Many people fantasize that their lives can come to a magical reversal, rebounding from the trough to the peak; after the player's life trajectory is suddenly subverted, he completes a magical reversal life.
Ahead of this round of Chelsea-Norwich, the Canary players wore "We're with you" commemorative T-shirts to cheer up 20-year-old goalkeeper Baden, who suffered from testicular cancer. Testicular cancer has now become the number one cancer disease among male athletes, with "bad eggs" and "egg pain" invading athletes' bodies like beasts of prey. Many athletes, including Armstrong and Gutierrez, have been recruited.
Penev's legend is rarely known
The famous Bulgarian player Penev was diagnosed with testicular cancer after being hit in the private part by the ball during an ordinary training session. After a sudden termination of his career and his escape from the death line, Penev became a super fierce man on the field, not only did his attendance plummet and his body hardened, but his goal efficiency also soared. Not only that, Penev also has a big change of temperament, a grumpy maverick, now let's take a look at his legendary experience...
Unfortunate and lucky: diagnosed with cancer after being hit in the private part by the ball
Penev (born 1966) and Stojchikov are contemporaries, tall (1.93 m) he is not only strong in impact, but also excellent in foot skills, in 1988 was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year. Penev, who debuted from CSKA Sofia, scored 80 goals in 101 appearances in four years here, and his high-energy performance helped him to be named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year, and then joined La Liga powerhouse Valencia.
After arriving in the new environment, Penev quickly sat in the main position and became a nightmare for defenders of La Liga teams. In the 1992-1993 season, the Bulgarian single-handedly scored 20 goals and assisted the team four times, helping the team to fourth place, and his 24 goals accounted for 40% of the team's league goals (60 goals), which was an absolute thigh. That summer, Penev became a bountiful and received invitations from Barcelona, Inter Milan and a number of Premier League teams.
Because the 1994 World Cup was approaching, Penev thought twice, and in order to maintain his form and play steadily, he decided not to venture out of the new environment, stay in La Liga for a year, and then meet new challenges after the competition. As the World Cup draws nearer, the unexpected nightmare comes.
During an ordinary training session, Penev was hit in his private area by the ball, and the pain was so unbearable that he could not even continue training.
Penev was also a handsome young man
In fact, people who have played football have had the experience of not wanting to die after being hit by the lower body, but jumping, slowing down, and taking a break is no big problem. Penev thought the same thing at first, but as the "egg pain" continued to worsen, he had to seek medical attention.
Who knows after some examination, the doctor's results made Penev sunny day thunderbolt: testicular cancer.
Testicular cancer is not an incurable disease and has a high cure rate. But this is cancer after all, not an ordinary cold fever. And don't forget, the medical treatment of 30 years ago is not comparable to the current one.
Unfortunately, Penev was diagnosed with cancer at his prime age, and somewhat fortunately, if it were not for this accident, his hidden condition could have had more serious consequences.
After Penev was diagnosed with cancer, the doctor frankly told him to be prepared for an abrupt end to his career. Penev immediately stopped all football-related activities and rushed to a hospital in Barcelona to fight cancer. In the face of the concern of his teammates and fans, Penev did not respond more than thanks, because he had a belief.
After successful anti-cancer, he was crowned the la Liga double crown
Nine months later, yes, in just over 270 days, Penev was back on the pitch. Ordinary people simply cannot imagine how Bulgarians spent this time. In the fight against cancer, Penev did 50 rounds of chemotherapy, and in his extremely limited leisure time he has been doing simple football training and watching games, despite his frail health, although the doctors did not recommend it, he has been insisting. When Stoichkov evaluated his teammate, he used the word featherer (warrior).
Originally, people thought that Penev's return to the field was a miracle, and it was even more unimaginable to return to the peak. But the answer he gave was: No, I'm stronger than I used to be. In the 1994-1995 season, he had just recovered from injury and played for Valencia in 25 appearances, scoring 9 goals and assisting 2 times, but he was still unstoppable.
By the summer of 1995, Mitjatović came to Valencia, which seemed to irritate Penev, who instead of opting to renew his contract with the Bat Legion, switched to Atletico Madrid. In the previous two seasons, the Sheets Army had only finished 12th and 14th, especially in the 1994-1995 season, they were only one point more than the relegation zone, which was a thrilling relegation, and was ridiculed as a relegation expert by rivals Real Madrid fans.
After Penev arrived in Madrid, some media wondered why he came to a relegation team. The Bulgarian with a straight face responded: I have come here to make history.
That same summer, Atletico brought in the famous coach Antioch. When he was in place, he handed over to the club's top brass a list of multiple reinforcements, including Penev, a player he repeatedly stressed had to buy. Along with the Bulgarians came the likes of Pantich and Molina.
This season, La Liga expanded to 22 teams, Atletico madrid won 26 wins, 9 draws, 7 losses and 87 points in 42 rounds, conceding only 32 goals, breaking the monopoly of Barca and Real Madrid on the league title for 11 consecutive years, ending the team's 45-year championship drought, and the second regrettable loss was precisely Penev's former owner Valencia.
