He played in Japan's third division and overcame cancer.

Ralf Seuntjens scored a penalty goal for Lommel in a 1:1 draw against St. Truiden in the opening match of the Belgian Jupiler Pro League. The goal came in the 24th minute and marked his first league goal in Belgium at the age of 37. It was also Lommel’s first goal in the top tier of Belgian football since 1999. Seuntjens has played just two seasons in the highest division before, with his last appearance seven years ago. The story of Seuntjens goes far beyond this single goal. His career has been largely under the radar, away from the spotlight. He left behind a professional path that took him to Japan's third division, where he discovered he had cancer. After overcoming the illness, he returned to football, signed with a second-tier Belgian club as a mentor, and instead became a key player, scoring 20 goals and helping Lommel return to the top flight after 23 years. A rare type of forward Standing at 194 centimeters, Seuntjens represents a nearly extinct type of forward, true central attackers who excel in one-on-one situations, holding the ball, and scoring goals. His career has been far from glamorous. He has played for clubs such as RBC Roosendaal, Den Bosch, Telstar, VVV-Venlo, De Graafschap, NAC Brede, Japanese FC Imabari, and now Lommel. According to available data, he has scored 166 goals in his career. Most of his career has been spent in the second tier of Dutch football, where he was a serious goal-scorer. In the 2015/16 season, he was the league's top scorer with 28 goals. A year later, he helped VVV-Venlo win the second division. He played two full seasons in the Eredivisie with VVV-Venlo but did not become a major star there. He was a solid, reliable, and useful attacker. He scored five goals and recorded eight assists in the top tier. Players with careers similar to his often become local legends in smaller clubs where they scored crucial goals, but rarely receive wider attention. Seuntjens gained attention from mainstream Dutch media for the worst possible reason. He went to Japan's third division and found out he had cancer In March 2022, he joined FC Imabari, a club in Japan's third division. This was his first real international challenge, but after a few weeks everything stopped. Following a medical examination due to shoulder problems, a tumor was discovered, and he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Seuntjens had to undergo treatment, and football suddenly became completely irrelevant. In January 2023, it was announced that he had overcome the disease, and in June of the same year, he returned to the field for Imabari after 409 days away from the game. That alone would have been enough to consider him a great winner. He overcame cancer, returned to football, regained his professional rhythm, and by the end of 2023, signed with De Graafschap. But even there, the end did not turn out as he imagined. Last summer, it seemed he would retire. “The fire has gone out,” he told Dutch media after a difficult season with De Graafschap. Then Jeffrey van As, Lommel’s sporting director and an old friend, called him. He invited him as a mentor, an experienced forward who could help the young team, maintain standards during training, be useful in the dressing room, and occasionally play on the pitch. Seuntjens stated that Lommel had always been clear to him, that the role suited him, and that his passion for football had returned. He came as a mentor, but ended up becoming a hero Seuntjens did not remain just a mentor in Lommel, but became the main striker. In a season he would never have played without a series of circumstances, he scored 20 goals and added 10 assists in 38 matches. The club decided to extend his contract and, after entering the top flight, the most important moment arrived in the playoff final for entry into the Jupiler Pro League. Lommel won their first match against Dender 3:2, and Seuntjens scored two goals. The return match ended 0:0, and Lommel returned to the highest level of Belgian football after 23 years. A man who had come earlier in the summer as a veteran from retirement to be a small addition to the team became one of the pivotal figures in the club’s historic achievement.