Argentina's 2003 U-20 national team goalkeeper Gustavo Eberto died on Monday due to testicular cancer at the age of 24.

 

Eberto's death triggered Argentine soccer to mourn. He had been hospitalized in Buenos Aires in recent days.

 

Eberto celebrated his 24th birthday on August 30 and debuted in Boca Juniors soccer club in 2003, the year he and Argentina became champions in the U20 South American Soccer Championship in Uruguay after defeating Colombia 1-0.

 

Eberto's life changed abruptly in early 2006 after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

 

"I do not have ill feelings, nor anger with life nor with God," Eberto said in an interview in his native Corrientes city when he talked about his illness.

 

"This can happen to anybody and it happened to me. I am ready to fight and I will do so all my life, and this will probably make me stronger for future problems," Eberto said.

 

Eberto became a Talleres de Cordoba second-category Argentine soccer star in 2006.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2007)