Emotional Hearts star explains ‘Farmor’ shinpad celebration after tough week for 29y/o.
Norwegian pays respect to grandmother after missing funeral to score twice. Sander Kartum, a Hearts midfielder, knew what he wanted to do and how much it would mean to him and his family if he scored against Dundee in the Scottish Cup quarterfinals. Before the contest, he scrawled the word ‘Farmor’ on his shin pad. The aim was to locate the net and celebrate by pulling it out of his sock and pointing to the sky. Someone very wonderful was looking down at Kartum. This has not been an easy week for the soft-spoken 29-year-old, who left Norway at the end of January to join Hearts in Brann Bergen. A month later, he was hit with the sad news that his grandmother Ragnhild – ‘Farmor’ in Norwegian – had passed away. They were close.
“It was important to me to get a good start, and to get two goals was very special,” Kartum told reporters. “It [the celebration] was to honour my grandmother who died last week, and she had a funeral today, so I missed it, so just to honour her.” “It’s difficult to talk about, but she’s a unique person. When I reach my goal, I attempt to honour her. Kartum has taken around a month to adjust to life in Scotland, but Hearts fans can see why Critchley was so eager to bring him across the North Sea. He entered with the reputation of a refined left foot and an eye for goal, and he demonstrated that with his goals, both outside of the penalty box.
“It gets better and better each week,” Kartum said of his game. “Last week, when I got my first start at St Mirren, it was tough. St Mirren is a tough team to play against, and today it worked out better for me to play good football. More possession and get on the ball more, so it’s getting better and better.
“I came to Norway for pre-season to settle in, and now I’ve been training for two months, and my physical condition is improving. “I believe Scottish football suits me.” Kartum is now looking forward to another at Hampden. He had never reached this round of a cup competition before, and he went to the national stadium in January for a heart scan as part of his physical. “I’m looking forward to playing at Hampden,” Kartum said. “I’ve gone there and looked at the stadium once before signing, and it’s a beautiful place. I’m looking forward to making it to the semi-finals, and maybe we have a favourable draw.”
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