"This trophy is a conclusion and a new beginning at the same time"

2023-10-16 03:30:00

An Upper Austrian league kicker receiving a “Bruno” – that has never happened before. Pregarten’s captain Markus Blutsch was given this honor. In the OÖN interview, the 28-year-old talks about his fight against cancer, the award and the current sporting situation with the Mühlviertel team.

Congratulations on “Bruno” – what does this award mean to you?

Markus Blutsch: It was a really cool moment, I really enjoyed it. You’re kind of floating on a cloud with all the well-wishers. For me, this “Bruno” is a symbol of what has happened in the last few months. The trophy also represents the hard work I have gone through and is both a conclusion and a new start. A conclusion to a time from which I was able to take a lot with me. Now we’re looking forward again and the next tasks are coming up.

With your fight against testicular tumor, you have put behind you what was probably the most difficult match of your career – will this trophy have a special place?

Definitely. It was a very formative time. I want to find a place where I can see the trophy every day. Since I have a small apartment, that shouldn’t be a big problem (laughs). Maybe I’ll also add it to my Bundesliga young star award, which I received at Admira in 2016.

There were certainly one or two prominent well-wishers at the Bruno Gala, right?

Steffen Hofmann from Rapid congratulated me personally, but I was most happy about the congratulations from Manfred Fischer, the captain of Wiener Austria. He specifically looked for me and told me what a hot guy I was. He said I embodied the virtues of mentality, love, hard work and told me that there should be more guys like me. I really enjoyed that. The fact that my family and many of my friends were also there in Vienna was particularly emotional for me.

Your team from Pregarten was always at your side on the way back – now things should get better again in terms of sport, or?

We are in a difficult situation, but I have every confidence that we will get out of it. Of course I’m unhappy with the situation, but I’ve now gained a more rational view of life. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my experiences, it’s that with hard work you can get through difficult situations.

With the Nimmervoll brothers there is a new coaching team in Pregarten – what are the first impressions?

I was happy that they were doing it because I know they were super successful in St. Martin. You immediately noticed a new impulse, the win against Mondsee was very good for the team.

Pregarden for life – what would speak against it?

I feel very comfortable in Pregarten. What I went through during my time here and the support I received cannot be described in words. Pregarten has become a second home club, which is why I have extended it long-term.

Will you go to the football pension in Pregarten?

I stopped spending too much time making plans for the future. Life can move quickly, in any direction. But a position in professional football is no longer an issue. In the Upper Austrian league at Pregarten I can play at a very good level and am in top shape again. My big goal now is to stay in the league with Pregarten and to have fun playing football and living.

Football House of Commons