26/02/2021 – 6:06 PM (GMT-4)
The death of Cuban goalkeeper Alfredo Quintaba shocked the world of European handball on Friday, with a wave of reactions from key clubs who paid emotional tribute to the 32-year-old athlete.
The Portuguese team’s goalkeeper had been suffering for over a decade cardiac arrest during a training last Monday, but passed away this Friday morning after a few days in a critical condition.
The Royal Spanish Handball Federation on Twitter lamented the loss of one of the greatest exponents of sport in Europe.
“We are speechless. Our rival, our friend, Alfredo Quintana, a player for @FCPorto and internationally at @AndebolPortugal, has passed away at the age of 32. Our deepest condolences to family, friends and all Portuguese handball,” he posted.
The official FC Barcelona handball committee also expressed its grief over the death of the goalkeeper and kept a minute of silence during practice on Friday.
“From FC Barcelona, we join the pain 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,” said he on the microblogging platform.
The official account of the Association of Spanish Handball Clubs (ASOBAL) posted: “The @ASOBAL family would like to express all their support and condolences to @FCPorto, @AndebolPortugal and to Alfredo Quintana’s family and friends over the painful death There are no words of comfort in a day as sad as today. DEP ”.
Likewise, the players of Recoletas Atlético Valladolid dedicated an emotional message to the Cuban, who arrived in Europe in 2009 at the age of 21.
“The members of Recoletas Atlético Valladolid and Valladolid handball wish to convey their deepest condolences to the @fcporto family, relatives, colleagues and friends of Alfredo Quintana in light of this sad news,” they said.
The Champion League also published a video showing Quintana in all his greatness as a representative of the Portuguese national team, where he played for 10 years.
In Portugal, the handball federation published “Nuestro Eterno Número 1”, along with images of the Cuban.
Likewise the Portuguese national team retired number 1 shirt, in honor of the talented goalkeeper.
“The number 1 shirt will no longer be used in our handball team as suggested by President Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa to FC Porto’s management,” the Portuguese national team wrote on their official Twitter profile.
Like the clubs, the Portuguese endorsed Quintana’s tribute this Friday and proposed naming the European Super Cup after him.
“They 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 has done for us all these years,” someone said on Twitter. .
“You can also take off the number 1 shirt and name the Super Cup Alfredo Quintana,” suggested another internet user.
“Now we just have to change the name of Dragão Arena and hang a Quintana shirt in our museum where it will last forever,” suggested a forero.
Born in Havana, Quintana suffered a heart attack during training on Monday and has since been treated in the intensive care unit of Hospital São João.
He lived in Cuba until 2009 and played for FC Porto for 10 years.
In 2014, after becoming a Portuguese citizen, he made his debut with the Portuguese team, winning 72 caps.