Ceahlaul youngster dies
Wednesday, January 8, 2003
Article summary
Romanian football is mourning the death of young FC Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt midfield player Gelu Dascalu.
Article body
Brain haemorrhage
The 20-year-old had been rushed to hospital on 30 December after he was found unconscious at his parents' home in Piatra Neamt, having suffered what doctors later diagnosed as a brain haemorrhage.
Heart failure
By now, however, Dascalu was already in a deep coma and all the medical staff could do was to keep his heart beating. Doctors found a toxic substance in the player's system which had affected his brain, and although he was transferred to a Bucharest clinic last Friday, he died of heart failure today.
'Hard to understand'
Dascalu had been a member of the Ceahlaul first-team squad for three months, having emerged through the club's satellite team in the Romanian third division. "He was one of the toughest players in our squad. I cannot understand what happened", said the Ceahlaul coach Gheorghe Poenaru.
