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TEAM FRIENDS: Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Andy Cole played together at Manchester United. Photo: Scanpix
Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole (48) describes the past five years as hell. The Englishman is still struggling with the effects of a kidney transplant in 2017.
– There are many, many times that I want to give up. Not just life, but everything. It gets very difficult. I had problems last Wednesday. It was completely unexpected and I had to stay in bed. I recognized defeat and accepted that it was not my day. In the past, I would have fought, but after all, I know I can’t win it, Cole says of the mental challenges in an interview with The Guardian.
– The past five years have been horrible, says the former national team leader.
After scoring 68 goals in 84 games for Newcastle, Sir was brought to Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson in 1995. The forward played six seasons and won the Premier League in five of them. He had great success with the Norwegians Ole Gunnar Solskjær (47), Henning Berg (50) and Ronny Johnsen (50). At United, he scored 121 goals in 275 games.
In 2001 Cole was bought by Blackburn, where he played with Egil Østenstad until 2003. The Norwegian believes it is sad to hear the challenges of his former teammate.
– It is sad to hear that an old teammate is struggling and it is obviously difficult. Cole was a great signing and a great name when he came to Blackburn. It had nothing special to do with him besides playing together, but I remember him as a calm and a bit modest guy, Østenstad tells VG.
Collection started
Cole is currently deputy director at Southend United at level three in England. He tells The Guardian that many believe that people who have undergone successful transplants are doing well, but that is not always the case.
– I’m still here. That is the most important. But people don’t understand what you’re going through when you have this disease. They look at a patient who has had a transplant and say, “You’re fine. You look great. You can vote externally, but there are a lot of things going on inside. You have challenges with your medicine and your mood, Cole says.
Now he has started a fund with “Kidney Research UK”. The goal is to raise money to contribute to kidney transplants and the patient’s well-being. Three million people in the UK have kidney disease, according to The Guardian.
At BLACKBURN: Egil Østenstad is here to fight Leeds corks Lucas Radebe and Jonathan Woodgate in 2002. Photo: Erik Hannemann, VG
I don’t like my own body
Cole visited Kidney Research UK’s research department and made a great impression hearing one of the doctors there share his experiences.
– What really surprised me was when he said that so many people hated their bodies after a transplant. The thought is, “I can’t look at myself. I hate myself.” That is the process I went through. I look at the scars on my chest and stomach and I think they’re gross. But when you hear that there are so many people going through the same thing, you want to help, Cole says.
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