Anyone who has lost a loved one, regardless of the reason or the age of the person, knows the sudden emptiness and powerlessness that engulfs the lives of those mourning a beloved relative or friend. Each person deals with such a situation in their own way.
Our way began on the tram line 5, en route to our former favourite pub. It was only a few weeks after Jürgen had left us. Jürgen spent his last years in Vienna, which allowed us to revive our old friendship, if only briefly. On the days and moments when his health allowed, Jürgen’s tremendous joy was tangible when watching football with us, playing table football or just chatting about everything under the sun. The shared energy we felt was beautiful.
From now on we had to continue without him …
As the saying goes, people of the same kind stick together. We hope.
The many facets of his character are difficult to put into words, just as it is with any person, but he was something very special. His academic and human accomplishments were the result of his curiosity and openness to all people and challenges, stemming from the sincerity, warmth and honesty of his character. The freedom of his thinking and the unrestrained urge for development and progress made him an outstanding scientist, perhaps even a visionary, without losing sight of the essentials, his love for family and friends. All this and much more he skilfully combined in his personality. Anyone who knew Jürgen, knew what wood he was carved from as his nature was foreign to any notions of discouragement or resignation.
Not in his hardest hours nor in his last.
It was therefore all the more difficult for us to understand his loss. As the fog and cold settled over our city that evening, terrible sadness befell our lives. In the wake of Jürgen’s passing, our thoughts often circled around him – he was the content of our conversations. Also on the tram line 5 at that time. None of us could or wanted to simply accept what had happened and let time eventually take its course. We had to do something.
Our hands must not rest, our legs must not cease!
We, his closest friends and family, refused to accept that his brave fight had been in vain and his name would fade with time. We wanted, we had to keep fighting. However, not to return to normality but encouraged by his story to channel our grief into a communal endeavour that strives to support those that have their bravest battle lying ahead of them. As Jürgen would have done.
Our hands must not rest, our legs must not cease!
Many hours were spent together during sports, whether it be at school or on the football field. Sports connected us all, in our twenties and also in this hopeless situation. As challenging as his last few weeks were, by bringing the charity football tournament into being, we felt sure that it would not only help us feel connected to Jürgen but also reflect his unique character – enthusiastic and eager to learn, invariably aware of his roots, attentive to the people around him and impassionate about the future without losing sight of the big picture. And above all, with a smile on his face and a seemingly effortless ease that knew no bounds.
Football has and will continue to unite us. With all this in mind, the idea of the Jürgen Wagner charity football tournament was born.