Breaking Barriers: road to MVP

It’s almost time to go back to Riga again. The weeks of holiday are almost over. But before its time I think back to all the things I’ve done and experienced this off season. I can tell you, some of them came as a surprise to me as well. Today I’ll just talk about the most recent ones. The other things are coming in another post some time soon.

Early December there was the annual ceremony for all teams of the league. Sadly for us (international players) we could not be present since all of us left to go back home after the season; mid November. Luckily we got our golden medal before our departure.

A few weeks into our break I got a message from the club asking if I could be at this ceremony/ celebration begin December. I would fly back for just a couple days. If I did know earlier I could have taken it into account with planning my trip out of the country for vacation. So, sadly I was not home, and could not attend this celebration from the league. Two days before the celebration they told me I won the price for best midfielder of the league, and if I could send a video so they could put that on the screen. I made a small video in the garden of the hotel and send that to say thank you for the people involved. Later on the day of the ceremony I heard I won also best player of our team…wow that’s great. One evening two prizes, amazing!

I continued my week holiday since I still had 5 days left. The weather was ten times better than at home. I enjoyed my time at the pool, completely zen, catching some strays of sun and vitamin D. Glad to see some old friends and also make new ones. Enjoying the great local food at our favorite restaurant Paradiso, where we would go every single day. Relaxing at the beach with our new boy Baba (dog). Overall a great week spent with great people.

Fast forward a couple of weeks… It’s January. For those who didn’t know, I’ve been back to Riga at the beginning of this week. I got a message from the club that I was nominated for the LFF (Latvian Football Federation) best player of the season award. They thought it would be nice if I could attend this ceremony. I missed the medal ceremony with our team at the end of the year. So this time I was expected to be there. I received the invitation and could bring a plus one. The choice was made quickly; mom would join me. Monday morning we left to Brussels to take our flight to Riga. We would stay until Wednesday afternoon and then return home. The big event was Tuesday evening so we would have enough time.

Monday we arrived early noon in Riga. Later I would meet our photographer to take some pictures with the trophies I got in December and to sign my new contract for Riga FC. Arrived at the club I saw a few girls from the team. It was lovely to see them again. They didn’t expect to see me until begin of February so it was a big surprise when I showed up at the club. We catch up a bit and they go for their gym training and I continue with the photographer to make some video’s and pictures.

Tuesday arrives and in the first half of the day I walk around Riga with mom for a bit and the rest of the go out to drink some coffee with my friends. Then it’s time to get ready for the ceremony.

We arrived there walking on the red carpet, camera flashes everywhere and of course we needed to take a picture as well. Very much out of our comfort zones but it had to be done. We stood with the rest of the attendees in a big area for a bit, waiting for the main area to open. Got some drinks and there was some food to snack on as well. I didn’t want to take the risk to fall with my heels (never worn heels this long in my life haha) so I didn’t go down the stairs to try the food.

It’s time. We enter the main stage and sit at our assigned chairs. There is a band and a looot of people further in the back. The hosts were speaking in Latvian so I couldn’t really understand much but Nora our photographer translated a big part of it so that was really nice. Our coach won best coach of the season. A little while after he tells me; now it’s your turn. This is your category. The man at the stage it saying who won best player of the league. My name is kind of coming out of his mouth haha…really difficult name, yes I know.

I get on the stage and am allowed to say a few words. I’ll put the video below so you can watch it if you want to. I say a few words in Latvian: “I’m happy to receive this award. Thank you very much“. The rest is in English. We enjoy some songs from the band and a bit more of the evening. To all good things comes an end, so to this as well. Its been a great experience and in the end I’m happy I was there to experience it. For those who know me, know that I don’t like to be in the spotlight so this was a huge step out of my comfort zone, but we’re happy to be there.

While I was in Riga I signed for another year in Riga FC! Can’t wait to get back to work and see what this season has in store for us. I’ll keep you guys updated :)