Shocked, this is how Belgian football has been seen by the death of Miguel Van Dame, a goalkeeper who was only 28 years old who lost the battle against leukemia. Since 2016 he was fighting this type of cancer, and defended the goal of Cercle Brugge, a first division team.
“Our dear love, daddy, he went to his last game last night; a match that can no longer be won. You left us very slowly, but you did it again your way… very hard. You fought like a lion. We are very grateful for who you were. An example for many”, wrote on her Instagram account Kyana Dobbelaere, her partner and mother of her daughter, Camille.
In the letter she highlighted: “You have made me realize that there is no such thing like giving up; even if there was only a small glimmer of success, time and time again you overcame it. Rest now, darling, you’ve more than earned it. Now you are free from all pain. We would love to see you. A big hug from your two girls. See you later”.
The Miguel Van Dame’s leukemia
The Belgian was diagnosed with blood cancer in the middle of 2013. After two and a half years of fighting the disease, at the beginning of 2019, the doctors declared the goalkeeper cured. However, months later, the doctors detected leukemia again.
“Words are not enough to describe what we feel, even though we knew that things had not been going well for a while . Today is an extremely difficult day, in the almost 123 years of Cercle Brugge’s history,” the club said in a letter.
Regardless of his medical leave, Van Dame renewed his contract with Cercle Brugge in 2020, where he played from 123. In fact, this agreement was prolonged in 2017, in the middle of the illness.
This news has shaken Belgian football. And it is that clubs like Union Saint Gilloise, Genk, Bruges KV, Standard Liège or Anderlecht have transmitted their condolences to family and friends on social networks. It is worth noting that Van Dame played 44 matches as a professional goalkeeper.