KELECHI Iheanacho has narrated how he started his journey to the summit of professional football, with Ronaldinho playing a role in his ambition and growth.
The 26-year-old forward has risen through the ranks of street football to the U-17 national and to the Super Eagles and the English Premier League, one of the world’s biggest championships.
While Ronaldinho was thousands of miles away from Iheanacho’s roots in Owerri, the Brazilian great had an impact on the young Nigerian.
“I can remember playing with my friends in the streets,” Iheanacho recalls in an interview with his club Leicester City.
“We always played with no shoes; we went barefoot for so many years.
“It was crazy, but we loved it. We loved football, we could play all day – not eating just playing. It’s a good memory and kicking a ball around is something I’ve loved since I was little.”
Iheanacho’s prodigious talents soon drew the attention of bigger outfits in Owerri, the capital of Imo State in eastern Nigeria.
“I always played football everywhere I went. I played in school as well,” he explains.
“There was a team that was an adult team, but they liked the way I played football and I liked to get involved so they took me on, and they always wanted me to play with them.
“They’d put me in a game if they were winning, when they were beating a team 5-0 or something, so that I could entertain people who came to watch.
“They loved me there and then I moved to another team. A coach called me to join their team and I started training with them. They loved me there as well!”
Iheanacho’s big opportunity arrived when he was around 14 as the Taye Academy snapped him up in 2011 and gave him the platform to showcase his wonderful talent.
His desire to emulate his ‘idol’ Ronaldinho, the former Brazil and Barcelona superstar, gave Iheanacho a burning desire to rise to the top of the sport.
“The coach from the team in the town that played competitions then came to watch us train and he loved the way I played football,” Iheanacho added.
“So, he took me to play for his team in the city. That’s how I started playing over there and going to competitions when I was in high school. It was a good time before I went to the Under-17 World Cup (in 2013 when he started as Nigeria won the competition).
“That’s why they picked me to join their team – because I stood out and they liked my style of play. I always enjoyed my football and always played the way I did with quality and giving what I had to give. I think I just kept being me.
“Football is a big deal in the country. Of course, families want their children to go to school more, but everyone wants to play football. In Nigeria, when people used to watch the Super Eagles, I can say you always hear Jay-Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu.
“I started watching Barcelona when I was growing up, so Ronaldinho was my hero. I loved the way he played with happiness and dedication. He loved the game, and he had every quality. He was my idol.”
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