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Report nowAt the press conference in the run-up to the European Championship quarter-final against Spain, Alayah Pilgrim tells a crazy story. It's about a lion called Mauzli.
In the second group game against Iceland, Alayah Pilgrim scores the all-important 2:0, followed by a rehearsed dance routine. The 22-year-old is not only entertaining on the pitch, but also off it. At the press conference on Monday, she is asked about her affinity with lions. And then she tells the story. "My mother grew up with a lion." Her grandfather was a lawyer for the Nock Circus and was offered three lion cubs.
Two were too weak and died. "But Mauzli survived and was then raised in my mother's family home. He lived with her and they went sledging in winter. And my grandfather was also school president and went to school with the lion on a chain."
Alayah Pilgrim's mom shows pictures of Mauzli in an Instagram story.
Screenshot: Instagram
However, there is no happy ending. Mauzli fell out of his cage one day, broke his back and had to be put down. "Because he meant a lot to me, my grandfather stuffed him and put him at the entrance to his lawyer's office." It was there to deter burglars, Pilgrim explains with a grin. "And now he's in our living room."
The Swiss will have to be as fierce as a lion next Friday in the European Championship quarter-finals. Because a big opponent awaits the national team in Spain.
