passed away.
Tiote was an Ivory Coast international who had a wonderful career at clubs like Newcastle United. Tiote was one of the stars to sign for the Chinese League, but in 2017, he simply fainted during a regular training session on a Monday morning. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Feher, Hungary striker was playing for Portuguese side Benfica against Vitoria Guimaraes in January 2004 when he keeled over in pain before falling backwards onto the pitch after a heart attack.
Medics attempted to resuscitate the unconscious 24-year-old before he was taken off on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital. Doctors tried to revive him for nearly 90 minutes before he was pronounced dead.
Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji was a professional footballer who played internationally for Nigeria. He was also a qualified lawyer who had a masters in international law from the Pontifical Lateran University of Rome. 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.
In the opening minutes of his club's home match against HNK Cibalia in the Croatian first division on 29 March 2008, Ćustić suffered severe head injuries after colliding with a concrete wall positioned about three metres from the sideline, supporting the fence which separates the pitch from the stands.
Seconds before, Ćustić tried to win a loose ball in a duel with an opposing player, but then both players collided and Ćustić was carried into the wall, hitting it with his head.
He was immediately transported to the local hospital and underwent surgery the following evening. Following the surgery, he was in an induced coma and his condition remained stable until 2 April 2008, when a believed infection caused a rapid increase in his body temperature.
His condition immediately worsened and in the early afternoon of 3 April 2008, the hospital confirmed that he was brain dead at 11:51 CET that day. Following his death, all of the Croatian league fixtures scheduled for the following weekend were postponed.
On 14 April 2012, while representing Livorno, Morosini suffered cardiac arrest and fell to the ground in the 31st minute of the Serie B match away to Pescara.
He stumbled on the ground, trying to get up, before losing consciousness and receiving medical attention on the field.
A defibrillator was used on Morosini, who was conscious when he was taken on the stretcher. According to the news agency ANSA, a city police car was blocking the stadium's exit for the ambulance for nearly a minute, but a heart specialist said that the delay made no difference.
After Morosini was taken to the hospital, the match was abandoned with Livorno leading 2–0, and some players reportedly "left the field in tears".
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