Do any of you comprehend the idea of a devil's advocate?
It's giving the pessimistic side just so you have something else to consider.
If it makes you feel better to know, I think that achievement in sport, and especially in soccer/football is very important (because, in my poetry-centric viewpoint, many sports are a poetry of motion -- especially soccer)
If anything, it provides opportunity for those who might otherwise not be in a position to lead particularly satisfying lives due to bad socio-economic position, etc...
That said, RIP because he lived an accomplished life, not because he lived an accomplished life in football
see where I'm going?