GENOVA (VG) National team player Morten Thorsby (25) believes that football “finally” begins to take more social responsibility. The sanctions against Russia after the invasion of Ukraine make the Italy professional very satisfied.
– Football and politics obviously belong together in my head, it would be wrong to say something else. That debate is dead now. Football is the world’s largest popular culture and social phenomenon. It gathers almost half the world’s population. It is entirely possible to drive change, says the Oslo boy Thorsby to VG in his Italian “hometown” Genoa.
The 25-year-old is best known for his fearless dueling power for the coastal city club Sampdoria in the Italian top division Serie A and on the Norwegian national team midfield. Now he is in the process of preparing for the private international matches against Slovakia (Friday) and Armenia (Tuesday).
He moved abroad early and has paved the way for an increasing number of Norwegian players in the boot country. Off the field, he is at the forefront of environmental awareness and the “green shift”.
In the interview with VG, he addresses several elements he believes show that football has “taken steps” in the right direction. First, he points out the way the giants’ “Super League”, a proposed closed league for only the richest and largest clubs in the world, brutally beaten to the ground on.
– It was a supporter uprising from the bottom that started it. There was massive opposition from ordinary people. It shattered the football tops’ proposal. This and more shows that things have started to happen, which did not happen seven years ago, says the Oslo boy and refers to when he, in his late teens, began to get properly involved.
1 of 3Photo: Vegard Aulstad, VG
Although he is most often described as an environmental man, Thorsby has previously reacted to the way homosexuality is viewed outside of Norway. He has seen both in Italy, and elsewhere, that racism in football have had to have many a marking to focus on the challenges.
At the same time, he addresses women’s rights in sport as another place where “movement” has been seen. And even he was on a national team as with his Qatar selections in the World Cup qualifiers to the championship in the desert state, brought with him several teams in the work of focusing on human rights.
Now he is giving an appreciative nod to the neighboring country after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
– What Sweden did, that they took a very early position and did not want to play against Russia (in this month’s World Cup playoffs), was absolutely crucial that FIFA eventually banned them. People must dare to speak out. It is brave and it shows that such things must come from the bottom up. Now clubs, sponsors and leaders have been clear, says Thorsby. Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic, who were drawn in the same “group” as Russia, were all clear that it was inappropriate to play the World Cup playoff against the Russians.
Thorsby, who has previously said that the most important thing he can do for the environment is to become the best possible in football, has used his status in Italy to launch his own campaign called “We Play Green”.
He has met the Italian Minister of the Environment and VG is informed that Serie A is considering the proposal to incorporate the campaign’s emblem on the players’ shirts at an appropriate opportunity in the match.
The Norwegian has previously chosen a car instead of flying to battle, he picks plastic when he is on the beach in Italy with his teammates – and is annoyed that it is not adapted for cycling in the city to the same extent as in the Netherlands. There you can still see the national team profiles Virgil van Dijk and Memphis Depay come cycling to training sessions.
For this interview, he came driving in a Tesla. Currently, there are few electric cars to see on the beautiful roads in the country.
– Now it has exploded worldwide. Now they’re actually talking about it in the locker room here too. Several players are considering switching. I have not heard the environment be discussed, as now, earlier in my career. I notice things are starting to happen, and now petrol prices are so high that it hopefully forces people to change, grins Thorsby.
In 2018, he received a Norwegian talent award with the title «Statoil» as an 18-year-old. It did not go down well with the then environmentally conscious Heerenveen player. Hear why:
Thorsby thrives in Italy and has been linked with top clubs such as Atalanta. In the summer, there may be a transition for the Norwegian.
But right now it’s about keeping a place in the league, since Sampdoria has underperformed for a long time and could be involved in the relegation battle.
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