A young boy named Yassin took to the pitch during the French Ligue 1 game between Marseille and Rennes, and scored an unofficial goal.
His celebration? Let’s just say he took a page out of many professional futbol players’ books. He ripped his shirt off and did a knee slide in front of thousands of cheering fans.
“It was a surprise and I realized my dream,” the boy told the French media. “To score on this [field], in a stadium on fire, it is magic.”
Yassin was a crowd favorite not just for his goal, but for his ability to weather life without his father.
Ten years ago, Yassin’s father, also a huge Marseille fan, was killed in a bus accident that took the life of another man and injured 15 more Marseille fans.
The team invited Yassin to take part in the ceremonial kickoff, which is like the ceremonial first pitch in baseball, so he could honor his late father.
Yassin didn’t just kick the ball once at mid-field, as is customary. He took it all the way down the pitch and sent it into the back of the net.
Who doesn’t enjoy unexpected moments like this? Because the match ended in a tie (2-2), it’s fair to say that the “play of the game” was Yassin’s goal at the start. And, it’s a score worth remembering and celebrating for his entire life.
