Sondre is hoping he has a better Sunday than his hero, Hamilton, endured at Monza last weekend
Conversations with Lewis Hamilton – and the desire to honour a war-hero relative shot down as a Second World War pilot – will help motivate Motherwell’s Sondre Solholm against Rangers today.
Signed from Norwegian outfit, Mjondalen, in the summer, the 26-year-old centre-back is, as the above suggests, not your typical footballer.
He met the seven-time Formula One world champion at an event in London while working as one of Puma’s Scandinavian ambassadors, with Hamilton just one of several sporting celebrities he is on friendly terms with.
Solholm is passionate about his vegan diet, an interest he shares with Hamilton, and among the goals he has set himself for his time in Scotland are hill-walking in the Highlands, and winning a cap for Canada.
“I am living my lifelong dream,” said Solholm, as he looked ahead to the trip to Ibrox.
“Moving away from my country, and playing in games against a huge team like Rangers, is something I have always wanted to do.
“There was a lot of attention on Celtic in Norway when Ronnie Deila and Stefan Johansen were there. But the interest in Scottish football goes way back, with the Old Firm derbies a big event back home.”
Motherwell’s new recruit is not fazed about the prospect of trying to shackle Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe.
He already has plenty of experience meeting his heroes, and getting on just fine.
“I am a huge F1 fan, from when I was a kid watching Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen. So getting the chance to meet Lewis Hamilton last year did make me feel a bit star-struck,” he admitted.
“It was a Puma-sponsored event in London, which was surreal. It was a meet-andgreet, and I was there representing Norway.
“I was a little worried because Lewis is a world superstar – and this kid from Norway comes in and wants to talk about his diet!
“But he was super interested in what I had to say, which was cool.
“Everybody was supposed to get 30 seconds – but I stayed with him for like four or five minutes.
“Lewis loves to go snowboarding, so he is really keen to explore Norway. I just told him where he should go, and at what time of year.
“I asked him about the vegan diet. Nothing specific, just how he felt it suited him, and affected his performance levels.
“His people were telling me: ‘You have to get out!’. But I couldn’t just leave when he was talking, and he was a super, humble guy.
“Because of Covid, they had to do make it a Zoom challenge event this year, which was different but still good fun.
“Lewis Hamilton sent a challenge to Karsten Warholm, the Olympic champion hurdler from Norway. He sent it forward to German boxer, Agit Kabayel, who then sent it to me.
“That was a weird event. Not as cool as last year, but it was all right.”
Not so alright was Hamilton’s crash with Max Verstappen at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza last Sunday, with the Englishman admitting he was: “so, so grateful to be still here”.
While Solholm comes across as humble as Hamilton, he is not adverse to a bit of self-promotion.
Advised that he is eligible to play for Canada under the grandparent rule, he is eager to use his time in Scotland to advertise his abilities.
“It would be amazing to play international football,” said the defender, who hopes to get the chance to sound out Rangers’ Canadian internationalist, Scott Arfield, on the subject today.
“I have strong ties with Norway, but my grandmother is Canadian, and my team-mates have advised me that makes me eligible to represent them.
“I don’t think doing so would be weird because my mum has strong ties with the Canadian side, from a little bit north of Toronto.
“Her uncle, Andrew Carswell, was a pilot in the war and he was shot down just outside Berlin.
“He wrote a book about it, called Over The Wire. He is regarded as a war hero in Canada, and was helped by the British Army to get away from the Germans, and a POW camp in Poland.
“He is a hero, and it would be great for me to represent the country he helped to win the War.
“We will have to see what happens. My agent has told me they may be interested, and that they would maybe contact me.
“So I just have to perform well. Hopefully they’ll see there’s this guy with a Canadian grandparent, who can do something
good on the pitch.”