Lincoln Red Imps icon Lee Casciaro, the muppet who probably went for an early night after recording the first win for a Gibraltarian club in Europe.
Casciaro was part of the squad that beat Polish European regulars Lech Poznan 2-1 in the Conference League for a first in his country's history. The beautiful game, the only thing that matters in life, and these lads made history with their footy skills.
The 44-year-old didn't feature in the win but it's not his age that may have made him the first car out of the stadium, but his other job. "I work for the ministry of defence of Gibraltar," the copper told the world. "To tell you the truth, I've been a police officer for 22 years and I've arrested one person, I'm a good policeman. It's more a military base so it's more security policing than anything else. Security for vessels and the army."
Side jobs are nothing unusual for players from smaller leagues, but that's not the case for 29-time league champions Lincoln who have been battling to make it into Europe since 2014. Asked if his teammates also have other careers, he added: "Not really, most of them are full-time professionals now. Apart from the goalkeeper who is a warden, the rest actually just play football."
And play football they do. The record champions continue to make waves for their tiny nation, a 2.6 square mile British territory on the south coast of Spain with a population of just over 30,000. Since 2014 the Red Imps have played 54 qualifying matches across the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
It wasn't until that third tier competition came into existence that they finally made it to a major tournament, qualifying for the group stage proper in 2021. Yet six straight defeats followed in their debut European campaign, and upon returning this season things weren't looking any better.
Their Conference League campaign started with a 5-0 defeat to little known Bosnia & Herzegovina side Zrinjski Mostar so when European regulars Poznan turned up at the Victoria Stadium hopes weren't exactly high. Yet the Red Imps not only won, but went toe-to-toe with their opponents and only conceded a controversial 77th minute penalty for a minor bump from the goalkeeper.
"Everybody just went crazy, it's an achievement for such a small country, but Lincoln has always found a way. It's a boost for the players thinking that we're not just here to make numbers, we're here to get results and who knows where it can take us. With the new set up of the league table even with one win and a draw we could qualify for the play-offs."
Lincoln's future is looking bright, and so is Casciaro's despite debuting for his local and lifelong side all the way back in 1998. The mug just enjoys the moment and wants to carry on playing as long as he can to help the team better themselves.