At that time, atletico's big fight, many people remembered Kiko, who was the savior and created the iconic celebration, as well as the midfield tough guy Simeone, and of course, the invincible Penev.
(Pictured) In that year's champions Atletico, Penev (back row right) was the absolute core
Many media's earliest predictions were that after a serious illness, Bulgarians would at least have ups and downs in physical fitness and status, but the result was a big surprise. Penev, who plays frequently, is an iron man, and does not seem to be tired at all, not only fighting on the front line, but also often returning to his own side to take the initiative to defend at half.
Penev played 37 league games that year, the highest appearance in a single season of his career and scored 16 goals, making him the team's top scorer. The media also can't count how many times Antioch directly praised Penev after the game.
Personality change: Boxing former owner, solitary
After Penev returned to the field, in addition to the efficiency of the goal, the temperament also changed greatly, in addition to the strong attack on the field, he could not control his emotions off the field.
On 11 February 1996, in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, Atletico Madrid won 5-3 away to Valencia, and in this fierce and twist-and-turn match, there was 1 red and 10 yellow, and Penev was booed by the fans of the former club after losing a penalty. Even more surprising was that after the match, he gave former Valencia president Roig a punch and kick.
The reason for the incident is this: After seeing the team win, Penev came to the Valencia podium to celebrate the victory, at which point the head of the former owner, Franciscos Roig, said in a bad way: What are you bastards doing here, this is not where the players should come. Penev went straight through the exit and punched and kicked the other side. 、
The staff around the Valencia president came to the rescue and ended up in a fight with Penev. Here is a word to add: while being a player, The tall Ma Da Penev was also a boxing enthusiast.
Then a large number of police arrived to pull the two sides apart. Roig was beaten with a black eye blue + red nose bridge, and did not hesitate to find atletico to complain, until the little Hill came forward to calm down, and he also accused Penev of not doing so. In fact, what makes Valencia fans angry is that Penev returned to the game with the care and help of the club, saying that he did not have much contact with Roig who had just taken office, and should not be so provocative.
Originally, when Penev missed the 1994 World Cup due to cancer, Bulgarian players Stoichkov, Barakov and others have been lamenting that if Penev was in the team, the team might be able to create a miracle that year. But by the time of the 1996 European Championship, it was said that because the manager Penev (Bulgarian meritorious coach who had come to China to coach Liaozu) was his uncle, Penev occupied the main position, but even played 3 games but did not perform well, resulting in the team chaos, Stoichkov threatened to withdraw from the national team, Penev did not back down, the two sides were sword-fighting, and the brothers for many years finally became strangers.
(Pictured) At euro 1996, Stoichkov and Penev fell out, and the two sides were in a state of flux
After a catastrophe, Penev also became more maverick. After only a year at Atletico, he joined Compostela in an incredible way. Legend has it that Jacob, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, was buried in the ancient city of Santiago de Compostela, one of the Catholic pilgrimage sites. But in football, this team is not well known, it was the background board for Ronaldo to score the classic goal of five consecutive goals when he played for Barcelona, and also finished runner-up in the half of the championship season at Atletico, and nothing else.
Continuing the legend, the one-of-a-kind Penev
Penev, eager to make history at Compostela, continued to be in good shape despite not helping the team regain atletico's glory. Played 69 games in two seasons and scored 32 goals. The subsequent Celta career in La Liga, with 14 goals in 32 games, has remained at its peak.
Penev played 10 seasons in La Liga, scoring 129 goals in 305 games, seven of which were in double figures, and was the fifth highest ever foreign goalscorer in La Liga for many years before the Mero era, behind the big names such as Sanchez, Di Stefano, Puskas and Kubala.
Even now, Penev's la Liga total scores are 11th among foreign players. What should not be forgotten is that of those 129 goals, 71 of them were scored after he was cured of cancer. In addition, Penev is also the 5th most famous penalty shootout in La Liga history (43 goals).
After ending his La Liga career, Penev returned home due to injury for 2 seasons and persevered for 2 years until he retired at the age of 35. The high school striker, who was then known as the best high school striker in the history of Bulgarian football (until he was replaced by Baba), did not say goodbye to the football field, and then served as the manager of the Bulgarian national team, and his fiery temper was still hot.
In the 2009 season, Penev, who was in charge of CSKA Sofia, was fired for four players in the team who went to the ballroom and fired them. As a result, when the club interceded for him, he resigned in anger. In 2017, Penev finally reconciled with Valencia, returned to his old club, coached the echelon of Valencia Mestalla, and continued his coaching career ever since.
epilogue
No one's life will be smooth, and pessimism and timidity in the face of difficulties will not help. Act like a grandfather, even if it is an enemy, it will fear you.
In an age of increasing belief in the Internet, when more and more people are sticking to the idea of lying flat. Penev's story tells us that life is sometimes really boring, but living is very interesting.
Go ahead and nothing can stop you!