A simple gesture, but a great gratitude. Willem II player Tommy St. Jago left a bag at Vittorio Persian ice in Tilburg on Monday afternoon. In the plastic bag his competition shirt with a personal message was written on it: ‘Thank you topper’. The gesture was addressed to Vittorio Desikan, the owner of the ice and tea tent. St. Jago’s thanksguard hit him deeply. Not only because the shirt was for his son, but mainly because it was a sign of appreciation.
Willem II player Tommy St. Jago has been driving along honking and waving for months while he sees Vittorio washing the counter. At that time he had no idea who was the honking man who lived behind his case.
A few weeks ago they got into conversation when the football player and his girlfriend Nazeli Kouki came to drink a cup of Persian tea. Only then did he discover that the honking man was St. Jago.
The conversation was not about football and fame, but about dreams. And about his own story, how he came to the Netherlands as a refugee and started his own company. “He looked at me and asked why, evening after evening, I went to work well into the night. I smiled.” This is not a work, “I said.” This is life. “” St. Jago (25) therefore gave him twenty, instead of four euros. “Hard work can be rewarded.”
The player appreciates that he works so hard. “And I appreciate his commitment to the club.” And also his humility. “Despite what he has achieved, he just stays. He is an example of how you can get far with hard work. He connects people, regardless of background, origin or political preference, just like me.”
Tea
He also attaches great importance to people who perform their work passionately. “You notice that with him.” His girlfriend often takes an ice cream, while he himself only takes tea. “No ice,” he laughs. “Because he has to train, he always says. And that sugar is not good for him.” The Iranian was as old as the football player now when he came to Europe. “I made my career in a different way. We are both examples of how you can get hard with hard work.”
His son is Willem II supporter and a big fan of the player. “When he heard that I had become friends with him, he asked if I could ask him a shirt.” He comes home from Germany tonight. “I already sent him an app:” Look what I have. “” Really? “He asked. It’s really true, I said. I thought it was very sweet of Tommy.”
For Vittorio, the shirt is tangible proof of something bigger. “Willem II is relegated. That is painful. But Tommy shows: loss is not the end. But character grows from loss.”