After Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley revealed that his football-mad grandmother was his biggest fan, the Danish media have not stopped talking about her.
In fact, Bold.dk went out of their way to find Lis Egeland, and sat down with the 85-year-old to discuss her grandson’s big rise in football over the past few years.
The midfielder, prior to signing for Celtic, found himself without a club for a few months after leaving Fulham at the end of his contract, and was eventually given a chance by MK Dons.
That’s when he really came into his own, which eventually paved the way for his transfer to Parkhead, where he has become a fan favourite with his performances this season.
He has six goals and five assists in 12 Scottish Premiership games this season, and that earned him a call up to the Denmark national team, for whom he made his debut on Monday night in a 2-0 loss to Northern Ireland.
Egeland revealed that nothing will stop her from watching O’Riley play football, not even her health.
She said: “I was hospitalised a month ago, and then I told them to hurry because my grandson is playing football and that it was a Champions League game. Then I was given a strong painkiller, and was allowed to drive home again.”
Unable to travel to watch O’Riley make his big Denmark debut, the grandmother revealed she was gutted.
She added: “I would have liked to have been there, and I have also been to Celtic a few times, but I have had some problems with some age-relayed illness and the doctors are after me a bit.
“They say I have to slow down for a bit and that I mustn’t throw myself into airplanes all the time. It’s very annoying, of course, because I would have liked to be there. I watched the national game on TV, and I also have access to Celtic TV, so I watch all the matches.”
One issue Lis wanted to clarify was that her son deserves to be in the Denmark national team, knowing full well that some might not have been pleased that an England-born player was in the squad, but Bold reassured her many are quite glad that he’s chosen their country over playing for Gareth Southgate.
She said: “That’s positive. I sort of had the feeling that people thought it was better with ‘real Danes’. He gets furious when he hears people say that, because he has a Danish passport. I would like to cut through and say that I think he is a fabulous footballer.
“He’s so intelligent, he reads the game and he passes the ball to the right man if they know each other like at Celtic.”
