Post Staff Writer
 Arsenal Kyiv striker Shalva Apkhazava challenges for the ball in a photo taken July 17, 2003 in Kyiv. Apkhazava was found dead in his bed Jan. 7 after suffering heart failure. (AP photo) |
Kyiv�s Arsenal Football Club is mourning the sudden death of one of its rising young stars. Shalva Apkhazava, the 23-year-old Georgian striker who joined the Kyiv club in July 2002, died suddenly of heart failure in his sleep. Roommate and fellow Georgian Gela Shekiladze discovered his body on Jan. 7, Christmas Day in both Ukraine and Georgia. The team was to depart that day for Antalya, Turkey to practice following a long hiatus from league play. |
Apkhazava scored 14 goals in 25 games last year with Arsenal, making him the fourth-highest scorer in the Ukrainian league. This season, he had scored three goals in 12 games. Last February, he made his first appearance as an international for Georgia against Moldova. He was voted Georgia�s young player of the year in 2001.
The death of a seemingly healthy athlete in the prime of his career has hit the football community in Kyiv and Georgia particularly hard.
�We loved him,� said Arsenal spokesman Valery Shershen, who knew Apkhazava and his family. �He leaves behind only good memories. It�s been very hard.�
Apkhazava is survived by his wife, Nina, and a ten-month-old son, Giya. On Jan. 9, Arsenal, which is funded by the Kyiv city budget, announced that it would provide financial assistance to Apkhazsava�s son until he reaches 18 years of age.
Investigators said that the athlete suffered from previously undetected cardiomyopathy, a genetic or viral condition that thickens the heart muscle, restricting blood flow. The condition affects young people who are physically active and can cause increasing fatigue over a year or more. Athletes sometimes fail to understand the symptoms, believing that they are simply out of shape and need to work harder.
Experts believe that another football player, 28-year-old Marc-Vivien Foe of Cameroon, also suffered from cardiomyopathy. He died unexpectedly in France last June during the second half of a game against Colombia. A former trainer said that one in 60 people have some form of hidden heart condition, but that only a small percentage � including athletes who put their hearts under increased strain � discover it. Only an electrocardiogram can detect the condition.
Shershen said that Arsenal Kyiv has had little contact with its players over the past two months. All players had one month off for vacations and a second month away from the club for individual training that was unsupervised by the team.
Shershen said that any speculation about drug use was premature.
�It�s difficult enough that this happened over Christmas,� said Shershen. �We�ll leave that conclusion up to the experts. But I can assure you that there is nothing there. I can�t believe that anything will be found.�
A memorial service was held at Prolisok, the club�s stadium, on Jan. 8 before the club returned Apkhazava�s body to Georgia for burial. Attendees included the team�s fan club, Georgia�s ambassador to Ukraine, players and club officials.
Apkhazava is to be buried in Kobulet, Georgia on Jan. 15 after his body has lain in his home of birth for seven days, according to Georgian custom.
�He was close to us, and unfairly taken away,� said Shershen, who said the team has been receiving condolences by e-mail and fax. �We knew him as a good person, and as a fair person.�
Apkhazava loved Georgian cuisine, was a hunter and considered Brazilian footballer Raul the ideal player. He once listed fairness as the most important human virtue.
�He was tolerant, and he respected Ukraine,� said Shershen. �He spoke Russian, but he was making an effort to learn Ukrainian and to speak it with people here.