Dubai: Former UAE national team coach Bruno Metsu has revealed he is “playing the match of his life” in his first interview since being diagnosed with terminal cancer nine months ago.
Metsu, 59, resigned as coach of Dubai club Al Wasl last October after being told the shattering news that he had advanced cancer in his colon, liver and lungs.
The UAE’s 2007 Gulf Cup-winning coach, who also lifted the 2003 Asian Champions League title with Al Ain, had only been with the Zabeel outfit for three months after succeeding Diego Maradona last summer.
Since then, the tactician most famous for leading Senegal to a shock 1-0 win over his native France in the opening match of the 2002 Fifa World Cup, has remained out of the spotlight. That was until an interview with French sports daily L’Equipe on Wednesday.
“They gave me three months [to live],” said Metsu, who has since returned to France with his wife and three young children.
‘An enormous shock’
“It was an enormous shock. I was with Viviane, my wife and we were crying as we left the hospital. You think about your kids and everyone around you.
“I started chemotherapy almost immediately and when I went to the hospital, I was in a wheelchair, I was so weak but there was no question of giving up.
“Often as a coach, you tell your players: ‘Today is the match of your life’. But no, it isn’t! Today, yes, I am playing the match of my life.
“I wanted to tell my story or rather my testimony. When I saw a programme on Eric Abidal, that gives strength and inspiration to others, that is a powerful thing,” he said, referring to the French defender who has recently come back from a life-threatening liver transplant due to cancer.
“When someone gives you three months, you fight to go further,” said Metsu, who has gained 2kgs in recent weeks after losing 17kgs since his diagnosis.
“You tell yourself: ‘You, you’re not going in three months and if you beat me, it won’t be easy.
‘Difficult fight’
“In February, we didn’t notice that I had pneumonia and I had chemo on top of it. I stayed 10 days between life and death. That was the most difficult fight that I have known. Ninety per cent of people don’t survive this situation, but I had an incredible desire to survive.
“I have learnt a lot about myself and family values. Today I can watch my children grow up and I have had nine months of happiness at their side and it’s so much better than football.
“These kind of challenges can also bring a lot too. You see things differently. You take on a completely new way of thinking and how to be strong, like Abidal.”
Of his latest prognosis, Metsu, said: “Currently, it is well stabilised in the liver and lung and my blood tests are better. On Monday, I had a scan and it’s going much better. The doctor was happy, and me even more.”