Brother Matrazi: ALS has taken away my hope, Ibrahimovic cheers me up

August 7th, Matteo Matrazi talked about his struggle with amyotrophic cervix in an interview with the Republic.

As the younger brother of 2006 World Cup champion Marco Matrazi (former Inter star and former Italian international), Matteo almost completely lost the function of his limbs. "This is a terrible disease because it takes away some of your athletic ability every day. I need help from others to go to the toilet, take a shower and get on and off the bus. I also need someone to feed me when I eat. Although I can still use my fingers, I can no longer raise my arms."

Mateo is currently with his family in Porto Tavana, Sardinia. More than a year ago, he realized something was wrong with his body: "I remember a football game in March 2024. I had a difficult time running. Later, I had a test, including an MRI in contrast, which ruled out multiple musclerosis and ALS." Two months later, Matteo watched a game with his son. He recalled: "I was wearing shorts, suddenly lost my balance in the audience, fell heavily, and my legs were curled up. Marcisio (former Juventus star) noticed the abnormality and was worried. His wife, Mulla, asked me if I would contact Professor Sabatelli in Rome. On September 4, I met Professor Sabatelli, and it took almost a short time to diagnose it as ALS."

Mulla launched a fundraising campaign, and many people in the football industry donated money. "Columbia University requires us to provide 1.5 million euros to fund the production of ASO, an artificial gene fragment that suppresses ALS, and a laboratory in Santiago requires us to provide 1 million euros to synthesize the drug, which is being used in Italy."

"We will try our best to raise funds, but I don't know if I have enough time. So far, we have raised 200,000 euros. Thanks to Conte and his wife Elizabeth, Simeone Inzag and his wife Gaia, and those who donated 5 euros. Ibrahimovic I also sent me a message with an emoji attached to it, cheering me up."

Mateo also talked about his relationship with his wife, Maulah: "She is my beacon, giving me the strength to keep going, otherwise I would have given up. We were separated before I was diagnosed. We got together again after I got sick. Without her, I would be lost. "

" What scares me the most is that I cannot see the children grow up. This disease makes me unable to have hope. As long as I can still act, I will do my best to live. At night I dreamed that I was running."