Essay on Footballers and Cancer: Heroes Defying the Odds

It is clear that one of the deadliest diseases in the world right now is cancer. Not even one person handles its adversities without becoming emotional. Cancer survivors are considered heroes since the number of people who have succumbed to disease as an illness is uncountable. Not even footballers who do a lot of physical activities are left out. As athletes, people assume footballers are physically fit to acquire cancer like an infection. However, just like any other person, footballers also get cancer, and only a reasonable number struggle to win their battles and succumb. The difficulty in surviving disease makes it imminent to recognize and appreciate winners against the cancer battle. Eric Abidal, Allan Stubbs, and Liam Miller are footballers who share the same success story. The three are footballers who have each shown us how to keep going despite adversities in cancer. This essay analyses their battle with cancer, which everyone can be proud of.

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Liam Miller played for Manchester United and Celtic. After retirement, Liam Miller was diagnosed with cancer. Fans from all over the world send him good thoughts with most admitting it was the end of the road for the athlete. Even during his battle with cancer, Liam always wanted to be a football coach (Lopez-Gonzalez and Guerrerole l49). Despite everything that everyone else said, Liam Miller underwent treatment in the United States. After a battle of almost two years, Liam was signed as a coach of the second team of Derby County. As much as it seemed impossible, Liam battled cancer till the very end. He came out the winner and achieved his dream of becoming a soccer coach.

The same struggle story applied to Eric Abidal. His Barcelona teammates embodied the word fighter to his name (Dominguez Marti and Lucia Sapina 499). The former French defender was by his standards one of the most highly-rated defenders of his time winning titles, including the UEFA champions' league. He diagnosed with cancer of the liver. He had to undergo treatment in Spain's capital Madrid to gain his match fitness back. Though Abidal's fight to recovery was a long, arduous process, the team celebrated his recovery in style when Barcelona won the UEFA champions league and dedicated it to him. Abidal currently sits on the technical bench of Barcelona.

Another success cancer story of football is of Scottish club Hibernian manager Allan Stubbs (Dickinson 13). Stubbs played soccer for Celtic, Everton, and Sunderland. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2001. He was diagnosed while still a player. He was undergoing operation but determined to make it back to the pitch once again. The Englishman returned to football signing for Everton just one year after successful operations.

From the above story, it is clear that cancer has a hope story. If anyone is battling cancer, they should never lose hope. Anyone is capable of winning the battle against cancer. Eric Abidal, Allan Stubbs, and Liam Miller are footballers who share the same success story in fighting this disease menace to inspire millions of people who are still grappling with cancer.

Works Cited

Dickinson, M. Bobby Moore: The Man in Full. Random House. (2014).11-23

Dominguez Marti, and Lucia Sapina. "Cancer imetaphors in sports news: The match that must be won." Medical Discourse in Professional, Academic and Popular Settings. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters (2016): 149-172.

Lopez-Gonzalez, H., and Guerrero-Sole, F. WHEN THE MEDIUM IS ON iTHE MESSAGE: EXPLORING HATE IN MEDIA-READER INTERACTIONS IN SPiANISH ONLINE SPORTS JOURNALISM. ANNALES-ANALI ZA ISTRSKE IN iMEDITERANSKE STUDIJE-SERIES HISTORIA ET SOCIOLOGIA, 24(3), (2014) 489-500.