How many times does love enter a person's life? Some say once. Others say multiple times. And for some, the very first love becomes so devastating that they never dare to love again. Elena Sadiku, however, is cut from a different cloth.
Her first love nearly paralyzed her. It robbed her of 10 kilograms of body weight. Lying on a hospital bed, she was told that her left leg might have to be amputated—the very leg she used to play football with might not even remain! Yet, Elena fell in love again. With the exact same football. Only the nature of her love had changed. Previously, she stepped onto the pitch with the ball at her feet; now, she stands in the dugout, orchestrating others to play.
And remarkably, the woman rejected by her first love is so successful in her second that she has reached the stage of football's most prestigious individual awards. At just 32 years old, Elena Sadiku is now on the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or Women's Coach of the Year award. Across both men's and women's categories, she is the youngest coach to receive this recognition. Not only that, but she is also the only female coach on this year's shortlist.
To truly understand this story of success, one must travel back to June 2017. On Instagram, Elena wrote about a chapter that felt like the end of her life. "A fifth surgery in three years on the same cursed knee. Is this really the end?" The question was not just about football; it was about her very existence.
In that same post, she revealed, "My meniscus is completely torn and my ACL is damaged. How on earth did I manage to play another 20 minutes after sustaining the injury?"
