Dresden Pro After Brain Hemorrhage: “The Fight to Get Back to Life”

About two months after his life-threatening brain hemorrhage and emergency surgery, professional soccer player Lars Bünning of second-division club Dynamo Dresden has addressed the fans publicly for the first time. “The last few weeks have probably been the most difficult weeks of my entire life so far. It made it all the more wonderful for my family and me to see that you’re all fighting this battle back to life alongside me,” the center back said on Instagram.

The video message was also played on Saturday during the team presentation at Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion. “My rehab is going very well; I’m making progress every day and will be able to return to Dresden soon. I’m incredibly looking forward to seeing all of you at the stadium and celebrating Dynamo victories together,” the 28-year-old continued.

His words evoked strong emotions among teammates, fans, and players from other clubs. Terrence Boyd, a forward for Waldhof Mannheim and Bünning’s former teammate in Kaiserslautern, commented: “We love you, Lars Bünning!”

Captain Hauptmann: “Lars’s video message was the most important thing”

The defender had suffered a brain hemorrhage a few days after the last game of the season. According to the club, it occurred spontaneously and without any external cause. Dresden’s sporting director, Sören Gonther, described it at the time as a “moment of absolute shock” in which soccer took a complete back seat.

The relief was all the greater when the defender’s video message was shown on the scoreboard on Saturday. Since the start of preseason training, the team had taken the field in friendly matches with Bünning’s image and the words “Fight together!” on their jersey sleeves.

“Lars’s video message was the most important thing today. That was really very special and gave us a good feeling,” the “Bild” newspaper quoted Dynamo captain Niklas Hauptmann as saying. Coach Thomas Stamm explained: “It was important that everyone was brought up to a certain level of understanding. But we wanted Lars’s family to decide together with him when that would be.”