A FOOTBALL player, Mattia Giani, who was playing for lower division Italian club Castelfiorentino, has died in Florence after suffering a heart attack while on the pitch yesterday.
According to Football Italia, Castelfiorentino Mayor Alessio Falorni confirmed today that 26-year-old Giani had died at the Careggi hospital in Florence, the day after suffering a heart attack during a competitive Eccellenza match (Italy’s fifth division) between his club Castelfiorentino and Lanciotto Campi.
The incident happened at the Stadio Comunale Lanciotto Ballerini in Campi Bisenzio, on the outskirts of Florence, 15 minutes into the match.
Reports said Mattia Giani collapsed after taking a shot on target, in a game where his parents were watching from the stands.
Sky TG 24 reported that the young Italian footballer had a cardiac arrest followed by a seizure. Doctors immediately rushed to the pitch to give Giani a cardiac massage and the player was intubated and taken to Careggi hospital.
Incidentally, few hours after Giani’s incident, Roma’s Ivorian defender Evan Ndicka also collapsed in a Serie A match between Udinese and his club, although medical tests later showed the AFCON 2023 Africa Cup of Nations winner with Cote d’Ivoire did not have a heart attack.
Giani collapsed on the anniversary of the death of Piermario Morosini, the ex-Livorno midfielder who suffered a heart attack on the pitch on April 14, 2012, during a Serie B match between Pescara and his club. He died at the Pescara hospital a few hours later.
Morosini was aged 25 and Livorno retired his No.25 shirt following his death.
