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Marseille soccer fan turns ceremonial kickoff into breakaway goal

By Alex Butler

Sept. 26 (UPI) -- A fan of the French soccer club Olympique Marseille scored the first goal for his team during the ceremonial kickoff.

Kamel Zaroual, 36, was the fan who notched the score.

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He watched the referee place the ball at midfield and was motioned to go toward Marseille's side. Instead of taking a slight tap to his favorite team, he flipped the ball behind him and took off through the Toulouse FC defense. He weaved between the defenders before ripping a near-post shot with his right foot. The ball skipped past a diving Alban Lafont for the score. The keeper did a great job humoring the fan, appearing to display maximum effort on the attempt.

After netting the goal, he put his shirt over his head in celebration and got a hug from the coach on the sideline.

Marseille won the match 2-0 on Sunday at Orange Velodrome in Marseille.

Zaroual was chosen for the honor after completing a 1,800-kilometer cycling journey from Arles and Amiens to raise money for children with disabilities.

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"I am not a professional cyclist, the only doping substances I take are beer and cigarettes," Zaroual recently to La Provence. "But besides that, I drink a lot of water and I eat a lot of fruit on the road to keep up. "

Zaroual publishes his journey on Facebook and on Snapchat.

"Bike or on the ground, it's unstoppable," Marseille wrote on Twitter. "Bravo Kamel."

Marseille faces FC Red Bull Salzburg at 1 p.m. Thursday in the UEFA Europa League at Red Bull Arena in Salzburg, Austria.

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