Mexican striker Antonio de Nigris, who joined Larissa this year, dies of heart failure
Greek soccer was mourning yesterday the sudden loss of Larissa striker Antonio de Nigris due to heart failure. The 31-year-old Mexican international, who came to Larissa on August 27, had serious respiratory problems and passed away while being taken to hospital in the central Greek city. The first postmortem showed cardiovascular problems, but their cause will not be known until toxicological tests are completed in the next few weeks. De Nigris signed a contract with the Thessaly club at the end of the summer transfer window. He had previously signed with Turkish side Ankaraspor but when the Mexican underwent a medical test, the medical team of the Ankara club reportedly diagnosed his heart problems and sent the diagnosis to the Turkish federation for the contract to be annulled automatically. As a result, it appears that de Nigris was aware of the health problem he was suffering from. It is less clear whether Larissa soccer club knew anything about the player’s alleged heart condition. The player’s father and his two brothers are expected today in Larissa, along with a doctor who will perform a further examination of de Nigris’s body. A psychologist is already counseling the player’s wife and 5-year-old daughter. De Nigris was born on April 1, 1978 in Monterrey, Mexico. He began his career at Monterrey and at America in the City of Mexico, before stints at Villarreal and Polideportivo Ejido in Spain, Once Caldas in Colombia, Puebla and Pumas back in Mexico and Santos in China. In 2006 he moved to Turkey where he played for two years at Gaziantepspor before moving to Ankaraspor and then to Ankaragucu until last summer. He played seven times for Larissa in the Super League. De Nigris also had 16 caps to his name, scoring four international goals with Mexico. One of the last wishes he had expressed was to shine at Larissa in order to return to the national side ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. In honor of his memory there will be a minute’s silence before all Super League games this weekend and all players will be wearing black armbands, the Super League announced yesterday.
