MarcJWallace

Swiss defender Nicolas Schindelholz (34) died after a lung cancer battle. https://www.nau.ch/sport/fussball/fc-aarau-nicolas-schindelholz-34-nach-krebserkrankung-verstorben-66280402 He started his career at SC Darnach in the youth ranks before moving to hometown side FC Basel, where he featured for their Under-21 side, but never made a first-team appearance. He moved to FC Thun, where he once again played for the Under-21s before making 121 appearances, scoring five goals. After leaving Thun, he joined FC Luzern, but only made two appearances in the 2017-18 season and moved on to FC Aarau, where he made 37 appearances before retiring in 2021.

Another tragic instance of heart issues causing premature death in a footballer as 23-year-old Equatorial Guinea international Mariano Ondo collapses and dies during a training camp with the national side. He had been with domestic-based side Cano Sport since 2019 after leaving Macedonian side Shkupi the year before and had seven caps for the national team at the time of his death.

Piet Schrijvers, a member of the Dutch squad that lost in the finals of both the 1974 and 1978 World Cups is dead aged 75. Was also in the Dutch squad for the 1976 European Championships, which they finished third in, and the 1980 edition. In total, he won 46 caps for the national side between 1971 and 1984.

Le Pen to balance out my ambivalence to The Queen dying with some joy.

A bit of a shock as Andrejs Rubins, Latvia's second-highest capped international and member of their Euro 2004 squad, has died aged just 43 - per the Latvian Football Federation. Rubins scored nine times in 117 appearances for the national side, including a memorable goal against Scotland at Hampden Park that Kajbumba would ultimately lose 2-1. He played domestically for FK Auda in his club career before moving to then-heavyweights Skonto Riga. He scored 14 goals in 67 league matches, earning him a move to England where he played for Crystal Palace, famously scoring in the League Cup semi-final first leg victory over Liverpool in 2001. After three years at Palace, he had two spells at Spartak Moscow on either side of playing with Shinnik Yaroslavl, where he returned on loan from his second spell at Spartak. He returned to Latvia on loan at Liepajas Metalurgs from Spartak before leaving to end his career in Azerbaijan with Inter Baku, Qarabag and Simurq. https://lff.lv/zinas/14208/paragri-muziba-aizsaukts-andrejs-rubins/

József Kardos, a part of the Hungarian squad at Mexico 86, dead at 62. https://www.origo.hu/sport/futball/20220728-kardos-jozsef-eletut-emlekezes.html

Czechoslovakian Milan Dvorak has died aged 87. He played in all three group games and scored against Argentina and Germany at the 1958 tournament in Sweden. https://repre.fotbal.cz/zemrel-milan-dvorak-uspesny-reprezentant-z-ms-1958/a16725

Confirmation via DW that Uwe Seeler has died aged 85.

Russian wonderkid Sergey Pinyaev (17) was admitted to intensive care with a collapsed lung after being taken ill at training with his club Kryliya Sovetov. He is the third-youngest player to score a goal in the Russian top flight.

He also scored Third Lanark's last league goal against Dumbarton in 1967.

Alberto Gurrola, a once-promising goalkeeper before turning his hand (literally) to being a Goalkeeping coach, has died aged 29. https://www.record.com.mx/futbol-futbol-nacional-seleccion-mexicana/seleccion-mexicana-alberto-gurrola-entrenador-de-porteros He was the backup goalkeeper for Mexico at the 2013 Under-20 World Cup, where he was a teammate of the now Sevilla and Mexico national team star Jesus "Tecatito" Corona. At the time of his death, he was also the goalkeeping coach of the Mexican Women's national team, taking up that role after leaving the men's side.

Javier Cárdenas, a midfielder who played one match for Mexico at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina - a 3-1 defeat to Poland in which he was subbed off at half-time, dead at 69. He made 11 other appearances for the Mexican national team, scoring twice and played over 200 times in seven years with Chivas Guadalajara.

In fairness, he no longer works for WWE, at least he hasn't since that DSOTR episode came out.

Tony Boskovic, the referee of three matches at the World Cups of 1974 and 1982, has died aged 89. https://www.facebook.com/footballnsw/photos/a.390690574313315/5268628003186190/ The Australian took charge of The Netherlands' 4-1 victory over Bulgaria in 1974 and refereed West Germany's 4-1 win over Chile and Austria's 2-0 win over Algeria in 1982

Apropos of nothing, the only reason I know that show ever existed is that it used to, like all USA Network stuff, be hyped up on-air during episodes of WWF Monday Night Raw in early 1997.

