Newborn daughter of soccer star passes away

Dutch footballer Khalid Boulahrouz and wife Sabia are mourning the loss of their infant daughter Anissa, who died Wednesday several hours after her premature birth.  Khalid — on loan for the Euro 2008 tournament from Chelsea — intends to stay with his national squad despite the tragedy, and is scheduled to play in the Netherlands quarter-final game against Russia this weekend in Switzerland.  At a press conference yesterday, coach Marco van Basten said the 26-year-old defender "indicated … that he had given the events a special place" and "wants to move on."  He added,

[Khalid] told me, ‘I am a football player and I am available on Saturday.’

Source:  The Canadian Press

Thanks to CBB readers Katherine, Tessa, and Lisanne.

Comments

wow! I hope his wife is okay with him playing tomorrow.

- southlyn on June 20th, 2008

I was so sad when I heard this news. I think it’s amazing he still wants to stay with the squad. I heard that in the first minutes of the game the Dutch fans will all be singing his name. And after that they’ll sing ‘you’ll never walk alone’ to him.

- Marrit on June 20th, 2008

Very sad. We all mourn in different ways so I hope those around him and the media don’t give him a hard time for going back to work so soon. At the same time, I wonder how his wife feels about it.

- Erica on June 20th, 2008

Man!!! I hate when this happens to babies. It’s so sad. Looks like God had other plans for this little life. Peace and healing be with them.

- Diane on June 20th, 2008

I wonder too how his wife feels, I lost a pregancy at 5 months and it almost cost me my divorce. In my opinion at the time, my husband just moved on and I was a wreck. I hope his wife has support close by. I have sinced been blessed with a little girl to add to my family. All I can say is that maybe they will try again, because one day another little boy or girl will say: I am here today because my parents decided to try again.” God Bless.

- Evy-Miami on June 20th, 2008

Men deal so differently its insane, I had a miscarriage of twins and one then the next two weeks later and it made me so depressed and my fiance doesn’t show emotion like me and I would be so depressed and he wouldn’t understand and I think men try to be strong and when it was time for the due date I was really sad because one of my friends had twin girls a week before so I had a hard time and he just said we can have another baby and its just crazy because men dont get it sometimes.

- Bren on June 20th, 2008

i think im kind of disturbed by that decision….but i guess everyone mourns differently.

- gigi on June 20th, 2008

personally, i prefer “i am a father and i will be with my grieving wife on saturday”

- ang on June 20th, 2008

If Soccer is her Dad’s passion, then I think Little Anissa will be looking down from heaven, proud and smiling that her Papa is continuing with his sport. She would not want him to be sad.

- nicky on June 21st, 2008

I’m sure their hearts are broken, and my deepest sympathies go to them and their families.

- Sasha on June 21st, 2008

I’ve seen many couples losing a child (I’m a doctor and I work in pediatric oncology) and they all mourn differently. Some people need to just move on. They want to carry on as if nothing had happened because it is truly too difficult to stay at home and just grieve their child. When I started in that unit I couldn’t understand it but my dh (who works in psychiatry) told me it was okay, we all have our very own way to deal with the loss of a loved one. Even if it may seem weird to act like that it doesn’t we’re cold-hearted.
That being said, his family and him are in my thoughts and prayers.

- C on June 21st, 2008

I do think Khalid and his wife talked about this and decided this together. I know that a part of the squad were with him and his wife in the hospital the entire day to support them. They’re a very tight group, and I think that also helped in his decision to stay.

- Marrit on June 21st, 2008

Awww….x
Yh…
I bet litte Anissa is looking down on her Mommy & Daddy…x
Awwww bless you Anissa…x

- Sophiiiexx on June 21st, 2008

He left the dutch cantonment wednesday, when his girlfriend started to have health problems. He spent all the time with her, and he went to his daughter funerals. But he decided to play saturday against Russia. I respect his decision;

- andreea on June 21st, 2008

I’m from the Netherlands and I must say we’re all very supportive (as soccerfans) with whatever Khalid wil decide and tonight the Dutch squad will play against Russia with mourning ties to remember Anissa.

I think we don’t have to be so judgemental, everybody grieves differently and if you ask me it shows real strenght from the whole Boulahrouz family to keep going in the best way that they seem fit.

- Sanne on June 21st, 2008

I loved that all the players of the Dutch team were wearing the ‘mournband’ (idk what the real name in english is, sorry!) to show that they were all supportive of Boulahrouz and his family =)

All the players were wearing their usual orange uniform with a black band on the left upper arm

- Tamara on June 22nd, 2008

Must people be judgemental even in such a tragic event? The man has just lost a child. I have been blessed enough to have never suffered such a tragedy, and I cannot tell you how I would react if I did. Everyone mourns differently and deals with their grief in different ways – this is what he feels comfortable doing right now. He is not doing anything inappropriate, he is continuing with his everyday life because that is the way he has chosen to deal with what has happened to him and his family. Hold back the judgements – would you want someone scrutinizing you if you were in the same situation? Have some class and some compassion for your fellow parents, please.

- Anne on June 24th, 2008