Professional soccer player collapses and dies on the pitch
Raphael Dwamena strikes for several European clubs for years with heart problems, the professional footballer has his defibrillator removed. Now the Ghanaian professional collapses - and dies on the pitch.
A match in the top Albanian soccer league ends tragically: according to several Albanian media reports, striker Raphael Dwamena collapsed during a match for his club KF Egnatia and died on the pitch. In the match against Partizan, Dwamena collapsed after 24 minutes. First aid by teammates and opponents was unsuccessful, and Dwamena was pronounced dead at the hospital. The Ghanaian professional was 28 years old. In recent years, Dwamena played on his own responsibility.
Dwamena had already been diagnosed with heart problems in 2017, which prevented him from moving from Swiss first division club FC Zurich to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League. The doctors at FC Zurich, however, confirmed that Dwamena's body would be able to cope with the demands of professional football. The striker, who had moved from Red Bull Ghana to Red Bull Salzburg in 2014 but was never able to establish himself there, continued his career in Switzerland, scored a lot of goals - and moved to UD Levante for more than six million euros in 2018.
However, his heart problems became more acute in 2019, Dwamena had to take repeated breaks at his loan club Real Zaragoza and doctors advised him to end his career immediately. However, the eight-time Ghana international continued to play and was fitted with a defibrillator in 2020. Dwamena, who was playing for FC Linz in Austria at the time, collapsed in an ÖFB Cup match back in 2021. "His defibrillator kicked in and the doctors were able to stabilize him quickly," reported Linz manager Stefan Reiter at the time.
Dwamena, who played in Europe in Austria, Spain, Denmark and Switzerland, had his defibrillator removed again in 2022 - because he blamed it for his collapse. "I no longer have faith in the technology. I take all the risk. If something happens, it's my fault," he told the internet portal "20 Minuten" at the time. In retrospect, he ventured a bitter prognosis to the NZZ: "I've been to so many doctors. Everyone says something different. I respect the opinions, the diagnoses. But I don't take them seriously, sometimes I have to laugh. Only one person can tell me that it's time to stop: the Lord," Dwamena told the NZZ in October 2022.
Despite his history of heart problems and advice to retire, Raphael Dwamena chose to continue playing soccer and even had his defibrillator removed last year. Unfortunately, during a match for KF Egnatia in the top Albanian soccer league, Dwamena collapsed and passed away on the pitch.
Source: www.ntv.de
