Trainer defeated cancer

Two years of fighting for life, now on the verge of the championship title

Coach Christoph Brummayer is on the verge of the championship title with Gmunden(Bild: Marion Hörmandinger)

SV Gmunden could be celebrating the early championship title in the Landesliga West against Sattledt on Friday. Success would also be a special fairytale for coach Christoph Brummayer, as the 45-year-old was still fighting for his life seven years ago due to cancer.

It was a real witches' cauldron with 1200 spectators and a pyrotechnic show at the local duel between Gschwandt and Gmunden in the Landesliga West. The team from Lake Traunsee won 4:0 after a disjointed first half and remain 20 points clear at the top.

This means they can cool off the champagne ahead of time at their home game against Sattledt on Friday, as they only need one more point to secure promotion to the Upper Austrian league! "It's done, the whole town is already in an uproar. The club will definitely come up with a good celebration," says coach Christoph Brummayer, eagerly anticipating the early championship title. Which would also be a very, very special story for him personally.

1200 fans at the derby
Seven years ago, the then 37-year-old's ideal world collapsed when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer with metastases in the lymph nodes.

I fought for my life for two years, was in hospital for seven months and didn't know whether I would survive this fight.

Christoph Brummayer

Bild: SV Gmunden

"I fought for my life for two years, was in hospital for seven months and didn't know whether I would survive this battle," says Brummayer. But he had won his most important battle and only returned to soccer as an assistant coach before becoming head coach at the national league club a year ago.

"I was scared!"

"I was scared of returning, whether I could cope physically and mentally. Being a coach is also associated with a lot of pressure, but I wanted to prove it to myself!" There had also been a lot of envious people beforehand who didn't believe he could make it as a coach. But his success proved him right - in four days, the crowning glory could follow with the title in the Landesliga West. "After my illness, the championship title would be a real fairy tale, someone must have been looking down on me from above!"