Before the Fortuna game

Emotional message from terminally ill Georg Koch

Georg Koch(Bild: GEPA, twitter, krone.at-grafik)

Georg Koch, goalkeeper at SK Rapid for nine games in the 2009 season, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer! Shortly before the second leg of the relegation play-off between his former club Fortuna Düsseldorf and Bochum, an emotional video message was played to the fans in the stadium.

"Dear Fortuna fans, first of all, thank you very much for your support, also for the choreo in Kiel. That gives me a lot of strength. It really took a toll on me, but it also gave me strength to know that I have to keep working and that I was a fighter," said Koch.

"But today is not about me. Today is about Fortuna, about the fact that we can achieve something really great, namely promotion to the 1st division. You are the heart of this whole club, you have to roar the club into the 1st division today. Even though we won the first leg, it's not a matter of course, you have to give everything with the team today so that we can fulfill this dream of the 1st division. I really want that, because that's my heart and soul."

The task was certainly difficult for Fortuna, as they even squandered a 3-0 lead at home. Koch's greatest wish: "I'd like to see another game at every club I've played for. Now I can go back to the stadium ..."