Nati star Akanji proved it to everyone

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Right in the middle of Pep Guardiola’s star ensemble: Manuel Akanji. The 27-year-old from Wiesendangen ZH is at the peak of his career. After moving to Manchester last summer, he immediately established himself as a regular player. Many don’t trust the defender to do this. But as so often in his career, Akanji proves that his doubters are lying. He has now played 45 games for the Citizens.

“Prove them wrong” is written on Akanji’s forearm. “Prove Them Wrong.” Akanji had the letters tattooed after his cruciate ligament tear in the spring of 2016. A certain talent was evident, say several companions. But that the road leads straight to the best team in the world? “It is special that someone from the village plays for Manchester City,” said Michi Bernhard, vice president of FC Wiesendangen.

Akanji does not forget his beginning

Akanji has never lost the connection with his youth club, which receives a small contribution from England every season for his former junior. “When Manu played in Winterthur’s youth department, he occasionally came to train with us during the holidays,” remembers Bernhard, who trained Akanji’s sister Sarah for a long time. Later on, Akanji is an occasional guest at Village Grümpi. And last year, when FC Wiesendangen reached the cantonal cup final, the national star (49 international matches) sent a video message to the team and poured a few cases of champagne at the subsequent village festival. Akanji’s father Abi, who is from Nigeria, still plays in the 50+ seniors.

Akanji’s game initiation, game intelligence and positional play stand out. “But of course it was not foreseeable that he would go through the roof like that,” says Bernhard. Every summer there is talk about whether Akanji will make it to the next U-level at FCW. “But every time Manu told me he wasn’t ready here in Winti.” Off the field, Akanji is an intelligent, cheerful boy with no fuss in his head. Someone who is always up for a joke. “A junior as one wishes to be him.”

Apprenticeship in Winterthur

Akanji climbs step by step near Winterthur. Speaking to Blick, he describes the late Peter Sommer and Thomas Stamm, the current coach of SC Freiburg’s second team, as his biggest sponsors. In the 2013/14 season, Akanji met Balzers with FCW U21. The then Liechtenstein player-coach Mario Frick sees no ball against him. “His physical condition was excellent and he already organized the entire defense there,” says the current FCL coach. “He is certainly by far the best Swiss defender of modern times.”

In the spring of 2014, Akanji made his debut in the 1st team of FCW – and on his second assignment he was sent off with yellow and red after almost half an hour. The story goes that a good hour before the start of the match in Locarno, Akanji shuffled across the field with his mobile phone to his ear. It is said that he occasionally eats gummy bears before the games. “He certainly wasn’t super professional, but you can’t expect that from a player of his age,” says Jürgen Seeberger.

Under the German, Akanji takes the next step and immediately becomes a fixture in the Challenge League. “His speed, solid basic technique and mental strength stood out,” says Seeberger, who would have loved to keep Akanji for another season. But FC Basel is tempting. The intelligence, the strong nerves and the rip-off are what impress Seeberger the most today. He first noticed this during the 2017 Nati World Cup barrage against Northern Ireland. “Despite the high pressure, he remained steady and stable.”

Highly intelligent and an intact environment

The next big step followed in 2015. FC Basel, then the ultimate in Switzerland, signed him, although Akanji – still in FC Winterthur’s kit – looks old in the cup match against FCB with Breel Embolo. The duel with his good friend opened his eyes, says Akanji years later.

“A player with potential for abroad”, is the verdict of the FCB scouts, which makes the bosses prick up their ears. “The speed and the excellent first pass were evident,” said Georg Heitz, the sports director at the time. Although Paulo Sousa is not impressed with the potential new defender, his successor finds him “extremely exciting”. At least that is the verdict of Urs Fischer after Akanji’s first training at FCB.

The defender was victorious, winning two championship titles and becoming big business, even though Akanji was out for nine months with a cruciate ligament rupture during his time in Basel. Borussia Dortmund transferred more than 20 million euros to FCB at the beginning of 2018. It was difficult to estimate how far the road would go, says Heitz. “But his understanding, his adaptability and his technique stood out.”

Off the field, he finds Akanji to be humorous and highly intelligent, with “a good mix of confidence and modesty”. And a very healthy environment. The intact family certainly helped him stay sober and have such a career, according to Heitz. Akanji’s extraordinary math skills are a nationwide topic following a 2018 performance on the SRF Sports Panorama.

He did not want to extend at BVB

Akanji has also become a regular at Dortmund, winning the 2021 DFB Cup with BVB. In the spring of 2022 he does not want to extend his contract early, after which he will be sidelined and have to watch the start of this season in the stands. Akanji remains calm and waits for the right offer. Patience is rewarded, ManCity will contact you shortly before the transfer window closes. Now the national star plays for the most important title. As a regular player in the best team in the world. The ex-junior of FC Wiesendangen showed it to everyone.

Source : Blick

Emma

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.