#2 Fabrice Muamba
Fabrice Muamba’s tragic story is one of immense courage in the face of adversity. Muamba began his career at Arsenal before moving to Birmingham City, and then spending the next years of his career at the Reebok stadium, home to Bolton Wanderers .
On the 17th of March 2012 during Bolton's FA Cup quarter-final tie against Tottenham Hotspur the world was left shocked and it was not because of the quality of football. Midway through the game Fabrice Muamba all of 24 suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed on the pitch.
In a shocking revelation, doctors said Muamba’s heart had stopped beating for an astonishing 78 minutes. He was given 15 defibrillator shocks before his heart started beating again.
Muamba then spent around four weeks in intensive care, before being discharged from hospital on 16 April. Sixteen days later he returned to the very stadium where he collapsed. In an emotional speech, Fabrice thanked God, the doctors and the fans for all their support in the process announcing his retirement from professional football.
Muamba’s story is inspiring and at the same time reminds us that there are a lot more important things in life than football.
