1. FC Union Berlin does not get an ordinary kicker in Morten Thorsby: the Norwegian is considered the "Greta Thunberg of football" because of his fight for the environment. A small detail will surprise him at his new club in Berlin-Köpenick.
It is quite possible that Dirk Zingler will now have to rethink. Morten Thorsby shouldn't like the fact that the president of the "cult club" Union Berlin doesn't want to see vegan sausages in the stadium. The newcomer from Köpenick is considered a "green kicker", he fights against climate change and for environmental protection, in Italy they called him "Greta Thunberg of football". And: Thorsby calls for less meat consumption.
The 26-year-old had his awakening experience in 2014 when he followed a series of reports. "I was sad, desperate and angry," he said, "I was scared of the climate." His job as a professional suddenly seemed pointless to him, he thought about quitting - and started to get involved. First on a small scale.
Thorsby cycled to training and soon infected his colleagues at SC Heerenveen, who had initially laughed at him. When he joined Sampdoria Genoa in 2019, Heerenveen had a solar array on the stadium roof and a corresponding shirt sponsor. In Italy, Thorsby collected rubbish, implemented a recycling project and successfully campaigned for the city to plant trees.
Thorsby set up the "We play green" foundation with his father Espen, who advises him, in order to gain supporters from colleagues, clubs and associations. Although he acts in midfield, the international wears the number 2 to draw attention to the two-degree target of the Paris climate agreement. "It's burning under our feet," Thorsby said, "we all need to do more." He doesn't want to force anything on anyone, many small steps lead to a big one. Especially with professionals: blow-dry less, eat less meat, take a scheduled flight and not a private jet - and show it to the millions of followers on the Internet.
"Footballers have a responsibility," said Thorsby, whose electric car is called "Greta", "there are no bigger influencers than us." Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has over 700 million followers. Thorsby doesn't have 40,000 and he knows: "The better I play, the more I can make a difference." He gave up his summer vacation for visits to high politics. "We're in the middle of the climate crisis, you can't go on vacation there," he told UN environment chief Veronika Hunt-Safrankova.
He agreed to work with EU climate commissioner Frans Timmermans on his latest project, the "Green Bag", which promotes the recycling of footballer clothing. Buddy Erling Haaland has already donated his shoes.
