On September 18th, it was announced by Rangers that Fernando Ricksen had passed away after six-year battle with motor neurone disease.
The 43-year-old was diagnosed back in 2013, and spent the following years campaigning and raising money to find a cure for his condition.
Ricksen’s efforts were appreciated and admired by football supporters generally, and his passing has been one of the few events which can bring Celtic and Rangers supporters together.
Around the same time of his diagnosis, he published an autobiography called ‘Fighting Spirit’, written by Vincent De Vries, who so happened to also be a good friend of the footballer.
De Vries travelled to Glasgow this week to attend Ricksen’s funeral, and gave an interview to 1Limburg about his relationship with the former Rangers man over the past few years, and, like others have already, he mentioned the effort from Celtic and their supporters.
Pictured just outside Ibrox, in front of the shirts, flowers, scarves and flags, the writer couldn’t help but notice: “When I came to walk here, I thought: well… What you see now is wonderful to see. You see Celtic colours, you see everything. That’s fantastic to see.”
That the city’s arch rivals came together to pay their respects, and that Celtic scarves were alongside those of Rangers, clearly means a lot to De Vries, who stood by his friend and assisted him throughout his battle with motor neurone disease, as Ricksen believed strongly he would be ‘the first to beat the disease’.
De Vries said: “Fernando did say: I am the first who will survive, but the last time [he saw him], it was so difficult, you knew it could not be long.”
The writer explains that final visit with Ricksen prepared him for the worst: “Normally, I would be there for about two to three hours, but that time, I could only stay for one minute. He typed the English word ‘tired’ with his eyes: ‘tired’. That’s when I knew: it won’t be long.
“That also proved to be the case, because a few days later, he told everyone: I don’t want anyone to stop by, I don’t want anymore contact with the outside world. I think he had already said goodbye.”
As 1Limburg put it, that fear became reality last week as De Vries received a phone call from Veronika, Ricksen’s girlfriend, who told him the news.
Ricksen’s funeral will take place on Wednesday afternoon, with the procession passing through Glasgow before briefly stopping outside Ibrox, where Rangers fans will be able to pay their respects to the man who brought them so much joy during his six years at the club.
The service will then take place at 3pm at Wellington church.
