Ex-Red Devil Axel Witsel scored his first goal for Atlético Madrid in the league match against Villarreal (3-1 win) on Sunday. He did this at a special moment, because in the morning he was told that his grandmother had died. “When my father reported that news, I wanted to dedicate a goal to her.”
It’s a story that will give you goosebumps. He played 57 games for Atlético Madrid without scoring. In his 58th game, Axel Witsel was in defense as usual, so the chance that he would score his first goal in that game seemed small.
But sometimes an athlete is able to rise above himself. Axel Witsel said after the match against Villarreal that he had a special motivation to score.
“It’s a sad day. My father called me in the morning with the news that my grandmother had died,” said a clearly emotional Witsel. “But when he told me that, I wanted to dedicate a goal to her. So this goal means a lot to me. This one is for her above.”