KUALA LUMPUR: After an epic year of struggle to recover from cancer, Brendan Gan admitted that scoring against Sarawak United yesterday on his return to the Selangor FC squad was a beautiful and emotional moment.
The 34-year-old midfielder said all his sacrifices and positivity to fight the disease were indeed very challenging but ultimately rewarding as he was able to make a comeback from testicular cancer to play competitive football.
“Yesterday was a very emotional day for me and my family because I was finally able to return to the field after one year. I know this is not the desired level, but it means the world to be able to do one thing I really love, as well as help my teammates.
“I have gone through a lot of difficult times before I was able to get back to this level, and many don’t know what I had to do to fully recover.
“It doesn’t matter whether I score a goal or not because what is most important is that the team win and achieve what is targeted at the end of this season,“ he said in a statement from the Malaysian Football League (MFL) today.
In the Super League action last night, Brendan put Selangor into the lead after only seven minutes when he latched on to Quentin Cheng’s pass to rifle the ball home in the penalty box.
That sparked a goal rush for Selangor as they netted six more, with imported Brazilian striker Herlison Caion’s scoring a hattrick and Hyuri Henrique, Nor Hakim Hassan and Aliff Haiqal contributing one each.
Brendan hoped the Red Giants would not be lulled by the thumping victory but would stay focused as there are still many matches ahead.
“If we can keep up this pace in every match, it is not impossible for us to raise Selangor’s name again among the top teams,“ he said. - Bernama
