“Want to get to know you”
Cancer spread: Klopp sends moving message to 14-year-olds
November 18, 2025 – 01:45Reading time: 2 minutes
The daughter of former HSV professional Dennis Diekmeier is battling cancer. Now Jürgen Klopp has sent a message that gives hope.
Jürgen Klopp greeted the seriously ill daughter of former HSV professional Dennis Diekmeier in a touching video message. 14-year-old Delani had been battling a kidney tumor for months – doctors gave him little chance of survival.
The former success coach conveyed touching words to Delani Diekmeier, who suffers from cancer, in a video for the charity association “Legends for Life”. The 14-year-old daughter of former Bundesliga professional and HSV player Dennis Diekmeier has been battling a kidney tumor for months that has spread to her lungs. Since then, he has undergone several operations and chemotherapy, but the family says doctors did not give him much chance of survival.
He admired him for his strength, power and positive attitude, for all that, Klopp said in the video. “It’s not easy, but you can do it every day.” Recalling the days when he was sometimes unable to do just that, Klopp spoke about faith. You can believe in God, but you can also “just believe in the future.” Faith means not knowing what will happen in the future. Allowed to dream.
“And to dream you have to use a bit of your imagination,” says the former successful coach who now works as head of football at Red Bull. “So what can we do in the future. What can we do next year? What do we want to do?” The 58-year-old is thinking about possible events such as concerts or the next World Cup. “I really want to get to know you,” the 58-year-old finally said – and wished her “the best”, accompanied by a lot of strength and confidence.
Dennis Diekmeier played professionally for Hamburger SV for eight years and was most recently assistant coach at regional league team SV Sandhausen, where he also spent his final years as an active professional footballer. She had been resting there for several months due to her daughter’s illness.
“A year ago our lives were fine. In January, the ground beneath our feet was torn apart,” said the 36-year-old during HSV’s match against Borussia Dortmund at the Volksparkstadion. He said of his daughter: “She was a brutal fighter. The joy of life she exuded with this disease was extraordinary.”
