It is almost two months since the sudden departure of Phil O’ Donnell from the world of the living doing what he has done the best, helping humanity by playing the game of football [soccer] in his country of Scotland for Motherwell. It is sad that he had to leave us at the age of thirty five. When I heard of his death on December of 2007, I felt like I had been kicked in the groin, followed by a kick in the stomach, and then amputated without anaesthesia. For the multitude of readers who may think that this is an exagerration, the reality is that the left side of my body [which has been affected by a car accident in 2006] became extremely painful and numb upon hearing of his death. My personal and physical pain and numbeness of my left side of the body exacerbated as I heard the next door neighbor blaring out his compact disc recording of Sheryl Crow, Cat Stevens [now Yusuf Islam], and Rod Stewart’s hit «The First Cut Is The Deepest».

Phil O’ Donnell would not want us to remember how he left the Earth, he would want us to remember him as a humanitarian and a football player.
Phil O’ Donnell was born in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire in Scotland almost a few minutes from Motherwell’s ground called Fir Park. Phil O’ Donnell came into the world on the twenty fifth of March in the year 1972 and he was a great football player since his early years. It was not surprising that he started his career as a Midfielder for Motherwell, Celtic, and Sheffield Wednesday before making a triumphant return to Motherwell. His forty goals in two hundred and ninety eight appearances, and being the recipient of the Scottish FA Cup, Scottish Premier League Winner, and Scottish PFA Young Player of the year during his career were big contributions to Scottish Football. Phil O’ Donnell was also a family man who was hapily married and with four children. Phil O’ Donnell was an honourable and decent man who exalted football to bigger heights with his exemplary behaviour off and on the field.

On the fateful day of the twenty ninth of December 2007; just as he was going to be substituted [in the Motherwall Game against Dundee United] and was taken to Wishall Hospital where he died of left ventricular failure. Actually, the left ventricular failure was found in the Necropsy reports. [Remember Necropsy and Post Mortem reports are different words with the same definitions. Autopsy means to cut one self]. Regardless, Phil O’ Donnell has left us and with it a void in our football world.

Phil O’ Donnell may be in Heaven but he is still with us in Spirit always.