Ill footballer who missed World Cup was believed dead – but showed up at his own funeral
An unwell footballer who was believed dead turned up to his own funeral – causing his mother to faint.
After the 1930 World Cup, the tournament hosted by Uruguay, Romanian midfielder Alfred Eisenbeisser Feraru fell ill and was taken off to hospital as his boat heading home stopped in Genoa, Italy.
The Upshot report that, after the final between the hosts and neighbouring Argentina, fans headed to Montevideo on board a steamship – but they had to wade through the fog, with the player catching pneumonia.
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During the trip home, the Romanian midfielder was thought to have fallen ill and was taken off to a hospital in the Italian town. Reports claim the Romanian team staff desperately called in a priest to help cure his critical condition.
Rumours circulated when the Romanian players returned to their country and his mother became convinced he had died, leading her to make funeral arrangements for the player.
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However, on the day of the wake, Feraru walked through the door, revealing that he was in fact alive and well. Upon seeing her son, his mother fainted on the spot.
Feraru recovered and miraculously returned to the pitch, spending two years with Dragoș Vodă Cernăuți. He then moved Venus București – a Romanian football club based in Bucharest.
There, he remained for 10 seasons, playing 116 times and scoring 16 goals. He also won four Liga I titles – the highest accolade in Romanian football – before hanging up his cleats in 1944.
The footballer even went on to compete for Romania in both figure skating and bobsleigh at the next Olympics. He also competed at the 1934 European Figure Skating Championships – with him and his partner Irina Timcic finishing seventh in the mixed pair events.
After he took part in the 1936 Winter Olympics, where he finished 13th. His last major figure skating competition was the mixed pair event at the 1939 European Championships- where he managed to finish ninth.
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