Barcelona defender Eric Abidal insists he never gave up his fight to continue his football career after making his long awaited return in Barcelona’s 5-0 win over Mallorca on Saturday.
Abidal, 33, was sidelined after undergoing a liver transplant almost a year ago, completing a two year ordeal with illness following the removal of a liver tumour in March 2011.
The France international was substituted in the 70th minute of Barca’s rout to a rousing reception from the Camp Nou crowd, his first appearance for the Blaugrana since February 2012.
Abidal took a significant step in his comeback last month when he featured for Barcelona’s reserve team and Coach Tito Vilanova, who also returned to the Camp Nou sidelines from illness, had no hesitation in promoting him to the first team for the La Liga clash.
After the match, Abidal revealed a t-shirt that read: “Thanks my cousin. Number 13.”
It was a tribute to the cousin who donated part of his liver to the Frenchman.
“This is special for me after a year out. Thanks to my cousin and all the people I met in the hospital. They were all important,” Abidal told Canal Plus television. “I can fight, I will always fight – and I’ll try to do my best. Let’s hope it’s a great year. Without my cousin I wouldn’t be here.
“My advice to people in the same situation is to fight hard, to be grateful to God and to pray a lot.”
Abidal admits he was motivated to return in a bid to finish his career on his own terms.
Assistant Coach Jordi Roura admitted Abidal’s return was a motivator for Barca and praised the depth of the Catalan giants in the absence of Lionel Messi.
“Abidal’s return is an important moment for the whole squad,” Roura said. “If Messi’s not there, of course it’s a problem, but we’ve shown again we have the necessary squad depth and quality players.
Results
International Friendly
Bolivia 0-4 Brazil
Barclays Premier League
Reading 0-2 Southampton
Norwich City 2-2 Swansea
Stoke City 1-3 Aston Villa
West Brom 1-2 Arsenal
English League Championship
Birmingham City 1-1 Millwall
Bolton Wanderers 2-0 Wolves
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Leicester City
Burnley 3-1 Bristol City
Charlton Athletic 2-1 Leeds
Crystal Palace 0-0 Barnsley
Derby County 0-1 Ipswich
Huddersfield 2-2 Peterborough
Hull City 1-0 Middlesbrough
Nottingham 1-1 Blackpool
Sheffield 3-2 Blackburn
Watford 0-0 Cardiff City
Scottish Premier League
Heart of Midlothian 4-2 Ross
Celtic 3-0 Hibernian
Dundee United 1-0 Aberdeen
Kilmarnock 1-2 Dundee
Motherwell 2-2 St Mirren
Spanish Primera División
Real Sociedad 4-2 Malaga
Real Madrid 5-1 Levante
Deportivo 3- 2 Zaragoza
Barcelona 5-0 Mallorca
Italian Serie A
Juventus 2-1 US Pescara
Bologna 2-2 Torino
German Bundesliga
Leverkusen 1-1 VfL Wolfsburg
Dortmund 4-2 FC Augsburg
Monchengladbach 1-0 Greuther Furth
Eintracht 0-1 Bayern
Bremen 0-2 Schalke 04
Hamburg SV 0-1 SC Freiburg
French Ligue 1
Rennes 0-2 PSG
AS Nancy Lorraine 1-0 Troyes
Bastia 4-0 Brest
Montpellier 3-1 Valenciennes
Sochaux 0-0 AC Ajaccio
Toulouse 3-4 Nice
Dutch Eredivisie
Vitesse Arnhem 3-0 NAC
Zwolle 1-1 RKC Waalwijk
Twente Enschede 2-0 Roda
Willem II Tilburg 1-3 PSV
Portuguese Liga
Lisbon 3-2 Moreirense
Turkish Super Lig
Buyuksehir 2-2 Karabukspor
Kayserispor 4-1 Elazigspor
Galatasaray 3-1 Idmanyurdu
Greek Super League
Kerkyra 1-2 Levadiakos
PAOK Salonika 2-0 Veria
Atromitos 0-1 Aris Salonika
Belgian Jupiler League
Standard Liege 0-0 Anderlecht
KV Kortrijk 0-0 KAA Gent
Bergen Mons 2-1 Lierse
Charleroi SC 3-0 OH Leuven
Beveren 1-0 KV Mechelen