By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
The former
Birmingham City striker Christian Benitez has died at the age of just 27.
The Ecuadorian
international suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest on Monday after being
admitted to hospital after complaints about stomach pain following a game
at the weekend.
A statement
from the Ecuador Football Federation confirmed the sad news. It read: “The FEF regrets to inform you of
the death of Christian Benitez, the striker of Qatar club Al Jaish and the
Ecuador national team.
“Benitez, who
was with his new club in Qatar, had a severe stomach pain, which was why he was
rushed to a hospital, where after a few hours suffered he suffered a
cardiorespiratory arrest which ended his life.
“The Ecuadorian
Football Federation extends its heartfelt sympathy to the family – parents,
wife, children – and friends of our striker Christian Benitez. May he rest in peace.”
His
goalscoring record was excellent in the past two seasons with Santos
Laguna, finding the target 52 times in 79 appearances. His form was so impressive, Premier League
clubs were watching him closely this summer, especially Tottenham until he made
a move to the Middle East for around £10m at the start of this month.
Benitez’s
season on loan at Birmingham was largely unsuccessful. He became a popular figure with the fans, but
only found the target four times in 36 appearances.
He played
with midfielder Lee Carsley, who sympathised with his difficult spell in the
Midlands.
He told BBC Sport: “It’s devastating news for his family and I’m sure Birmingham City will
want to pay their respects.
“I remember
he had outstanding ability, was very quick and was a bit of a free spirit.
“He had a big
personality and he burst onto the scene when he came on at Old Trafford (as a
substitute in 2009) and caused lots of problems. His ability, and goalscoring ability was
there to see.
“He didn’t
really fulfil his potential at Birmingham.
It was difficult because of the way Birmingham played.”
Tributes have
flown in on social media websites today.
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero tweeted: “News of Chucho Benitez’s
death shook everyone. My sympathies to
his family and all of Ecuador.”
Benitez (pictured) had a
decent pedigree too at international level, scoring 24 times in 58 appearances
for his country.
He played
against Germany in the 2006 World Cup, and was all set to feature at
next summer’s finals in Brazil with Ecuador among the favourites to take one of
South America’s four automatic qualification spots.
My thoughts go
out to Benitez’s family and friends.
RIP CHRISTIAN
BENITEZ – 1 May 1986 – 29 July 2013
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