After more than a year and a half of suffering, Jean-Paul Boëtius is finally back on the pitch. The former Basel professional makes his emotional comeback in Darmstadt.
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- After a long forced break, Jean-Paul Boëtius is returning to professional football. The former FC Basel professional makes his debut for SV Darmstadt.
- "Darmstadt was the only club that immediately believed in me and gave me the time to get back to my level," says the Dutchman after his comeback.
- His first game was lost 1-0 against Paderborn, which is why Boëtius is "a bit sore". Nevertheless, he is extremely grateful to have been given a chance in Darmstadt.
Jean-Paul Boëtius has had to wait 610 days for this moment: on Sunday, he will be substituted in the 79th minute of the Bundesliga 2 match between Darmstadt and Paderborn. It will be the Dutchman's first match since May 27, 2023.
In September 2022, Boëtius, then still under contract with Hertha BSC, was diagnosed with testicular cancer. However, he made his comeback after just four weeks. In March 2024, he was again diagnosed with a tumor, which forced him to undergo further cancer treatment and brought his professional career to a standstill.
Boëtius, who made 23 appearances for FC Basel between 2015 and 2016, was without a club for a long time and struggled to find a new one. Until SV Darmstadt approached him this winter. "Of course I'm grateful for the opportunity," the 30-year-old told Sky after his debut. "Darmstadt were the only club who immediately believed in me and gave me the time to get back to my level."
"I'm a bit sore"
He will still need a while. "The feeling isn't there at the moment, I have to be honest," admits Boëtius. The game against Paderborn was lost 1:0. And even if the result should be a minor matter, the midfielder is annoyed after the defeat: "I hate losing. And we lost today. That's why I'm still a bit angry."
Darmstadt only introduced Boëtius as a new signing last Wednesday, and now his first game has already followed. "I hadn't planned to make my debut now, but the week went really well and that's why I was able to play 10 to 15 minutes today," he explained after the game.
However, his coach Florian Kohfeldt is also putting the brakes on a little and cannot yet say whether Boëtius will be back in the squad for the next game on Friday in Nuremberg: "We'll have to see how he copes and how the week goes."
