Emanuel Emegha signed on Friday evening in the match between Sparta Rotterdam and Vitesse (3-0) for his first goal in professional football. The eighteen-year-old striker celebrated the goal by paying tribute to Ousmane Kone. His youth teammate from Sparta died in 2016 at the age of twelve, when he drowned in a water park during a team outing.
After the goal, Emegha showed a shirt in front of the camera, showing a photo of him and Kone. The boys show in the photo the championship scale, which the Under-13 of Sparta received in 2016 after conquering the national title. Goalkeeper Maduka Okoye and Bryan Smeets, among others, took Emegha extensively into their arms after the goal and showing the shirt to comfort him. Afterwards, the young striker appeared in front of the camera wearing the shirt ESPN.
?? @SpartaRotterdam wins big @Myvitesse and Emanuel Emegha scores his first goal in professional football! # ?? #spavit pic.twitter.com/Th25YwBoL6
– ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) May 7, 2021
“This is a teammate who passed away in 2016 during a team outing. I wanted to make my first goal for him. A lot went through my mind. As everyone knows, I have been close to a goal many times. I found it difficult not to make it, but now was finally the moment ”, says Emegha when asked about the shirt. He talks about the photo: “This was in 2016. We became champions and he was a year younger than me, but he had moved on. Because he was a bit bigger and stronger and especially could play football very well. ”
Emegha is asked the name of the boy on his shirt. “Ousmane Kader Kone. He came from the youth of Sliedrecht and yes … Too bad. Too bad ”, says Emegha, after which he falls silent. The reporter from ESPN concludes the interview by asking what happened to Kone. “He drowned during our team outing,” says Emega. He played his fifteenth game in the main squad of Sparta on Friday-evening, where he completed one game as a base player.
Wow ?? Impressive interview and beautiful tribute from Sparta player Emanuel Emegha for deceased teammate ?? pic.twitter.com/03JucZTWum
– ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) May 7, 2021
“For me this is the hero of the rest of the summer,” says Hans Kraay junior in the studio of ESPN after seeing the interview with Emegha. “What a great… He has been waiting for thirteen raids for this and after four or five years is still so sad about this horrible incident. This is evidence of so much feeling. Jesus, what a great boy. Player of the Month. Man of the month. Emanuel Emegha, what a sweet boy you are. ”