The most beautiful story of the Europa League.

On October 4, Eintracht spread Lazio with a score of 4:1 in the group stage of the Europa League.

The players of both clubs, Marco Russ and Francesco Acerbi, turned this meeting into something more than a battle for first place in the group. The men approached each other after the end of the match and exchanged jersey - but in this case the traditional ritual turned into a gesture of tacit understanding.

The fates of Russ and Acerbi are very similar - both athletes at different times were cured of testicular cancer.

Marco Russ learned about the diagnosis in May 2016 after passing the doping test. The Commission of the German Football Union sent results that showed an increased content of growth hormone in the blood of a man. Doctors immediately thought about the ban: the personal belongings of Russ were carefully examined, but there were no traces of unwanted drugs anywhere.

Then Marco underwent an additional medical examination - and it revealed that a cancerous tumor inside the testicles affected the level of the hormone. Finding out the diagnosis, Russ refused an emergency operation: the next day, the footballer in the captain's armband brought Eintracht to the butt match against Nuremberg for the right to remain in the Bundesliga. The club from Frankfurt won - as did Russ, who returned to football after 9 months of treatment.

“This is a very emotional moment for me after a difficult and long period. I had butterflies playing all day in my stomach, but when I went to the sideline to replace my partner, I enjoyed the moment and the tension disappeared,” - shared Russ after his first match after the comeback - 1/4 of the German Cup against Arminia.

On 3 October, at the pre-match press conference, Marco said: “I know what Francesco did. I respect him with all my heart. I want jersey Acerbi. He defeated the tumor, as I did.”

Francesco Acerbi encountered oncology in 2013 - a football player found out about the same dreadful diagnosis at a medical examination immediately after moving to Italian Sassuolo.

In July of the same year, the defender removed the tumor, but already in December in the analyzes of the man showed symptoms of the returned disease . By May 2014, Acerbi beat the cancer again and returned to training.

After the match with Eintracht def posted in instagram post, reminiscent of the story that he shares with Marco Russ. “He never gives up!” - the footballer signed it.

  • In the next match of the Europa League, Eintracht will play against Apollon on October 25.
  • Lazio will meet with Marseille on October 25.