Former Chelsea defender Alex undergoes heart bypass surgery

Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa, commonly known as just Alex, was a key part of Chelsea’s backline for a couple seasons, 2007-09, and served as a backup for a few years after as well — for a grand total of 134 appearances — before leaving us for PSG, but he remains a notable part of Chelsea folklore from those years thanks to his ridiculously powerful free kicks.

Known for hitting the ball so very hard, unfortunately Alex himself got hit pretty hard by a heart condition this week. Thankfully, as confirmed by the 39-year-old himself, he did not suffer a heart attack (contrary to initial reports). Doctors did discover four (4!) blocked arteries and recommended bypass surgery, which has been completed successfully. Alex is expected to make a full recovery, and should be able to go home in a few days.

So that’s great news and hopefully he will indeed make a full and lasting recovery.

And since that’s all good, we can now enjoy the requisite highlights of Alex’s wonderful free kicks, the best of which is the one he scored against Liverpool in 2009. GET DOWN!