Former Brazil captain and current Vasco da Gama coach Ricardo Gomes suffered stroke during match.


Vasco da Gama coach Ricardo Gomes was hospitalized after suffering a stroke during a Brazilian championship match.

The 46-year-old former Brazil defender and captain was rushed off the pitch in an ambulance after suffering head pains during the second half of Vasco s 0-0 draw with Ronaldinho s Flamengo in the Rio de Janeiro derby at the Engenhao stadium.

Ricardo underwent surgery to stop the bleeding and remained in the intensive care unit in a medically induced coma.

On Tuesday morning, Ricardo was stable and doctors discarded the possibility of doing another procedure. The medical team said it was too early to say what damage his brain could have suffered.

Ricardo had already suffered a mild ischemia last year, when he was Sao Paulo coach. He played in the national squad from 1986 to 1990 and coached Paris Saint-Germain in the late 90s.