Dutch professional footballers can be found in all corners of the world, from the spotlights of the major European leagues to the more adventurous employments on other continents. In the Over de Grens section, Voetbalzone speaks weekly with a player who is active outside the national borders. With this time attention to Deabeas Owusu-Sekyere, who to his own surprise plays in the top of Estonia and from there hopes to follow the example of his old teammates Justin Kluivert and Matthijs de Ligt.
By Thijs Verhaar
“Yes, Estonia. Pff. At first I didn’t know what to think about that either ”, the cheerful Owusu-Sekyere begins his account. “I really didn’t know anything about the country when my agent said last summer that an Estonian club wanted me. He persuaded me to take a look anyway, so I agreed to an internship. I get on that plane with a thick coat on and two sweaters, everything. I thought it would also be super cold there in the summer, but it turned out to be more than twenty degrees, haha. ” Although the story was widely discussed in the dressing room on his arrival at the training and he was laughed at, the 21-year-old Amsterdammer immediately felt at home. “It looked professional, I saw team spirit and immediately noticed that this is a place where I could develop further. I also just really wanted to get out of Portugal. ”
There he played for two years in the youth academy of second division Leixões, which is active in the highest division of Portugal with the youth team. It was already his third professional club, because Owusu-Sekyere also played in the youth of Ajax and FC Twente. He started with the team from Amsterdam at the age of eleven, only to hear at the age of sixteen that his time was up when the A2 was discontinued in order to be left with a smaller, more trainable group that could prepare for Young Ajax and the first team. At FC Twente he dropped out after a year because there was too much uncertainty about the financial situation of the Tukkers. However, he did not have to despair, because a Portuguese agent quickly secured him a youth contract with Leixões.
Owusu-Sekyere in Portuguese service, where he did not come into his own at Leixões.
Once there, the circumstances turned out to be far from ideal for him, because his first season was lost because he was not eligible to play and after that he did not take enough action to convince the club management. Owusu-Sekyere did learn the language in the meantime and tried to distinguish himself in the training, but now admits in all honesty that he did not succeed enough. “Everyone knew that I had potential, but it didn’t come out often enough. I could not show my real self and of course I am disappointed ”, said the left winger, who now scores continuously in Estonia. “I’ve been running almost one on one since last season, so I can do it. Of course it is. In retrospect, I also think that I could have shown it in Portugal if all the peripheral matters were in order, but they were not. The hassle with my contract played in the background, I didn’t feel much and lost the pleasure in football, so I don’t look back on that time with a good feeling. ”
How different is that in Estonia, where he plays with the first team every week with Paide Linnameeskond and is one of the star players there. “Our trainer Vyacheslav Zahovaiko is a kind of legend in Estonia and used to be a good striker,” says Owusu-Sekyere. “That’s why he thinks very offensive.” The 39-year-old coach lets his team play in an offensive 4-3-3 formation, with attacking backs and players in the front with good individual action. “I hadn’t expected that in advance,” chuckles the Amsterdammer when it is noted that such an attitude to play is totally inconsistent with the image many people have of football in Eastern Europe. “We are also an exception, but it makes it difficult for us to play.”
The club, founded in 2004, has been on the rise in Estonia for years. In 2014 they were promoted to the highest level and since then a clear upward trend has been discernible in the final rankings: seventh, sixth, sixth, fifth, fourth and last season second. “Now we even hope to compete for the national title” says Owusu-Sekyere, who entered the summer halfway through the season and immediately impressed with 10 goals in 13 games. In the current year, he started with two hits in two duels, but he sustained an injury to his cruciate ligament two weeks ago. “Fortunately it is only a very small crack, so I expect to be able to play again within a month”, it sounds hopeful. “I get a lot of strength exercises and can follow individual training now, so I am very hopeful that I will be able to pick up the thread again soon.”
Owusu-Sekyere: ‘Am I a crowd favorite? I can not complain.’
