Almost two years after suffering cardiac arrest, former Bundesliga striker Bas Dost has officially ended his career. The Dutchman gave up his dream of a comeback due to health concerns.
Bas Dost experienced a lot during his active career, including triumphs in the 2014/15 DFB Cup and the Super Cup the following season with VfL Wolfsburg, for whom the 1.96-meter center forward scored a total of 48 goals in 117 competitive games between 2012 and 2016. However, the Dutchman will always remember October 29, 2023, above all else. In extra time of the match between Alkmaar and Nijmegen, for whom Dost had been playing since August 2023, the then 34-year-old collapsed in the center circle without any contact from an opponent and remained motionless on his back. Paramedics and medical staff rushed to his aid to save the striker’s life, as it turned out later.
In June, the dream of a comeback bursts
After numerous examinations, myocarditis was finally identified as the cause of the collapse, which “can have various causes and serious consequences,” as Dost himself explained a few days after the accident. He struggled with the heart muscle inflammation for over a year and a half—even playing catch with his son in the garden was too dangerous. Nevertheless, Dost, who had since had a defibrillator implanted, did not give up on his dream of returning to the pitch. In April of this year, he rejoined NEC Nijmegen’s team training until he “received a call from the cardiologist in June. Something had been detected during training,” Dost recalled in an interview with Algemeen Dagblad, referring to the moment that “changed everything” and ultimately led him to end his career for good after two weeks of deliberation.
“You’re scared to death when you hear that you’ve had a cardiac arrest. That’s not how you want to end your football career. You want to decide that for yourself. It’s a shame I couldn’t do that,” the Dutchman explained.
Two years on, Dost still feels immense gratitude towards his rescuers, whom he met in person for the first time during the report: “I can’t put into words how grateful I am to them,” he said face to face. “Without them, I wouldn’t be here anymore. Thank you so much for saving my life.”
In addition to his time in Wolfsburg, the former striker also played for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga between 2019 and 2021 (43 games, 15 goals). He played in 18 competitive games for the Dutch national team, but only scored one goal in a friendly against Wales in 2015.
