By Florian Pertsch
December 10 – After four heart operations and 16 months of recovery for most athletes sport would be a thing of the past. Not so for third division Stuttgart Kickers forward Daniel Engelbrecht.
The 24-year-old has fought his way back from heart muscle inflammation and four heart surgeries not just to play again but to be a match-winner, scoring the 2: 1 victory goal against Wehen-Wiesbaden.
After the goal, he proudly displayed his chest with the belted tank that covers his heart when he plays, to protect him from irregular heart tremors.
“That was the highest of all emotions and is probably the best day of my life,” the fit-again striker told SPORT1 .
Prof. Dr. Rainer Lorz, President of Kickers, was no less emotional. “We have already enjoyed the crazy idea that he’s even come back. His goal in the last second of the weekend was incredibly dramatic.”
“Daniel has suffered a lot during his injury,” Lorz said. “It was a very difficult time because he had to avoid any physical stress. He almost always attended our matches, but could only watch. Luckily the team always made him feel that he is one of them. “
Engelbrecht’s teammates were as excited as he was. “I’ve seen a few photos from my goal, and half the team have their hands on their heads. They could not believe it. They all had tears in their eyes,” he said.
“The comeback a few weeks ago was a sort of first taste, but the goal now takes it to a different level. So finally I could give the club something back.Kickers have never given pressure and have always backed me,” he said ,
That Engelbrecht could mingle with the crowd made it all the more enjoyable, and if he has his way, then it won’t be the end.
“This moment with the fans was extremely emotional. I went over the last year and a half in my head, all the operations and the struggle with death. And then when the fans are there to celebrate, it was just unbelievable.”
Engelbrecht wants after the winter break to be able to play a full game, He currently has “enough air for 20-30 minutes.”
“The goal is of course 120 minutes. Of course I can catch up on the fitness again and there is still a lot to do, but I will be fully loaded. The doctors have set me no limit,” says Engelbrecht confidently.
His contract runs until 30 June 2016 and terminating the contract has never been in the club’s plan, said Lorz.
“We wanted to show him that he is in the plan and can always come back. He has a long-term contract with us and we didn’t want to pose any additional problems.
“The coach is still of the opinion that Daniel is a real gain for us. He already proved his footballing class before his injury,” Lorz said.
Now there is just one thing that Engelbrecht wants to optimise. “We are trying at the moment to improve the protection to the extent that it no longer slips, so that everything is tight,” he explains of the pack he wears when playing covering the left part of his chest.
Compared with the problems Engelbrecht but has already overcome, this challenge seems marginal.
Read the original story on SPORT1 at http://www.sport1.de/de/fussball/fussball_dritteliga/artikel_993898.html