Marc Bartra: Borussia Dortmund defender’s ‘hardest 15 minutes of my life’

MARC Bartra says he experienced the “hardest 15 minutes” of his life when Borussia Dortmund’s team bus was damaged by explosions in Germany.

The defender had an operation after fracturing his wrist in the incident.

It led to Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Monaco being postponed and played a day later.

“These days when I look at my wrist, swollen and badly wounded, you know what I feel? Pride,” the 26-year-old Spaniard said on Instagram on Friday.

Three explosive devices containing metal pieces went off when Dortmund were on their way to the game at their Signal Iduna Park home ground.

German police have detained a suspect with “Islamist links” following the attack.

Former Barcelona player Bartra, the only player to be injured, added: “I look at it proudly, thinking that all the damage they wanted to do to us on Tuesday stayed in this [injury].”

Bartra, who is expected to return to training in a month, has had regular visits from his family since being admitted to hospital.

“They are my everything, the reason I struggle to overcome obstacles and this has been the worst of my life, an experience I would not want anyone in this world [to have],” he said.

“The pain, the panic and the uncertainty of not knowing what was going on, or how long it would last… were the longest and hardest 15 minutes of my life.”

“I think that the shock is decreasing more and more and, at the same time, it adds to the desire to live, to fight, to work, to laugh, to cry, to feel, to love, to believe, to play, to train, to continue to enjoy my people, loved ones, companions, my passion, to defend, to smell the grass as I do before the game starts and motivate me.

“The only thing I ask is for everyone to live in peace and to leave behind the wars.”

Monaco won the rescheduled match 3-2 on Wednesday.

 

SOURCE: BBC SPORT