Overview
- Olympiakos and the Hellenic Football Federation confirmed late Monday that Paraskevas Antzas died at the age of 49 and that the cause was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS.
- Antzas was a central figure at Olympiakos in the 2000s, winning seven Greek league titles and three cups and making 26 appearances for the Greek national team.
- Greek media reported that Antzas had been wheelchair-dependent in recent years and was admitted to hospital in critical condition in the days before his death.
- His former club issued an emotional mourning statement and a funeral or tribute was held shortly after his death with numerous former teammates in attendance.
- ALS is a progressive, incurable disease that destroys motor neurons and leads to muscle wasting, loss of speech and breathing problems, and the coverage linked Antzas’s death to wider public awareness of the illness through past high-profile cases and campaigns.