The Czech, one of the first active footballers to come out, is experiencing a delicate moment in his life. Sparta Prague suspended him, he stopped playing (for now).
Jakub Jankto would like to go back to when he was just “Sampi”, the blond boy with sly eyes who walked around the field carefree and proud, with no weight to carry on his shoulders. They call him “Sampi” – from Samppa Lajunen, a Finnish cross-country skier with three Olympic gold medals – because where he plays there are a number of Jakubs. And every time a coach shouts his name at the top of his lungs, six bewildered faces look at each other.
