| 26/02/2021 – 18:06 (GMT-4)
The death of Cuban goalkeeper Alfredo Quintaba shocked the world of European handball on Friday, with a wave of reactions from the main clubs, which paid an emotional tribute to the 32-year-old athlete.
The goalkeeper of the Portuguese team has suffered for more than a decade a cardiac arrest during a training session last Monday, but died on Friday morning after a few days in critical condition.
The Royal Spanish Handball Federation regretted on Twitter the loss of one of the greatest exponents of sport in Europe.
“We are left speechless. Our rival, our friend Alfredo Quintana, a player for @FCPorto and an international with @AndebolPortugal, has died at the age of 32. The deepest condolences to family, friends and all Portuguese handball,” he said. published on.
The official FC Barcelona handball committee also expressed its grief over the goalkeeper’s death and held a minute’s silence during training on Friday.
“From FC Barcelona we join the grief of the whole world of sports and handball for the death of Alfredo Quintana. All our support and strength for his family and friends, for @FCPorto and for @AndebolPortugal. Eterno Quintana,” he said on the microblogging platform .
The official account of the Association of Spanish Handball Clubs (ASOBAL) posted “The @ASOBAL family wants to show all their support and send condolences to @FCPorto, @AndebolPortugal and Alfredo Quintana’s family and friends at the painful news of his death. comfort on a day as sad as today. DEP “.
Likewise, Recoletas Atlético Valladolid players dedicated an emotional message to the Cuban, who arrived in Europe at just 21 years old in 2009.
“Members of Recoletas Atlético Valladolid and Valladolid handball want to extend their deepest condolences to the @fcporto family, relatives, colleagues and friends of Alfredo Quintana in the face of this sad news,” they said.
The Champions League has also published a video in which Quintana is seen in all its grandeur representing the national team of Portugal, where he played for 10 years.
In Portugal, the Handball Federation published “Nuestro Eterno Número 1”, along with images of the Cuban.
Likewise, the national team of Portugal retired number 1 shirt, in honor of the talented goalkeeper.
“The number 1 jersey will not be used again in our handball team, as proposed by the president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa to the management of FC Porto”, the Portuguese national team wrote on their official Twitter profile.
Like the clubs, the Portuguese approved the tributes dedicated to Quintana on Friday and proposed that the European Super Cup be named after him.
“He could put his shirt up for sale for a while and the money would go to the family. I think it would be a good way to ‘give back’ everything he’s done for us all these years,” said one on Twitter.
“You can also take off your number 1 shirt and give the Super Cup the name of Alfredo Quintana,” another internet user suggested.
“Now we just need to change the name of Dragão Arena and put a Quintana shirt in our museum, where it will last forever,” a forero suggested.
Quintana, born in Havana, suffered a heart attack on Monday during training and has since been treated in the intensive care unit of São João Hospital.
He lived in Cuba until 2009 and played for 10 years at FC Porto.
In 2014, after becoming a Portuguese national team, he made his debut with the Portuguese team, with which he accumulated 72 international matches.