Costa Rica's friendly tour last week in Europe ended in tragedy following the sudden death of assistant coach Eric Rodríguez Santamaría. In a statement, Costa Rica's football federation said what happened last Saturday during an emergency stop in Amsterdam during a team's flight from London to Zagreb after Santamaria suffered a medical emergency.
📌 Erick Rodríguez Santamaria asistente técnico de #LaSele falleció
📌 Rodríguez presentó un tema de salud durante el traslado de Newcastle a Zagreb y se quedó en Ámsterdam. pic.twitter.com/RiH5hbSpI6
— Yashin Quesada (@yashinquesadacr) September 12, 2023
"That very same day, the federation contacted Eric's wife to go to Holland, and she managed to get to Amsterdam last Monday. However, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, his health deteriorated and sadly Eric Rodriguez passed away alongside his wife," the statement said. Now Costa Rica is working to return the body to his homeland in cooperation with the Costa Rican embassy in the Netherlands.
During the European tour, Costa Rica beat Saudi Arabia 1-3 at Newcastle's St James' Park, while in their second game they lost 4-1 to the United Arab Emirates at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb. The tragic news of the death of the assistant coach reached the Costa Rican national team's coaching staff while playing against the United Arab Emirates. "I found that in the first half. I tried to be as professional as possible in the second half because the game had to be finished," said Argentine Claudio Vivas, the interim coach of the Ticos.
Lamentamos informar el fallecimiento de Erick Rodríguez Santamaría, Director Técnico de Selecciones Menores y Asistente de la Selección Mayor Masculina. Nos unimos en solidaridad con su familia y allegados 🕊.
Compartimos comunicado de prensa con detalles: https://t.co/uhJUuDlkwu pic.twitter.com/caSKxoGkG1
— FCRF 🇨🇷 (@fedefutbolcrc) September 12, 2023
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Rodríguez joined the Costa Rican national team's coaching staff in April 2022, after leaving his position at Santos de Guápiles and previously coached the Liberia national team. "He was a great friend and a great colleague. These are things that have to be accepted in life, but this is something very sad and unfortunate that happened in less than 72 hours," Vivas added.
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