Stay grounded and stardom will come
ALEXANDRA - Former Real Madrid midfielder and French international, Christian Karembeu has some words of advice for Alex youngsters aspiring to football stardom.
Former French international football star, Christian Karembeu advised grass-root soccer stars not to rush to Europe to play but to first make a name for themselves locally.
He was speaking in an interview with Alex News during his recent visit to Alexandra to conduct coaching clinics and lifestyle workshops.
He conducted the workshops with Grassroots Soccer, an adolescent health organisation that has partnered with the Spanish La Liga. The partnership aims to leverage the power of soccer to educate, inspire and mobilise youth in developing countries to overcome their greatest health challenges, live healthier, more productive lives, and be agents of change in their own communities.
A former Real Madrid midfielder and member of the French national side that won the 1998 Fifa World Cup on home soil with the likes of current Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, Karembeu is the ambassador for La Liga.
He urged talented Alex youngsters to hone their skills in the local leagues and then move up the rungs of the ladder to bigger leagues in the country before considering Europe.
“If they stay grounded and hone their skills locally, doors to Europe and other places will automatically open as they might become household names in their own countries, making it easy for European teams to snap them up.
“It is very rare to move from grass-roots football and straight to European shores. I am not saying it does not happen but that it is very rare and the best option is to first make a name for themselves locally in the premiership teams and stardom will follow.”
An example was one of Alexandra’s most talented youngsters, Tshepang ‘Messi’ Phala of Malandela Mighty Heroes, whose deal to join Real Madrid fell through but he continues to mesmerise fans in the township with his nimble feet.
“Taking them young is also a big gamble on the part of the team as anything can happen between teenagehood and youthhood, resulting in the team losing out on an otherwise invaluable investment they had made in the youngster,” Karembeu said.
Read: Former French star lauds Alex grassroots football development
