I discovered Messi!!!
Super Powers: Dribbling. Goal Scoring
A short left-footed player, a mesmerizing dribbler, with frightening speed and acceleration (with and without the ball), coupled with the ability to score efficiently from any angle; this was a player every opposing team feared. He’s reputation continued to grow, compared to he’s height, yet he remained forever humble. This “Messi” was Cameroon’s Kijem George, fondly called “Kijo”.
In a nutshell, everything Messi has done, and does on the field, Kijem did the same, all those years ago. Sadly, this was a time when owning a camera was a luxury, especially for young teenagers, like us. For 4-5 years, I watched Kijem play, as he wowed teammates, frustrated opposing players, and brought joy to football fans at matches - regionally and nationally - in Cameroon. This was the mid-90s, in Cameroon’s state of Bamenda, whose scenic, lush green trees and ecologically diverse birds, with skin-piercing freezing weather, similar to Newcastle or Scotland, is a beauty to experience and behold, with its many hills and mountains that dot the landscape; this is where Kijem called home.
Sadly, Cameroon failed him. He could have, in my opinion, become a household name like Samuel Eto’o, a few years later. I say Cameroon failed him because, on multiple occasions, what we kept hearing as reasons for he’s non-selection into various Cameroon national age-group football camps was, “he is too short…he dribbles a lot…he is selfish”. Coincidentally, these same words will be said of Messi as well; he’s story, though, would turn out a lot more different, as Messi became a Champions League winner, winner of various domestic league trophies in Spain and the USA, in addition to the Ballon D’or and a World Cup, and numerous personal awards.
There is a somewhat famous but sad saying among African football fans; the best never make it. These talents deserve to be valued and given a chance. Though various talent-searching matches (“agent matches” as they are fondly called) are played annually, across Africa to discover players, coupled with the increasing numbers of football academies, grassroots teams, and clubs, many talents remain undiscovered.
Now is the time, with DataScout, to share insights of emerging young African footballers (ages 14-19 years old) with global football clubs, who are looking to identify and track the developments of relatively unknown dynamic, technical, and physically strong youth footballers.
On that note, with bags packed and onboard a flight, I am happy to introduce you to The Power Horse, who moved from Africa to play in Sweden.