I just kept hoping this was just some twisted joke or bad dream. But the fact is that this reality...Just goes to show that we have to appreciate people in life and not in death. He had his flaws but the passion was always there. You will no longer accompany us in body but you will be there to guide us in spirit to the glory we are seeking. Rest in peace Chucho, you will be missed.
RIP Chucho you were one of my favorite players in the national team... Such as sad ending... Hopefully good players think twice about playing in a shit country like Qatar. I for one will boycott the world cup in Qatar...
Okay gentlemen: please keep it as a tribute thread: there is no need to insult Qatar in the process. It was a tragic, unfortunate, and untimely, accident due in part to religious observations that shut down most Muslim countries, but it was also some incredibly bad luck mixed with cultural and linguistic distance between our Ecuadorian compatriotas and Qataris...and sure, also negligence. Despite what anybody says, it's a fine country with amicable and hospitable people. We can't let a select few ruin it for all. Express your feelings without degrading another country. Warning for all on the board. Before it gets out of hand.
As much as I understand that this is a solemn moment in many Muslim countries I can't hesitate to say that for any medical doctor ,let him/her be Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu...etc is responsibilityis to care for the sick and dyeing that are at the hospital. Religion should not stop any medical doctor from from doing their job, I completely disagree with this. In a hospital a matter of seconds of not ttending someone with an ailment such as Benitez which was a ticking time bomb can mean death. I can't help but blame the hospital for the death of our beloved compatriot Benitez, and the saddest part of it all was that he was a healthy young man with a wife, and four children that he will never see grow up! A parent should never have to bury a child, a child should be the one that is burying their parent at old age. I assume Ermen must have thought the exact thing when he heard the news of his sons death. God Bless his family and all of Ecuador. This has been tough on all of us who have watched Benitez play on la seleccion since Germany 2006 and on El Nacional prior to the world cup. We've been watching Benitez through the good and the bad whether it be our glorious start to the 2014 campaign to the 2010 campaign where we struggled to score at home vs Brazil and Paraguay.
You are right temper got the better of me no need to insult a country. But, there is an obvious problem with medical system in Qatar and hopefully this tragic events brings attention to it.
They are trying to promote an "Islamic" medicine and an "Islamic" science...as long as their worthless superstition gets in the way they will be stuck in the Dark Ages, this kind of senseless and completely avoidable tragedies continuing to occur.
I know it's tough. Trust me, I've known what that's like. To address your last point....that's definitely a discussion worth having! Agreed 100 percent.
Considering they have a pretty high level of development: both economically and human, they're far from the Dark Ages. Again, before I need to delete posts or issue warnings, DO NOT engage in religious banter/denigration or any form. Think about what you want to say wisely. Last warning!
I am holding judgment until more results are known from the autopsy and investigation. It will be very difficult to abstain from criticism if it is determined that his death was, as suspected, due to negligence or something completely preventable. I still can't believe this is happening, the more I think about it I get sadder. Of all people why our Chucho???
To be honest I think that we all respect other people's religions/cultures however it's no excuse for a hospital to neglect patients that need urgent care in a nation that is supposedly advanced because of a religious high holiday. In Canada a good majority of people celebrate Christmas, Hanukuh and Ramadan, however these doctors still hold responsibility to their patients at the hospital because they know that no matter what religious background they're from they're hypocratic oath states that they must treat the sick for the better of humanity. I think that if religion is a reason that there was no staff in that hospital, then Qatar doesn't seem like a very advanced nation/ host for any sporting event at all...
The top 5 NT games that stood out to me were: (in no order) vs. Chile @ home 2010 Qualifiers vs. Brazil @ home 2010 Qualifiers vs. Bolivia away 2010 Qualifiers vs. Peru @ home 2014 Qualifiers vs. Uruguay away 2014 Qualifiers I think these 5 games were the most memorable ones I had of him whether it was because he made me suffer or made me rejoice. But the goal that meant the most for me was the one he scored this Qualifier at home vs. Colombia, a rival that is extremely complicated for us to defeat whether it is @ home or away. At that point in the Qualifier, Ecuador wasn't playing good futbol, yet Benitez scored and gave us those 3 points and proved that he could show up in such a crucial moment in a game. That's when it was clear to me that he had matured and become such an important player to the NT. it's so heart breaking to watch these videos and convince myself that i won't ever see him on the field again. Why Benitez??!
