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A football field like you find in every small municipality in Eastern Switzerland in front of the school building. Green lawn, white lines, two goals with nets. Privileges. At least if you see it through the eyes of Chadrac Akolo (28). His real name is Akolo Ababa Chadrac and he came to Vaud at the age of 15 as a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. And at FC Bex he plays on a real field for the first time. «I had never played with shoes or real lines before. If you played on a football field in Congo at the time, you were a professional. The amateurs were not allowed on there.”
That he was more of a professional than an amateur was evident from his first performance. His then coach, Anthony Tagnan, said: “What we saw was unbelievable. He had incredible technique, was two-footed and fast.”
Qualities that currently make him one of the most dangerous attackers in the Super League. The 28-year-old has already scored eight goals this season, only Chris Bedia (10, ex Servette), Jean-Pierre Nsame (9, ex YB) and Jonathan Okita (9, FCZ) have more goals than Romand. Is the title of top scorer this season possible? “I don’t think about that, I don’t want to put pressure on myself,” says Akolo.
He has never done that in his entire career. Although football offered an escape from his life as a refugee, he never put everything on football: “That was never the plan.”
At the age of 16 he wants to stop kicking because he cannot recommend himself for a trial training at FC Basel. “When I got there, I saw all the big attackers and I pretended to be a six because I was scared. The others were all much better than me.”
Deficits in understanding the game
Partly because Akolo still had deficiencies in the field of tactics and understanding of the game. Ex-Sion coach Raimondo Ponte, who is responsible for the Super League debut of the then 18-year-old Akolo, says: ‘You cannot expect a young player who comes from Congo and has never had any football training before to understand the game is complete. But he was very willing to learn and absorbed everything,” says Ponte.
And this despite the fact that Akolo always had to take into account a possible deportation to his home country. ‘I never felt safe. Not even when we played against Liverpool with FC Sion away at Anfield Road. Before the trip I had to fill out numerous documents, it was very complicated,” says the FCSG striker. Only when he received permission B – and thus the right to stay in Switzerland – did his fears disappear.
What dad says
Akolo no longer wants to talk about how exactly his escape to Switzerland happened. Many things happened. His mother and sister had already arrived in Bex in advance, his father followed later.
The entire family now has a Swiss passport. And she comes to every game. From Aigle VD it is more than 600 kilometers there and back. “My father is a crazy person, when I played for Paderborn he always came too,” says Akolo laughing.
Dad Akolo Ababa Jean, who works as a carpenter in a renovation company in Vevey VD, said: “My son was rewarded for his hard work and willpower and became a professional footballer.” He enjoys the few kilometers.
The father is also present at Akolo’s professional debut. In Kybunpark he tastes the professional atmosphere for the first time in the Sion dress. «When the coach called me, I couldn’t believe that I would come on as a substitute. The atmosphere in the stadium was intoxicating,” the son recalls.
Now the Vaudois itself plays in green and white. Because after stints at VfB Stuttgart, SC Paderborn and Amiens SC, he presented himself at the FCSG. “I told my advisor to offer me to St. Gallen,” says Akolo. Because Peter Zeidler, his great supporter, is on the sidelines. He already trained the striker at FC Sion and made him better at the time. “He gives me the freedom on the field that I need to be creative,” says Akolo.
Just as creative as when he first stood on a real football field in Bex at the age of 15. When asked if he knew at the time how good he actually was, Akolo answers with a smile. “No. I didn’t even know how to tie my shoes.”
|
team
|
SP
|
T.D
|
PT
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
 BSC Young Boys
|
20
|
23
|
41
|
|
|
2
|
 FC St. Gallen
|
19
|
13
|
36
|
|
|
3
|
 Napkin FC
|
20
|
9
|
35
|
|
|
4
|
 FC Zurich
|
19
|
14
|
32
|
|
|
5
|
 FC Lugano
|
19
|
1
|
26
|
|
|
6
|
 FC Winterthur
|
20
|
-5
|
26
|
|
|
7
|
 FC Lucerne
|
19
|
-6
|
25
|
|
|
8th
|
 Yverdon Sports FC
|
20
|
-14
|
24
|
|
|
9
|
 FC Basel
|
20
|
-9
|
22
|
|
|
10
|
 Grasshopper Club Zurich
|
19
|
0
|
21
|
|
|
11
|
 FC Lausanne Sport
|
19
|
-6
|
20
|
|
|
12
|
 FC Stade Lausanne Ouchy
|
20
|
-20
|
14
|
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
