If you watched the Impact’s 5-1 win over Philadelphia last Saturday – or the latest Derrière chaque victoire –, then perhaps you, too, were charmed by this ball kid’s reaction after Didier Drogba’s second goal.
As soon as the reaction was broadcast all over North America, Twitter relayed this beautiful, refreshing and spontaneous image.
The ball kid is Stanislas Ouedraogo, a young attacking midfielder for Club de soccer de Longueuil. Stanislas, who moved to Québec aged 12 in the summer of 2014, grew up in Burkina Faso, where he would play soccer with his friends every day. In the streets, they were Eto’o, Ronaldinho, but mostly, they were Drogba, from neighbouring Ivory Coast.
“What drew me to him was the way he played, everything about his play,” Stanislas tells Impact Media. “He is very fair-play. And I also love the Impact!”
Standing at the corner flag on Saturday, Stanislas never would have imagined that his hero would celebrate right in from of him. Emotions took over.
“At first, I see Nacho Piatti running toward the goal,” Stanislas says. “When he misses, I’m disappointed. Then, I see Drogba volleying it in. I start screaming. When he comes over, I’m surprised, moved. It was unbelievable. I’d always dreamed of seeing Didier up close. And it came true.”
Stanislas only learned that he’s been the talk of Soccer Twitter through his friends, later on.
“They were a bit jealous,” he says. “They were teasing me. They were telling me that I was lucky. They asked me how I managed to become a ball kid.”
Should he get another chance, Stanislas will surely return to Stade Saputo with his club teammates to be a ball kid again. In the meantime, he watched the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game, this Thursday night. How was he going to celebrate if Drogba scored? His answer, when Impact Media asked him that question hours before the game, was clear.
“No ifs, he will score!”
Oh, sorry.
“I’ll run all over the place, that’s for sure!”
Chances are that he did. No word yet on whether that celebration will end up on Twitter.