Ramadan in 2022 is in April. The WC is in July....we're good. And to your point, you're absolutely right. I agree with you 100% about a doctor's responsibility, but where your logic fails is that you then MUST blame the entire Muslim world because everyone celebrates Ramadan for the month. To blame their religion is wrong, to blame the country is wrong. Level your criticism where it's due: a Qatari hospital that was not properly staffed at the moment he was there needing medical attention. What if other hospitals in Doha were staffed? Is this an indictment on the entire system (which I'm almost certain nobody here can claim to be an expert), or on one hospital where our beloved Chucho had the misfortune of being... RIP Chucho. As we continue to process, vent, and reconcile this massive loss, I'll say my favorite moment was seeing/meeting him at the Casa de la Seleccion where he was clowning around in front of Vinicio Luna's office with a bunch of other NT members on my first night as a visitor there. He really had an aura around him, his energy was really contagious. Considering how soft spoken he is with the press, he was the opposite around his "brothers", and that moment sticks out in my mind.
Classy act by Birmingham: BIRMINGHAM are planning an 11th-minute tribute to tragic ex-striker Christian Benitez. Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/5042592/Christian-Benitez-tribute-planned-by-Birmingham-City.html#ixzz2acjbF0n3
It still hurts knowing he won't be there to play for the NT. It's amazing how Chucho touched so many lives. He is being remembered all over the world at such young age. He was really an amazing person. Watching the coverage of his death in Ecuavisa, all the interviews and how he grew up makes me tear up. He never forgot where he came from and has helped El Nacional a lot, along with many other players like Valencia. He truly is an insperation to all Ecuadorians, specially all the soccer players from Ecuador. Dude worked his butt off all the time. The goalie from Santos said that Chucho was the first in the field for practice and be last one to leave. It's awesome and a pleasure to have watched him throughout the years play soccer. All I hope is that many young players coming up learn from Benitez. Learn how to be a professional in and off the field, and that nothing is impossible if you work hard. He will always be remembered by me. May he rest in peace in Heaven. I'm sure God is very happy to have a person like Chucho on his team.
He really was a hard worker. You could tell by how he played. He was a nightmare for defenders. His body, you can tell was chisseled(sp) almost like a sculpture. You can tell he made sure his body ran like a machine.
I agree with you criticizing the religion is illogical but as far as criticizing the government/ country that is very logical. The country is suppose to maintain the integrity of its institutions. It is no secret that there are many unqualified doctors practicing in Qatar. This is not solely due to negligence of the government and its officials but also uncontrollable factors such as high population growth which has led to a shortage of good medical care to a growing general population. But the access to good health care has to be questioned. Two of my family members had similar medical incident and recovered after proper medical care. It is very hard and painful to think that if they lived in that side of the world doctors would prescribe painkillers while they are pleading for their life.... That is it I want to stop putting a negative spin to this so... I will be making a tribute video to Chucho in the next couple of days. If you have any clips or links you would like to be included post them here or send them to me in a private message.
I'm struggling to understand why he needed to wait for a doctor in the emergency room. Don't most professional clubs have team doctors with a medical staff? I have never been a highly-paid professional athlete, but I imagined that they get more personalized medical care than the average person. There's still a lot of questions to ask. I would like to see the FEF and FIFA stepping up to investigate and determine who is accountable for this loss. Somebody just paid $15M for him and he dies just like that, I'm pretty sure he'll want an explanation. I think the media and all of us are still absorbing the shock and sadness. Pretty soon, we're all going to want answers. This is not a normal death, and Chucho wasn't perhaps a world famous superstar, but he was pretty close to it. Anything is possible - maybe it was negligence, maybe he ate something bad, maybe he was doping, maybe there was foul play involved...we don't know much of anything at this point and frankly cardiac arrest is not a good explanation for the death of a 27-year old athlete.
I agree with what you're saying. At least in Ecuador, I can assure you that all professional clubs in the Serie A have team doctors. And it's true, if a club team has $15 million stacks to throw on a transfer fee, you better bet your ass they are going to have some form of medical staff to aid a player at any moment. This just doesn't seem right to me either. That, and the fact that there most likely was negligence at the hospital when Benitez was rushed in for an EMERGENCY, not a check up or appointment, but an EMERGENCY. I never knew emergencies were treated with just a pill, at least not in the majority of cases. And nobody is gonna wait 2 f*ckin hours for a damn doctor to show up and say "ok, you're next". This was an EMERGENCY. I'm glad FIFA is asking El Jaish for a report on the autopsy and all other information related to Benitez's death. The FEF should do the same and so should the Benitez family. This isn't gonna end here, someones gonna pay the price. And I hate to say this, but Jose Chamorro seems like he washed up Benitez's head and made him want to transfer over there to get his percentage too. Benitez had no translator, no medical staff, no aid whatsoever. It's just shameful to think that Chamorro didn't look out for him. I feel like Chucho was just abandoned in Qatar.
Deserved to be on a better EPL club than mine TBH. I enjoyed watching him play. RIP http://www.bcfc.com/news/article/20130729-tributes-for-chucho-952639.aspx