From the Champions League to the 2nd division: will he be the star of this season?

From Madrid to Rostock: It seems a bit depressing at first. And somehow in the second too.

Whoever just scored a dream goal at the Santiago Bernabéu, then welded a free kick from 25 yards against Inter and now has to play against 1. FC Heidenheim in the Ostseestadion, took a wrong turn somewhere behind Milano and Madrid. Where?

In order to tell the story of Hansa Rostock’s new playmaker Sebastien Thill as an understandable success story, a bit more context is needed. Or a few other cities. But let’s start with success.

By the late evening of September 28, Thill had several reasons to rip his outerwear off his body like he was mad and, as he himself later said, « run wild ».

On the one hand, he had just propelled his team to victory in the 89th minute. On the other hand against Real Madrid. Moreover, before Thill, no Luxembourger had scored in the Champions League. Oh yes, and: The door is also nice to look at.

🇱🇺 Sébastien Thill was the winner of the match in Madrid! 🙌

Who will be the hero on Wednesday?#UCL pic.twitter.com/nQQDbUjLNI

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 24, 2021

Shortly after, a Luxembourger scored a second goal in the Champions League against Inter Milan. Again Thill and above all again: Nice goal.

Sébastien Thill is living the dream 😍#UCL pic.twitter.com/qH5pw07GhA

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 26, 2021

One thing in this story of Luxembourg’s greatest player, who inspires with dream goals in the Champions League, is not true at all: the first name.

In fact, it was Sébastien’s little brother who was promised a bright future. At the age of 16, he was still playing for FC Bayern, and Vincent Thill was considered the greatest Luxembourg talent of all time.

But Vincent hasn’t had a great career so far. On loan from Ukrainian club Vorskla Poltava to Swedish second division club Örebrö SK, the former super talent is currently trying to revive a career that never really took off.

Meanwhile, the tallest is his older brother, although that was hardly predictable. Except for a brief interlude with now-defunct Russian club KF Tambov, Thill has spent the last eight years with his Luxembourg club Progrès Niederkorn.

A club that has sometimes (unsuccessfully) been allowed to qualify for the Europa League in recent years, but has never had anything to do with the Champions League.

That Sébastien Thill would even play in the Champions League was really unpredictable until almost a year ago. Thill himself still believed so firmly that he let the dream of first class chase under his skin. On the Wade Thills, little Sébastien dreams of a pot with a handle.

A loan move from Niederkorn to record-breaking champions Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol brought the dream of the premier class within reach last summer as the Moldovan champions are eligible to qualify for the Champions League.

The Sheriff went unbeaten in all six knockout matches, with Thill playing an instrumental role, going the full distance in every match and leading his club through to the group stage. The rest is Champions League history.

Considering the fact that Thill was still playing in Luxembourg just over a year ago, not only is this story at least a fairy tale, but the move to the 2nd Bundesliga can also be seen as a step forward for him.

And Hansa Rostock, on the other hand, gets a star with Champions League experience in Sebastien Thill, who not only knows how to score great goals, but also makes dreams come true.

At first glance, a well-balanced thing. And maybe the second one too.

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#fooball