Exclusive - Emotional Dominic Matteo on challenges after brain surgery and Leeds United and Liverpool support

The emotion is thick in his voice as Dominic Matteo reels off a list of Leeds United and Liverpool legends who have rallied around him in his time of real need.

The former Reds and Whites defender had surgery to remove around 95 per cent of a brain-tumour last November, before a ‘heavy’ dose of radiotherapy.

Although his last scan was clear, life remains very different for Matteo, who says the experience has left him a different person. The 46-year-old starts each day around 6am by taking 10 tablets, some of which he says he needs to stay alive and seizure-free.

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He’s having to re-learn how to read and write and working hard to put on the weight he lost. But as he describes his current reality, a stark one, Matteo is brimming with positivity. There’s no stopping him as he runs through a stream of consciousness. He’s determined, out of both necessity and will.

“It’s about keeping myself healthy and fit at the moment, getting some strength back into me,” he told The YEP.

“I lost a lot of weight.

“The one thing the oncologist speaks about always comes back to diet and the way you live your life, so I’m concentrating on my wellbeing. I’ve got to allow myself a biscuit or something but, in the main, I’m very strict with myself.

“I’m in a routine now that probably wouldn’t be enjoyable for most people but I try to make it as enjoyable as I can.

POSITIVE - Dominic Matteo is meeting his challenges with determination as he recovers from brain surgery and radiotherapy. Pic: GettyPOSITIVE - Dominic Matteo is meeting his challenges with determination as he recovers from brain surgery and radiotherapy. Pic: Getty
POSITIVE - Dominic Matteo is meeting his challenges with determination as he recovers from brain surgery and radiotherapy. Pic: Getty
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“Sometimes it’s impossible to make these green smoothies taste nice but it’s contributing to me getting better and has become the norm. Every day I see improvement in me I say ‘yes, come on Dom’ and talk to myself.

“When I do my training sessions, work in the gym or go for a run, I push myself.

“I’ve got cancer but cancer ain’t got me. I don’t even like to say that word in my house but it’s the truth.

“Living with it is difficult but I’m so motivated to achieve and have a long life – no guarantees but I’m going to give it the best shot I have.”

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Matteo, married with three children, has plenty of motivation to succeed in his rehabilitation and return to working life.

“Every time I get in a dark place I get out of it quick, I’ve got a family, it’s about a balance of the bigger picture,” he said.

“Learning to read and write again is very tough. At one point I didn’t know any letters.

“To hear me talk know you wouldn’t think that.

“I’m still struggling with certain things. They’ve said the chances of getting some things back aren’t great but I’m already making inroads.

“My brain is the thing I’m really working on at the minute.

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“I’ve got a scan in two weeks, I’m scanned every three months now, I’m getting ready for that. Nothing’s slacking for me. I’m going to give myself the best chance I can.”

He’s keen to help others in similar situations to give themselves the best chance too and finds that talking helps him as much as them.

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, what he has gone through has changed him. It has also left no room in his life for negative voices.

“I saw a guy in hospital when I was having my treatment, his cancer had come back and it really made me emotional and I just wanted to give him a cuddle,” he said.

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“I’m not a touchy-feely person but things change so fast when this kind of thing happens. You almost become a different person. We all live in a bubble and my bubble is completely different now; I just surround myself with positive people. That’s massive for me.”

Football, too, is massive for the former Scottish international defender.

And when he most needed the game, it was there for him.

The news of his illness and surgery came as a shock to many but provoked an immediate outpouring of love and support.

“The stuff like that, I get goosebumps talking about it,” he said. “It meant so much I could cry. I’ve never been a crier all my life but now it seems to spark emotion, when I think about the people who have helped me.”

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Getting emotional makes him think about Norman Hunter and Trevor Cherry, two Elland Road greats who passed away recently.

It makes him think about the footballing heroes who have helped him.

A Leeds United legend springs instantly to his mind.

“Eddie Gray was the first person to come and see me in hospital, they couldn’t stop him, he came on the bus to see me,” said Matteo.

“Someone like Eddie, an absolute legend and one of the best people you’ll ever meet. It really makes you think.

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“David O’Leary came to see me, big Viduks was on the phone, so many players I could mention from my time at Leeds; Erik Bakke one of my best mates when I played there, Michael Duberry, Gary Kelly, Stephen McPhail, Ian Harte, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler has been immense.

“We were close growing up and he’s really helped, we can just talk normally as if I’m not ill. It’s been so rewarding to speak to old football mates.

“Steve McManaman a legend for Liverpool and Real Madrid came to see me. I think people in the corridor at Jimmy’s [St James’s Hospital, Leeds] were like ‘is that Steve McManaman?’.

“We’re talking about superstars. Kenny Dalglish, the message he sent me, motivation doesn’t cover it. Incredible. I’ll never forget that, it’ll live with me forever.

“When he tells you something you listen.

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“Former players like Stevie Nichol, Ronnie Whelan, Graeme Souness, John Barnes, current players like Trent Alexander-Arnold, James Milner has been sending me messages regularly, voice messages because I couldn’t read.

“I don’t know Liam Cooper that well but messages from people like him and Stuart Dallas, just being really kind, it’s been massive for me.

“I can’t thank them all enough.”

The two clubs for whom he played most of his football, Liverpool and Leeds, have done their bit too, only deepening the love he has for the two teams he supports.

“Leeds and Liverpool have been really helping out with me, with my learning now and getting going again,” he said. “I’m so passionate about those two clubs. I was born and bred a Liverpool fan, you can’t change that, but I can’t help but I feel about Leeds. My missus’ dad lives over the road from Elland Road, my mate’s got a corner shop there, the area is ingrained in me; I loved playing for that club. I was devastated when I left but I feel so much positivity about that club and the way we’re going forward.”

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Matteo now has a life coach and, before lockdown, Leeds helped facilitate their meetings at Elland Road, so he could have those personal and sometimes difficult conversations that might be hard for family to hear.

Football has helped him to talk and talking football helps – he finds it easier to read when the sport is the subject of his learning and conversations about the game come easier. In full flow, he’s a joy to listen to.

“I’ve had days when I’ve been really low, but the last month has been really good for me and I’ve been really positive,” he said. There’s so much negativity around what I’ve got and around the world at the minute with Covid, I’m trying to be positive. I’m willing to talk, I want to help others.”

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