The story
After diagnosis, chemo and stem cell transplant, the 31-year-old agronomist returned to play with the Aned national team
Montegranaro Matteo Gobbetti scoring a basket during the match against the Aned national team
Montegranaro Matteo Gobbetti scoring a basket during the match against the Aned national team
The dream of those who love basketball? Playing in the NBA or the national team. Marco Gobbetti, 31 years old, agronomist, after over a year and a half of therapies, needles, pain and fears, managed to achieve his. A few weeks ago, wearing the shirt of the Italian national team of Aned, the National Association of Hemodialysis and Transplant Patients returned to play in a real match, in Montegranaro, in the province of Fermo, in the Marche region, the historic city of Italian basketball. The first basket and the welcome, thrilling. «They said “welcome back” to me when I put in the first basket, and I was moved. Going back to really competing, feeling the competitive spirit, not just the shots in training was wonderful”, says Gobbetti.
A return to the parquet that has the flavor of rebirth. Because Matteo, only 18 months earlier, had played, without knowing it, what could have been the last match of his life. April 2024, Cerea Basketball jersey on, power forward role, center if necessary, is the match where he reaches a thousand points scored with the same jersey. A flag-bearing achievement. But from there, another story begins. «I always felt tired, I had a fever, something was wrong. Then I felt a swelling in my neck. After visits and a biopsy, the diagnosis arrived: stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma”, he says.
The first cycle of chemotherapy begins at the end of June at the Borgo Roma hospital. Heavy care, days in bed, severe pain. But it was there that he met Alberto Scapini, a 34-year-old architect from Raldon, also battling a serious illness. «It gave me incredible strength. He always told me: “You’ll see we’ll make it”. When I was feeling bad, he managed to cheer me up.” Alberto passed away on May 2, 2025, at the end of a battle with leukemia and mastocytosis, leaving a legacy of courage that Marco collected.
After the therapies, in November 2024 Marco seems to be recovering, but in December, a pain between his neck and shoulder and a new lump rekindle his fear. In February 2025, the diagnosis: early relapse. Doctors propose a more intensive path: autologous stem cell transplant, preceded by new chemotherapy. «They explained to me that healthy cells are taken before high-dose chemo, then reinfused to rebuild the immune system. I immediately said yes.” The transplant on June 27th. In mid-July Marco returns home, but his mind is already elsewhere: he wants to play again. The new season of Pallacanestro Cerea, after the summer break, is upon us. The company has created a satellite company in Bovolone. His former coach involves him.
In the meantime, tired of seeing others play, he starts searching the internet for information on how long a transplant recipient has to wait before returning to the field and thus discovers Aned. He wrote to the institution and was accepted. A few weeks ago the dream came true: in Montegranaro, he made his debut with the Aned national team shirt against a local selection. «I don’t know how many points I scored, but I perfectly remember the first basket and that word: “Welcome back” from my teammates. I was excited, returning to the field, feeling the competitive pressure after all this, it was exciting.”
Today Marco has returned to a normal life. «A month ago I also started traveling for work again. I just have to avoid crowded places, and I do quarterly checks, which will become less frequent. I’m lucky.” Thanks are many: «To father Pierluigi, mother Nadia, brothers Anna Elettra and Davide, to my girlfriend Simona, and to all the doctors, nurses and operators of the Borgo Roma hospital, Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant departments. Without them I wouldn’t be here.” And he closes with a strong message: «Donations of blood, marrow and organs are fundamental. They must be encouraged and told. They can save lives, in the departments I attended during my illness I understood how donation is a necessary value to pass on to future generations.”
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