Many football players are forced to abandon their careers due to health problems. Hernan Florentin, former Boca Juniors player, It is another example of how an athlete must reinvent themselves after a tragic event.
The fate of players who face these types of situations often depends on how they manage to adapt and find new opportunities. Florentín not only survived a stroke and three cardiac arrests, but he also rebuilt himself outside the world of football, while he continues to remember his time at Boca and the advice of legends like Diego Maradona and Juan Román Riquelme.
What was Hernán Florentín’s career like?
The player began his football career in Paraguayhis native country, where he debuted at the age of 16 in the First Division of the Sport Colombia. Thanks to his talent, he was called up to be part of the Paraguayan youth team and participated in the South American U-20 of Chile in 1997. In that tournament, his performance caught the attention of emissaries from Boca Juniorswho signed him for five seasons.
At the age of 17, Florentín reached Argentina to join the Xeneize club, where he had the honor of sharing a team with great figures such as Juan Román Riquelme and Claudio Caniggia. In his first months in Boca, he also trained alongside Diego Maradona, whom he remembers as “an extraordinary person” who marked him deeply, not only for his talent, but for his humility off the court.
Florentín debuted in Boca under the technical direction of Hector “Bambino” Veira and his time at the club was brief with just six games played between the Super Cup and the local tournament, but they were enough for him to demonstrate all his talent. However, his career at the club was cut short due to a serious ankle injury which left him out of the courts for nine months.
After his recovery, Florentín left Boca and went to Ferrowhere he returned to playing regularly. Later, he tried to continue his career in Europe, trying his luck in Germany and Italybut finally decided to return to South America to play in Cerro Porteño and later in All Boyswhere he would suffer the accident that would change his life forever.
On October 28, 2000, during a match against Central Córdoba de Rosario, Florentín suffered a severe blow to the head after a collision with a rival player. The impact caused three cardiac arrests and a stroke that left him 17 days in a coma. Fortunately, the club’s doctor, Daniel Tomasonesaved his life with resuscitation maneuvers and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
After an emergency operation and a long three-year rehabilitation, the Paraguayan player was left with permanent consequences in the mobility of his left side. Although he tried to return to football, his body no longer allowed him to continue playing professionally, and he had to retire permanently from the fields.
What Hernán Florentín did after retirement
After his forced retirement, Florentín returned to his native Paraguay, where he began a new stage of his life away from professional football. He currently lives in Ypané30 kilometers from Assumptionand works as an employee administrative at the National Electricity Administration (ANDE)a state-owned electrical services company.
Although his life changed drastically, Florentín never gave up his love for football. He trained as a technical director at the Paraguay School of Physical Education and has the goal of returning to the sport from another facet, coaching youth or professional teams in the near future.
Source: Ambito
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