New Espanyol Daniel Jarque, photographed here last February, was found dead in his Italian hotel room on Saturday night. (Manu Fernandez/Associated Press) A leading Spanish soccer player has died of an apparent heart attack at age 26.
Daniel Jarque, captain and midfielder for the Spanish league club Espanyol, was found dead in his hotel room at Florence, Italy, on Saturday night, before a scheduled Sunday friendly with Serie A club Bologna.
"It was not possible to save his life," said a statement from the Italian team.
Reports said he was on the phone with his girlfriend from the hotel when the line went silent. She contacted authorities and they went to the room to investigate.
Jarque had been with Espanyol since he was a youth player and had been a key contributor to the club's run to the UEFA Cup final in 2006.
He replaced Raul Tamudo as the club's captain at the beginning of this season.
Sunday's match between Bologna and Espanyol has been cancelled.
With files from The Associated Press