Why Tsaroulla is 'cherishing' play-offs with County
Escaping death and resurrecting his career has given Notts County's Nick Tsaroulla reasons to treasure every moment as a footballer. And playing in front of a sell-out crowd of 17,000 at Meadow Lane on Friday in the second leg of the Magpies' League Two play-off semi-final against East Midlands rivals Chesterfield is one of those moments he intends to "soak up". The car crash that nearly cost the 27-year-old his life , external when he was a teenager on the books at Tottenham in 2017 has given the winger a deep appreciation of what Notts are playing for and the role he has in trying to get the club back to League One after an 11-year absence.
"It's a short career, a short life," he told BBC Sport. "Life can be taken away in any second, football can be taken away in any second, which it was for me - and then you realise how much you miss it and you just want to enjoy every second of it. "That's exactly what we're going to do.
That's the spirit we embody as a team. That's what we did in the first leg and we're going to go out and do that again in the second leg. "Notts is such a big club and it's such a lovely moment to play - you have to cherish it.
"One day, in 30 or 40 years' time, hopefully, I can look back with my kids and grandkids later on and tell them stories about the experience that I got to live through, playing in a play-off game like this against Chesterfield in a derby. " Crawley's Tsaroulla's 'dark' route to FA Cup glory Listen to the latest Notts County interviews on BBC Radio Nottingham Tsaroulla knows he is lucky to talk about growing old and have a career to reflect on after the head-on collision he was involved in Winchmore Hill, north London when driving to Spurs training. He survived the crash but endured months of pain that kept him out of the game for a year and threatened to end his career before it ever really got going.
Spurs released him in 2018 but he found his way back into the game with Brentford's B team before going on to thrive at Crawley Town – a side he helped to a famous FA Cup win over Leeds United with a stunning first senior goal in January 2021 before going on to play a part in their League Two promotion play-off success in 2024. When Tsaroulla appeared in front of the BBC's cameras pitchside to speak after scoring against Leeds, he was overcome with emotion , external . He readily admits that reflecting on what he went through nearly nine years ago and how it has shaped him as a footballer "hits a nerve" as he steadies himself with a promise "not to cry again on TV".