BOOM. It was one of those moments, when everything you were
complaining about, everything you were thinking or worrying about became
insignificant. The disappointing 1-1 draw game in Sevilla, played a few
days earlier, didn’t mean anything anymore either. It was the 15th of
March, 2011 and in the Barcelona dressing room, football had become
meaningless. Xavi Hérnandez later described the situation as the worst
moment in his footballing career and the worst thing he lived through in
a dressing room that was no stranger to scandal and pressure.
Éric Abidal had been diagnosed with liver cancer, one of the worst kinds and for a moment the Barça world stopped.
But it soon became obvious that cancer had chosen the wrong person to
start a fight with. When Éric met his teammates at the training ground
for the last time before going into surgery, he met a team that didn’t
want to play football anymore. The team didn’t understand why they would
run around after a ball when their teammate, their brother, was facing a
potentially life threatening disease. But Éric came there with a smile
on his face and it was he who started to encourage them. As Xavi
afterwards explained: “
His mood surprised us, he’s almost given us
more encouragement than we have given him, that shows his mental
strength. He is an example of positivity. He told us to continue as
always and that we would beat Getafe on Saturday. And we will try to do
that so we can dedicate the victory to him and his family”.
Éric changed their minds and soon all focus was again on football, to
beat Getafe, to do it for Abi. The Barça players entered the pitch
wearing shirts bearing the words “
T’estimem ABI”, We love you Abi. And they did win the game and the victory was dedicated to Éric Abidal.
One and half months later the biggest and longest standing ovation
ever at Camp Nou took place. It was the Champions League semifinal
against Real Madrid and Carles Puyol was taken off. In came Éric Abidal.
It seemed like the ovation would never stop. Barça won and Éric was
tossed up in the air. At Wembley a few days later he’d play 90 minutes
as Barça won the Champions League. Éric Abidal was given the captain
armband by Carles Puyol and lifted the trophy. There was no one that
deserved to stand up there lifting the trophy to the sky more than Éric
Abidal.
He had inspired the whole world. In one and half months he went from
being diagnosed with liver cancer to lifting the Champions League
trophy. It was a story that not even Hollywood would have been able to
write.
With “superman” Abidal back in the squad, nothing could stop
Barcelona. And who will ever forget the goal celebration he did with
Alvés after Éric scored for only the second time ever for Barcelona
against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey quarterfinal. It was a fairytale
that never seemed to stop. His first ever Barça goal had been scored,
also in the Copa, just weeks before he had been hit with the news of his
liver tumor. After the first goal he’d been nicknamed
Rey Éric, a nickname that will forever stick with the defender.
However, when FC Barcelona went out to play the final of the Copa del Rey a few months later, they did so without
Rey Éric in the squad.
In March 2012, one year after the initial diagnosis, it seemed the
public recovery had not gone as planned and Abidal needed a liver
transplant. An even bigger and riskier operation than the first one. As
he went into surgery with his cousin Gerard as a donor, not many
believed Éric Abidal would ever play football again. At least not at
the top level. Yet football was not the principal topic of concern, this
was about much more than football. After the surgery, which took many
hours, Abidal stayed at the hospital for a few months. During this time,
he only saw his three daughters on three occasions. He didn’t want them
to see him like that.
Barça won that Copa del Rey final. Abi wasn’t there, he was watching
from his hospital bed. But for the players Abidal was always with them
and they knew this trophy belonged to him. It seemed only natural,
therefore, to take what would have been his match shirt for the game and
put it over the trophy. A gesture Abi was very thankful for: “
Although
I was in the hospital, I was on the pitch as well. Thanks to the
players for this gesture. Because then you know that you’re part of the
team.”
On Wednesday night I was angry, and I’m sure many
culés
were. Angry and disappointed. It hadn’t been a good day. First Barça’s
Juvenil A had been beaten and knocked out of the Next Generation Series
by Chelsea after a 2-0 home loss at the MiniEstadi. Soon after, a
mediocre performance for Barça at the San Siro saw AC Milan triumph 2-0.
However, on Thursday my mood took a complete turnaround. So had Xavi’s, who with a smile told the media: “
This is the best moment of my footballing career, of my life”. A few hours earlier, Éric Abidal was declared fully fit and received the official green light by the club’s doctors.
He got cancer, he beat cancer and he lifted the Champions League
trophy in the spin of only two months. His cancer however hadn’t given
up and returned. But when it did, Éric stood up and took it on one more
time. To quote Xavi once again, “
Éric is mentally the strongest
person I have ever met. How he continues to train, to hope, to be
motivated after his disease… Éric is the greatest example I’ve ever seen
in my career.”
The mental strength that Éric Abidal possesses is both something to
be impressed and inspired by. A few weeks ago Éric said that it has been
hard, the worst thing he ever had go through, but if he’d had to do it
again he would stand up and keep fighting. So cancer, you couldn’t have
chosen a harder person to fight with, because Éric will never give up.
FC Barcelona is a club with an incredible history, a club with a
trophy cabinet bursting after all kind of successes. But I’d like to say
that the biggest victory FC Barcelona ever won was the victory of
getting Éric Abidal back to the squad, and to still have him there ready
to continue his career.
A few months ago few thought he’d ever play football again. On
Saturday he might make his comeback (for the second time) as Barça takes
on Sevilla at the Camp Nou.
There was however one person that never for a second doubted that Abidal would play again. That was Éric Abidal himself: “
Sometimes
I would get up in the morning and I struggled, as my body was getting
used to not exercising, but I started working out with the purpose of
coming back. This purpose has helped me through the process, but I never
thought about retiring, because football, setting family aside, is my
life.”
Éric Abidal – your fight is our strength, we love you.
