“It’s difficult,” says fifty-year-old Overmars. “I have to gasp for air when I talk a lot and it takes energy to keep my focus. My heart is 45 percent dead. Then I don’t have to explain how I feel.”
Overmars suffered a heart attack in December last year and was admitted to hospital. The former winger suffered irreparable damage to his heart, but has returned to work at his club Antwerp since January. “I’d rather die here than do nothing.”
“You don’t have to feel sorry for me either. I’m a happy man. I have to distribute my strength well. If there are a few important points or appointments on the agenda, then I focus on them. Then recover the day after .”
Meanwhile, Overmars is working on his fitness under supervision. “But it is so tough. I have had several injuries in my career, but this is different. I have since found out that I will retire earlier because of this. Ah, it is life. Everyone has setbacks to deal with. “
Overmars has been director of football affairs at Antwerp since March. Less than two months earlier, he had to leave Ajax because of transgressive behaviour. The appointment of Mark van Bommel as a trainer was one of Overmars’ first acts at the Belgian club.
Since the arrival of Overmars and Van Bommel, Antwerp has had a successful season. The club of Vincent Janssen, Calvin Stengs and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, among others, won the cup last Sunday and is still in the race for the championship.
“My ultimate dream is to hear the music of the Champions League in this stadium, but we are not ready for that at the moment,” says Overmars. “We have nothing to look for there for the time being.”
In Belgium, the top two of the play-offs for the championship qualify for the preliminary rounds of the Champions League. Antwerp is currently second, two points behind leader KRC Genk.
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