German second division club Union Berlin have rallied around 34-year-old midfielder Benjamin Kohler, who was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma when doctors found a malignant tumor in his stomach. The club quickly acted by extending his contract, which was due to expire at the end of this season, until 2016.
But with Kohler in the stands for Union’s 2. Bundesliga match against Bochum, his teammates organized another show of support by getting their opponents to agree to halt the match in the eighth minute (they were shooting for the seventh minute, since that’s Kohler’s shirt number, but couldn’t quite get the timing down) and leading everyone in the stadium in applauding him.