I have never had an idol or have been an outspoken fan of somebody. I did faint the day I went to a Michael Jackson concert, but that was after falling of the stairs that morning. I ended up being there with my eyes closed and my head between my knees. The noise was just unbearable for a person with a slight concussion!

But I do have a weak spot for a few people. Most of the time not because of their looks, but more because of what they have said or done. One of them is Tom Egbers, a sports commentator in The Netherlands. I once  heard an interview of his wife and she told the story of how they had met. She is also a reporter and they had to go to a sports event together. They took a taxi and talked all the way. Just before they got there Tom asked her if she wanted to marry him! She said yes and they have been happy together ever after. I just loved the romance and spontaneity of it. Every time I saw him on television, I would think about it.

So you can imagine that I was quite excited to talk to him face-to-face in Skopje last September when the Dutch played against Macedonia. Aaron had the honour to walk up with the players on the field and sing the national anthems. I was standing on the side together with all the journalists when Tom came over and we started to talk. Of course, I didn’t tell him how much I liked the way he had proposed to his wife, but we did have a nice, short conversation about Macedonian football talents, his work and the life of an expat wife.

The stadium was being renovated and it was a bit of a spooky building. At a certain point he said that he had to go and needed to hurry, because he still had to pee before the game started and had not found a toilet in the entire complex. I had just finished my bottle of water and said: “In countries like these, you have to be inventive. You can use my water bottle if you want.” He laughed and walked off, saying: “That is so disgusting!”

I saw him on tv again tonight and this time I thought how funny it is to have actually spoken to him in real. I wonder, had we both been single, would he have asked me to marry him after our first encounter? I guess not!