Akeem Omolade, a Nigerian striker who had a nomadic career in the lower reaches of Italian football, has died aged 39 - the local paper inferring he took his own life. https://tribunatreviso.gelocal.it/treviso/cronaca/2022/06/13/news/morto-omolade-l-ex-giocatore-del-treviso-simbolo-della-lotta-al-razzismo-1.41508975 In 2001 at 18, he was the subject of a vulgar gesture of anti-racism when his Treviso teammates took to the field in blackface. https://libcom.org/article/remembering-trevisos-controversial-2001-anti-racism-gesture-paolo-bandini

Billel Benhammouda, a promising Algerian midfielder, has died in a car crash. https://www.footalgerien.com/drame-deces-de-billel-benhamouda-accident-de-route/ The 24-year-old had recently finished a career-best season with USM Alger, one of the country's most prominent teams, scoring seven goals in 30 games as USM finished fourth in Ligue 1and qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup; the African equivalent of the Europa League.

Syed Ahmad Syed Abu Bakar, a legendary figure in Malaysian football for his role as part of the side that qualified for the 1972 Munich Olympics, has died of cancer aged 76. https://www.thesundaily.my/sport/national-football-legend-syed-ahmad-dies-at-age-76-GB9276190 He played for the Malaysian national team for nine years, including a bronze medal at the 1974 Asian Games and also won several domestic honours with Penang, Penjara and Perak.

Craig Farrell, who made 100 appearances for Carlisle United between 2002 and 2005, scoring 27 times, has died aged just 39. https://www.carlisleunited.co.uk/news/2022/may/club-a-great-lad-to-have-in-our-group/ A talented youngster, he played in the Under-16 European Championship for England in 1999 alongside Jay Bothroyd, Rory Fallon, Stuart Parnaby and Leon Britton. He also played for Leeds United, Exeter City, York City, AFC Telford, Blyth Spartans and Hinckley United. Rather sadly, he is the second member of that squad to pass away after Jimmy Davis, who died in a car crash in 2004.

Wendell, the backup goalkeeper for Brazil at the 1974 World Cup, is dead aged 74.

Sayad Khodai, a Colonel in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been shot and killed outside his Tehran home by two gunmen on a motorbike. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-61546145

Faouzi Mansouri, who played at two World Cups for Algeria (1982 and 1986) has died aged 66. https://www.midilibre.fr/2022/05/18/football-lancien-croco-et-montpellierain-faouzi-mansouri-sest-eteint-a-lage-de-66-ans-10302633.php

Martin Šustr, a goalkeeper who played for a host of clubs in his native Czech Republic, died in a car crash aged 31. https://www.denik.cz/fotbal-zajimavosti/tragedie-golman-sustr-zemrel.html

Horrific news coming out of The Netherlands this morning as the death of Jody Lukoki has been confirmed by the Dutch Press. Born in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, he graduated from the Ajax Academy and played 24 games for the club, scoring five goals between 2010 and 2014, winning three Eredivisie titles with them. He spent the 2013-14 season on-loan at Cambuur Leeuwarden where he played 32 times and scored twice in their first Eredivisie campaign since the turn of the century. Moving on from Ajax permanently to PEC Zwolle, he won the Johan Cruijff Schaal, the Dutch equivalent of the Charity/Community Shield with them before moving after one season to Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad. It was with them he experienced his most sustained success, making 102 appearances and scoring 17 times while winning four Bulgarian titles and two Bulgarian Super Cups. After leaving Bulgaria, he signed for Yeni Malatyaspor in the Turkish Super League, making ten appearances before returning to Holland to play for FC Twente, where he didn't make an appearance before being released in February. He was recently given a suspended jail sentence for assaulting his girlfriend, presumably what contributed to his release from Twente and possibly his own death. https://www.nu.nl/voetbal/6199668/voormalig-eredivisie-speler-jody-lukoki-op-29-jarige-leeftijd-overleden.html

Théodore Nzue Nguema, a striker who had a ten-year career as part of the Gabonese national team, scoring 23 goals in 77 appearances, has died in Equatorial Guinea at the age of 48. Born in the Gabonese capital of Libreville, his career took him to various clubs in Africa, playing in both his home nation of Gabon but also in Tunisia for ES Zarzis. He had a brief career in Europe too, playing 28 games for Angers SCO in France, where he scored four goals and also made eight appearances without scoring for SC Braga in Portugal. https://gabonactu.com/theodore-zue-nguema-est-mort-a-mongomo-a-48-ans/