Daniel Jarque

Daniel Jarque

Jarque in action for Espanyol
Personal information
Full name	Daniel Jarque i González
Date of birth	(1983-01-01)1 January 1983
Place of birth	Barcelona, Spain
Date of death	8 August 2009(2009-08-08) (aged 26)
Place of death	Florence, Italy
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Youth career
	Cooperativa
1995–2001	Espanyol
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2004	Espanyol B	82	(1)
2002–2009	Espanyol	173	(8)
Total		255	(9)
International career
2001	Spain U17	4	(0)
2001–2002	Spain U19	10	(1)
2003	Spain U20	3	(0)
2003–2005	Spain U21	19	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Daniel Jarque i González (1 January 1983 – 8 August 2009) was a Spanish footballer who played as a central defender.

Jarque played his entire career with Espanyol, and was named team captain one month before his death Death from a heart attack, at the age of 26.

Football career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, and a product of local RCD Espanyol's youth system, Jarque made his La Liga debut with his hometown club on 20 October 2002, in a match against Recreativo de Huelva during the 2002–03 season and, after 15 appearances in two seasons combined, went on to become a defensive mainstay for a side that won the 2006 edition of the Copa del Rey.

In the 2006–07 campaign, after renewing his contract until 2009, Jarque appeared in 14 UEFA Cup contests as Espanyol reached the final, lost on penalties to Sevilla FC. In the previous league season, he contributed with four league goals as the Pericos finished 15th.

At the start of the 2009–10 campaign, Jarque relieved Raúl Tamudo of his captain duties.

Death and tributes

According to several online Spanish newspapers, Jarque was found dead during Espanyol's pre-season, in Coverciano, Florence, Italy. He was on the phone with his girlfriend in the team hotel when he suffered a heart attack.

Some other news sources say that Jarque's girlfriend (who was seven months into her pregnancy) reported his absence to his roommate, Ferran Corominas.

On 15 August 2009, Arsenal player Cesc Fàbregas, a former team-mate of Jarque in the Spanish under-21 side, dedicated his second goal in his team's 6–1 Premier League win at Everton to Jarque, by raising a shirt with his name and number (#21, which he wore mainly as a professional). The homage was again paid the following month – as Espanyol won the first match at their new Estadi Cornellà-El Prat – against Málaga CF – by 2–1 scorer Iván Alonso, as Jarque's pregnant girlfriend was also giving birth to the couple's daughter.

On 11 July 2010, during the FIFA World Cup final, close friend Andrés Iniesta celebrated his 116th minute-winning goal (the only one of the game) by removing his jersey to reveal an undershirt with the sentence "Dani Jarque siempre con nosotros" ("Dani Jarque, always with us").

On 1 July 2012, after Spain won UEFA Euro 2012, Cesc Fàbregas again donned a T-shirt during the trophy celebrations to commemorate Jarque's death.

Honours

Club

• Copa del Rey: 2005–06
• Copa Catalunya: 2007
• UEFA Cup: Runner-up 2006–07

Country

• UEFA U-19 Championship: 2002

See also

• List of one-club men
• List of footballers who died while playing

External links

• Espanyol official profile
• BDFutbol profile