2024-05-05 10:00:03
He played over 200 games in the Bundesliga, but after his career ended, Georg Koch became quiet. Now he talks about his fatal illness.
Long-time Bundesliga goalkeeper Georg Koch is terminally ill with pancreatic cancer. “The disease is incurable, I will die. But God has not yet decided when God will take me,” said the 52-year-old in an interview with “Bild am Sonntag”.
Koch received the diagnosis in April of last year. At that time the doctor gave him another six months. “Hey Doc, I’m still here,” said the ex-keeper. The doctor is a 70-year-old professor, “who is in a good mood. I told him that he should be more careful so that it doesn’t turn around and I visit him at his funeral,” Koch continued humorously .
“I had a great life”
The reason why he hasn’t gone public with his illness so far is that Koch isn’t the type of person who wants to flirt with it. He always had phases in which he asked himself why it had happened to him of all people.
“But if you have been in a cancer ward yourself and you see how much misery there is and that it also affects small children, then I can classify it differently,” he continued. With the experience, Koch came to the conclusion: “I had a great life.”
Koch played for numerous clubs in his career, and he enjoyed particular success with Fortuna Düsseldorf. In total he played 213 first division and 165 second division games. “I would like to see a game again at every club I played for,” said Koch.