With more goals, Owusu-Sekyere can play even more emphatically in the spotlight at the Ghanaian federation, for which he could come out with his double passport. “Of course my figures stand out too, so I see on sites like Ghanaweb and those kinds of football pages that they keep an eye on me. ‘Oh, he scored again. Our fellow countryman is on the right track ‘. Things like that ”, the attacker smiles proudly. “It is a good feeling to be in the picture of a country that I love. Ghana, like the Netherlands, is in my heart, so I hope to be able to represent one of the two countries one day. I also believe that I can do that, although of course I have traveled a completely different path than I might have expected in the youth at Ajax in the past. ”
A burst of laughter follows as to whether he would even have considered setting foot on Estonian soil at the time. “No of course not. I dreamed of the great football countries, but I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. This adventure has come my way for a reason and I will see where it will take me. I am only concerned with the question of how I can develop myself and what I can learn. Then it does not matter whether you are in England or in Estonia. As long as you work on yourself. Then I believe that those big goals will automatically become true ”, says Owusu-Sekyere, who cites the achievements of his former teammates Matthijs de Ligt, Justin Kluivert and Noa Lang as a source of inspiration. “They are of course much further ahead at the moment, but I believe I also have the potential to reach such a podium. Only my way there is very different. ”
Owusu-Sekyere honestly admits that he would have done ‘a lot’ to get straight to the top without setbacks and detours, but at the same time embraces his own route. “I think it is so great that as a football player you get the chance to see a lot of the world. Actually, I am not at all adventurous, but I have already lived in Portugal and Estonia, while I used to participate with Ajax in international tournaments in Spain, Italy and such countries at every turn, ”recalls the wing attacker, who in his spare time travels all over Estonia to enjoy the scenery. “It turns out to be a really beautiful country with a lot of history. I enjoy that, although I used to prefer to stay in the Netherlands when on holiday. Just hang out with family and friends. Then I didn’t have to travel at all, dude. And look at me now, haha. ”
The 21-year-old attacker indicates that he can cope well in his own apartment in the Estonian capital Tallinn, far away from his beloved friends and family in Amsterdam and Utrecht. “I have to miss that now, yes. But luckily I have a nice phone and I can speak to them every day. ” Owusu-Sekyere is happy with this interaction, because due to the corona measures, there is currently little social contact possible in Estonia. “The fans are also not allowed into the stadium now, so we do a lot to involve them in the club. For example, I often take over the club’s Instagram page to show more about my life. Then I show how I cook, where I exercise, where I like to go in the city and things like that. Nice to do. Whether I am a crowd favorite? I can certainly not complain, haha. Fortunately I score quite a lot, so you will soon be in the right place. ”
Owusu-Sekyere in Estonia is also constantly reminded of his origins. “Ajax is a very big name here, so they are happy to say that when they talk about me. For example, when I score a goal, the stadium speaker always calls me that Ajax boy. That is a thing of the past for me, but it is still nice that they say that about me. ” The Dutchman also follows the club closely and is happy that the team from Amsterdam is getting far in the Europa League, in which he himself was allowed to act for a while this year. “In my second game here, haha. That opportunity certainly played a role in my choice to sign here. ” The team had qualified for the first time in club history for the first qualifying round of the Europa League, in which Zagiris Vilnius from Lithuania turned out to be 2-0 too strong. “That defeat was a shame, of course, but that vibe dude. Oh, that was great ”, beams Owusu-Sekyere, who was not fully fit at the time and made his European debut fourteen minutes before the end.
“Playing football at a European level has been what I have been dreaming of for years, so the beginning is here. I had goosebumps when I heard that Europa League song in the stadium. In a way, it is only one step from that competition to my final goal, the Champions League, but of course it is a very big step ”, it sounds sober. “Yet I still believe that I can make it if I stay focused, work hard and take my chances. Last year I had nothing and now I have a professional contract and a top year with many goals, so who knows what will come my way next. I also know there has been some interest, but leave it all to my agent. I just have to let my feet speak and then I’ll see what comes next. Perhaps there is a Dutch club that is looking for a good team player who can pass inside and outside, has a good shot and has shown that nothing can stop him. That would be nice.”