The Champions League match against Real Madrid was a night to remember for Sébastien Thill. Sheriff Tiraspol’s midfielder gave his team victory in the final minute with a wonderful goal and his team leads the group with Real, Internazionale and Shakhtar Donetsk. Thill also became Luxembourg’s first ever goalscorer in the Champions League, while he has only been active as a professional footballer for a year.
Thill said before the game with the Daily Mail that he wouldn’t run for a shirt swap afterwards. And the midfielder kept his word. “Even if I had wanted to exchange my shirt, I couldn’t have done it,” he tells So Foot. “As soon as the game was over, I fell through my legs because of the cramp. I shouldn’t think about running after someone for a shirt. I’ve never done that before, it’s not my thing. If I standing next to a player in the tunnel, okay. Something like that has to happen spontaneously.”
THIS IS NOT NORMAL ?? Sheriff beats the great Real with this great goal in the final phase and takes the lead in Group D ?? What a bizarre story is this turning into??#ZiggoSport #UCL #RMASHE pic.twitter.com/wmf05nomnJ
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 28, 2021
The fact that Thill has only been active as a professional football player for a year gives the story a golden edge. “Before I signed with Tiraspol, I had a job next to football,” the Luxembourger admits. “I was working in the municipality of Differdange. I looked after the grounds. I mowed the grass of the Jos-Haupert stadium (stadium Differdange 03, ed.) where I played on Sunday. I picked up the branches that fell from the trees and raked up leaves each other. That experience gave me a special bond with the field.”
Thill was not particularly impressed by the turf in the Santiago Bernabéu. “It was nothing special,” said the midfielder. “I was even a little disappointed. They had just laid some big rolls of grass.” Thill acknowledges that becoming a professional footballer has never been a goal for him. “Until my two little brothers turned pros. I was so happy for them that I wanted to too. I told myself I didn’t want to end my career with regrets and went for it. years ago, I might have had an even better career, and I will always ask myself that question.”
The midfielder had to switch a button for that. Against Shakhtar Donetsk, he was the player with the most kilometers on the field: twelve. “I used to be a bit crazy, I wanted to enjoy life and for me that meant smoking and drinking with friends. Food wise it was also a bit rubbish. I ate pizza at ten in the morning. I’m six kilos from that lost weight. In retrospect, I actually think that smoking a cigarette every now and then is not so bad. There are plenty of football players who smoke.”