– That’s what happened, that I went on a rampage. Then I had to cut everything out and couldn’t do anything. It’s the worst thing that could happen. This is what Morten Thorsby tells news about the wall he encountered two years ago. Thorsby was for a long time an important piece on the Norwegian A national team, but after the 2022 season it stopped. It would take two years before he got his next international match, which came against Kosovo in June this year. Now he is lifting the veil on what happened. – Went with a bang Thorsby is open-hearted about the fact that his great passion, putting the environmental fight on the agenda, has gone beyond his sporting achievements. And in the end it cost him his place on the national team. – Of course it did. It was a bit much two years ago, when I went on a little spree, he says to news. – In what way was it a little too much? – I noticed that there was a very empty space for profiles that talked about this here. When I first started taking it up, I got a lot of attention, was invited to many places and got a lot of opportunities. As I am the type of person who is very committed, I may have agreed to too much for a period, he realises. TOUGH TIME: Morten Thorsby got to experience the reverse side of the medal as both a footballer and an environmental campaigner. Photo: Vegard Grøtt / BILDBYRÅN Thorsby received, among other things, the “activist of the year award” from the players’ organization Fifpro for his work for the environment and climate. The Italian superstar Diletta Leotta, perhaps Italy’s most famous sports reporter, used an entire program for Thorsby’s environmental commitment in 2022 and had the Norwegian as a guest in her popular program. He was invited to several major media houses around Europe to talk about the environment. – The body didn’t work. Finally, the body said stop. Thorsby hit the wall and was no longer able to combine top football life with the time-consuming environmental fight. – I had physical symptoms that the body wasn’t working anymore, that he was tired and needed a break. It got so physical that I couldn’t deliver on the football field like before. Classic symptoms of too high a load over too long, he says. – I felt that “the sky is the limit”, I wanted to do as much as possible to get things done. Then it is easy for it to become too much, at the same time as I have to perform at a relatively high level in football, he adds. Today he is back for the national team, plays a lot for the Italian big club Genoa and has found his way back to his high level. – What is painful for me It has not come by itself, Thorsby has had to learn to balance the two parts of life in a better way. – Do you say no to things more often now? – Yes, I do. I have become a bit more restrictive there and found a better balance. I have started to feel a little better and know when enough is enough, he says. READY FOR FIGHT: Morten Thorsby is back in the heat with Ståle Solbakken. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB At the same time, it costs him something to say no to media assignments that can help put his heart matter on the agenda. – That is what hurts me, because I have a strong inner drive to achieve even more, faster and better. That’s what I’m constantly working towards. But I understand that the stupidest thing I can do is burn myself out completely, then I won’t get anything done. Solbakken: – Water over the head National team manager Ståle Solbakken first answers “no” to questions about whether Thorsby’s environmental commitment has gone beyond his sporting development. – But I think he had taken a bit of water over his head last year, and that it was a bit much. But you can perhaps put it into perspective that his environmental commitment is just as important as winning a football match on the whole, says Solbakken to news. – In what way was it a little too much? – He traveled a lot, and got involved a lot, and perhaps didn’t have time to relax between sessions and such. If you have a full schedule all the time, it can be too much for someone. A LITTLE MUCH: Ståle Solbakken thinks Morten Thorsby took on a bit too much when things were at their worst. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – Did you ask him to calm down a bit? – No, because at that time he was not relevant for the national team, because then he did not play for the club team. So I haven’t talked to him much about it. But he looks good now. Fit and ready. He has got his body in order. Balance has become a key word for Thorsby. He also gives a lot of energy to his environmental commitment, he underlines. – It also helps to gain some experience and several years under your belt. Now I know myself so well that I can balance it better, he says. Published 10/10/2024, at 16.29
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