Colombian ex-soccer player Alexánder Balanta died in Bolivia after suffering a cardiorespiratory arrest

Former Colombian soccer player Alexander Balanta died of a cardiorespiratory complication caused by the coronavirus, local media reported Sunday.

Balanta, 42 years old, had been living in Bolivia since 2000.
The Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) expressed in a statement “its deepest condolences to the family” of Balanta.

The former player had suffered a thrombosis in one leg three months ago and was infected with covid-19 in a hospital in El Alto, a neighboring city of La Paz, where on Saturday night he suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest, local media said.

Balanta was a member of Iberoamericana, a club that has now disappeared, of the first division and in other amateur clubs.

In May, an amateur division player, Deiber Frans Román Guzmán, his father who was a sports manager and an uncle who was a soccer coach died in the Amazon region of Beni.

At least about five players from the first division tested positive for the virus, among them the goalkeeper of the national team, Carlos Emilio Lampe.

Bolivia, with 11 million inhabitants, has registered until this Sunday 38,071 cases and 1,378 deaths.

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