“Nice to see you”
96 professional surprises sick ball boy
01/24/2025 – 12:26 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
While playing football, Pio suddenly suffers severe paralysis. With prominent support, he fought his way back to life.
Last summer, Pio played football with his friends on Moltkeplatz in Hanover. It was actually a normal Sunday. But suddenly the boy had severe pain in his shoulder and his hand went numb. Shortly afterwards he was completely paralyzed on the right side of his neck and a little later on the left side of his body. This is reported by second division team Hannover 96, where Pio works as a ball boy.
At the Hanover Medical School, the student received the diagnosis: He suffers from arteriovenous malformations (AVM). Malformations of the vessels in the spinal cord lead to neurological failures – such as paralysis. Pio had to spend four days in intensive care. His paralysis receded, but neurological deficits remained. The student went on to a specialist in Essen and to rehab in Geesthacht, where he first had to learn to walk again.
Motivation came from 96 defender Marcel Halstenberg: He sent the football fan a video with encouraging words and a signed jersey. For Pio it was “mega” – “it felt kind of surreal,” he said later, according to the club.
The boy has been able to go to school again since autumn 2024, and shortly before Christmas he was again on the sidelines as a ball boy for the 96 professionals. After the home game against SV Darmstadt 98, he received his very special “welcome back”: Marcel Halstenberg walked up to him with the words “Nice to see you, Pio” and invited him to take a look at the professional dressing rooms.
There he was able to talk to more of his idols and take a closer look at the football club’s premises. According to his mother, the 14-year-old later said it was the best day of his life so far.