Born in
Seville,
Andalusia, Puerta joined
Sevilla FC as a boy and spent a total of 14 years at the club, growing up at its acclaimed youth system alongside other players such as
Alejandro Alfaro,
Kepa Blanco,
Jesús Navas,
Sergio Ramos and
José Antonio Reyes. His
La Liga debut came on 21 March 2004, as he played 71 minutes in a 0–1 home defeat against neighbours
Málaga CF. Definitely promoted to the first squad for the
2005–06 season, Puerta became intimately connected to Sevilla's history on 27 April 2006, when he scored against
FC Schalke 04 in
the semi-finals of the
UEFA Cup: in the final moments of the match, he received a long ball and struck it with his left foot for the 1–0 final (and aggregate) win; they went on to collect five titles in fifteen months, with Puerta scoring his
penalty shootout attempt in the
2007 UEFA Cup final, against compatriots
RCD Espanyol. His impressive performances earned him international recognition and reported interest from
Arsenal,
Manchester United and
Real Madrid, but all bids were rejected.
Death On 25 August 2007, Puerta collapsed and lost consciousness in the
penalty area due to a cardiac arrest during Sevilla's first
La Liga fixture of the
2007–08 campaign at the
Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium against
Getafe CF. He was seen crouching and then subsequently collapsing upon moving back to his team's
goal after only 35 minutes of the game had passed, After recovering and being substituted, Puerta was able to walk to the dressing room, where he collapsed once again. He was resuscitated by the doctors and taken, by ambulance, to the
intensive care unit of
Virgen del Rocío hospital, where he received
cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Puerta died on 28 August 2007, at 14:30. Doctor Francisco Murillo reported that he had suffered
multiple organ failure and irreversible
brain damage as a result of multiple prolonged cardiac arrests due to an incurable,
hereditary heart disease known as
arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Puerta's girlfriend was expecting their first child at the time of his death.
Tributes As a result of Puerta's death, Sevilla's
UEFA Champions League qualifier against
AEK Athens F.C. was postponed until the fourth of September– the former eventually won 4–1. The club also announced that a
one-minute silence would be held before every league match on the weekend of 1–2 September 2007. Additionally, Sevilla's
UEFA Super Cup game with
A.C. Milan on 31 August went ahead, as a tribute to the player, with all 22 participants having the name 'PUERTA' printed on the back of their jersey. The players and officials on both sides also wore black armbands. Sevilla subsequently
retired Puerta's number 16 shirt, with the provision that should his son, Aitor Antonio (born 22 October 2007), one day play for the club, he would have the option to bring the number out of retirement. However, Spanish football teams were not allowed to do so, as the
Royal Spanish Football Federation stated that clubs should use number 1 to 25 for their regular squad, with no additional room for manoeuvre; as a result,
David Prieto wore the shirt in 2007–08 in honour of his friend but it was later decided that only youth products could wear that jersey. Controversially, the number was given to Argentine
Federico Fazio in 2016. One year later, it was awarded to
Jesús Navas, a close friend of Puerta, upon his return to the club in 2017. Ramos wore T-shirts in memory of Puerta after Spain won
UEFA Euro 2008 and the
2010 FIFA World Cup, with Navas doing the same on the latter occasion. Earlier in 2010, a statue of him was built in the club's José Ramón Cisneros Palacios sporting facilities. ==International career==