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Afriyie Acquah: Streets of Ghana to the World Cup - via Glentoran
Of all the potential journeys to this summer's World Cup in Brazil, Afriyie Acquah's is arguably the most unlikely: a footballing odyssey that stretches from the streets of West Africa to Italy's Serie A via Glentoran's dilapidated Oval Stadium in East Belfast.
Taken in as a boy by an academy project that the Northern Irish club had set up in Ghana, then 'adopted' by a Belfast family who treated him as one of their own, the 22-year-old is currently excelling in a new temporary home at Italian Serie A side Parma, where he is on loan from German club Hoffenheim.
On Wednesday he faced league leaders Juventus as an emerging force, drawing comparisons with compatriot Michael Essien, who in turn has tipped Acquah to play a key role in Ghana's World Cup campaign.
It is a far cry from 10 years ago, when at "12 or 13" and without a permanent home, his path to sporting salvation began at the Glentoran Academy in the southern Ghanaian city of Sunyani .
More at http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26730772
Of all the potential journeys to this summer's World Cup in Brazil, Afriyie Acquah's is arguably the most unlikely: a footballing odyssey that stretches from the streets of West Africa to Italy's Serie A via Glentoran's dilapidated Oval Stadium in East Belfast.
Taken in as a boy by an academy project that the Northern Irish club had set up in Ghana, then 'adopted' by a Belfast family who treated him as one of their own, the 22-year-old is currently excelling in a new temporary home at Italian Serie A side Parma, where he is on loan from German club Hoffenheim.
On Wednesday he faced league leaders Juventus as an emerging force, drawing comparisons with compatriot Michael Essien, who in turn has tipped Acquah to play a key role in Ghana's World Cup campaign.
It is a far cry from 10 years ago, when at "12 or 13" and without a permanent home, his path to sporting salvation began at the Glentoran Academy in the southern Ghanaian city of Sunyani .
More at http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26730772
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