Grief in Uruguay over the death of former footballer Fabián O’Neill: he was 49 years old

Former Uruguayan footballer Fabian O’Neill He died this Sunday in Montevideo at the age of 49 after being rushed to an intensive care center.

“We are sorry to report the death of Fabián O’Neill. He emerged from the inexhaustible academy and Uruguayan champion with our shirt. Today all of Nacional is in mourning. To his family and friends, our deepest condolences. Hasta siempre Mago!”, published the Nacional club on its social networks, which was joined a few minutes later by the Uruguayan Football Federation (AUF).

The former athlete suffered from chronic cirrhosis and had been hospitalized in serious condition due to heavy bleeding.

Born in the city of Paso de los Toros in October 1973, O’Neill began his professional career defending Nacional between 1992 and 1995.

At the moment left for Italywhere he defended Cagliari between 1996-2000 and Juventus between 2000 and 2001.

In the latter team he was led by the famous coach Marcelo Lippi, while he was teammates with such prominent footballers as his compatriot Paolo Montero, midfielder Antonio Conte, the Dutchman Edgar Davids, the Italian Alessandro Del Piero and the Frenchman Zinedine Zidane.

Subsequently the Uruguayan went through Perugia and Cagliari again. The blue club remembered him this Sunday with a post on their social networks. “Proud to have been able to admire your genius up close: pure, crystalline, like the most precious diamonds”, reads a statement released by the institution on Twitter to fire O’Neill, author of 12 goals in 120 games played. the club between 1995 and 2000

“You made us fall in love with your class, Cagliari has never stopped loving their Wizard with the ’10’ on his back. Rest in peace, Fabián. Forever one of us”, completes the note from the Italian club, which had inducted into his O’Neill Hall of Fame

In 2003, the player once again ended his career at the Nacional club.

In that last year O’Neill played – between friendlies and official matches – eleven of the more than 100 matches in which he defended the tricolor shirt and scored a goal from a free kick against the Brazilian Santos in a match corresponding to the quarter-finals of the Libertadores Cup.

After that season, the footballer he ended his career at the age of 29.

O’Neill played 19 games for the Uruguayan team, the first of these in the 1993 Copa América against the United States and the last against China in a friendly match played in 2002.

In addition, he was part of the team that defended the Celeste at the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan, although an injury did not allow him to add minutes in said tournament.

In 2020 O’Neill had been hospitalized and during his stay at the medical center – as told at the time by one of his daughters to the EFE agency – the former footballer received support from Zidane.

With information from EFE