That’s how the ex-coach feels

The long-standing Bundesliga coach Christoph Daum appeared on television for the first time after his cancer had been made public. In the “morning magazine” of ARD the 69-year-old gave information about his state of health.

In the summer, Daum was diagnosed with lung cancer. He made the illness public in October.

The “devastating result” caused him to “stumble” at the beginning, Daum admitted to Anna Planken on Friday morning. After the end of his chemotherapy, he appeared to be significantly emaciated, the hair on his head had just started to grow again.

“I’m now processing all the substances that I have in my body. It’s going up and down quite violently,” said Daum. And further: “Sometimes it’s like the plug is pulled.”

His previous work as a coach now helps him in terms of his own motivation: “I used to do that with others, so I had to build others up to beat an opponent.” He also stopped smoking: “When the situation happened, I said overnight: ‘End, over’.”

Daum also promoted regular visits to preventive care: “The probability of having a carefree life is far greater.”

In the course of his coaching career, Daum had coached 1. FC Köln, VfB Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt, among others. He was also active abroad with Besiktas, Fenerbahce, Austria in Vienna and FC Bruges. His last coaching position was with the Romanian national team (2016-2017).