All that is left are the memories of a career which brought him to Brazil, Greece and Germany and will be honoured on Monday when his last club VfL Wolfsburg meet Bayern Munich in a charity match.

"Nowak, the idol" and "Our star from Poland" are some of the Brazilian newspaper headlines the former Polish interntaional playmaker has kept in a file.

Wolfsburg were only to be another stop en route to a dream engagement at Spanish giants Barcelona, but it turned out to be the end as Nowak played his last match on February 10, 2001.

That was three months after the first symptoms. The following month, March 2001, brought the terrible diagnosis after the numbness had reached his arms.
Nowak suffers from the rare nerve illness amyotrophic lateralsclerosis (ALS) which destroys the nerve system in the brain and spine, and with it the muscles.

In most cases the illness results in death after a few years and doctors still have to find a method to cure it. But Nowak said he was still hoping for a miracle."

"I am reading everything I can get hold of about my illness. I will try anything."
Doctors in Germany, the Netherlands, United States and Malaysia were unable to help him. The next stop will be to see specialists in Beijing.

Nowak gets plenty of support from his wife, Beata, and their children Maria-Magdalena (two years) and Maksymilian (seven), the latter by now aware that his father is seriously ill.

"My wife refuses to accept the fact that I am ill. The family is the key to a successful fight against the illness," Nowak said.

As important are the Wolfsburg club, who have supported Nowak over all the years and set up a Krzysztof-Nowak-Foundation to raise funds for other ASL victims.

"The great support from the fans and the club give my family and myself the strength to continue my fight," Nowak said.

Nowak still frequently visits his former team-mates, and coach Wolfgang Wolf insists that "he is still part of the team".

"Football was my life for 15 years. I can no longer play but my team-mates give me strength.

Nowak will be in his wheelchair on Monday for the game against Munich, who did not hesitate when Wolfsburg asked them to play in the charity match with all income going to the foundation.

"I hope that we can do our share to help," said Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

After all, the Bavarian top club were once also interested in signing Nowak.

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