Road to Tiraspol: The Edmund Addo story

The versatile FC Sheriff Tiraspol player is destined for great things after a brilliant Champions League debut outing

There is a line from Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar ‘s brilliant novel of self discovery, The Map of Salt and Stars that has always always held a measure of intrigue.

“The most important places on a map are the places we haven't been yet” ..

That seems to be the journey Edmund Addo is on. It is far more than he bargained for when that journey started in Accra.

“ I have lived in a lot of places you know. My mother moved us around a lot when I was a boy. Mamprobi-Sempe is a place that is dear to my heart. It has defined my character. But so has Korle Gonno, Osu and Chorkor. I cannot ignore any of these places because they have all been home.”

These days home is in Tiraspol. It is not an exotic location a footballer dreams of. It is the capital of a wannabe independent state within Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe. Its name is Transnistria and the football team that represents it is FC Sheriff. This is the club that has given Addo the opportunity to add more dots to his traveller’s guide.

He least expected to end up at a club that represents the best and the worst in football but the game is the game. It is a cold, hard place that requires a certain level of toughness to survive. Addo might just be the best prepared footballer on FC Sheriff’s roster in that department.

“I don’t like to dwell on my upbringing but you know Chorkor and Korle Gonno boss”.. he smiles as he shakes his head during the video call.

Growing up in those areas of Ghana’s capital along the coast is a difficult and dangerous experience for even the most hardy adult so one can imagine what the experience is like for a young boy. There is stark poverty and crime. But there is also resilience and community. You can choose which side of the dice to roll.

Edmund Addo chose resilience and community. The community paid it back with a determination to see one of their own make it out of the throes of poverty and petty crime. That is where he started from. It is on the football pitches of these communities that his football identity and style have been moulded.

If you have watched him play, what stands out is his fearlessness and aggression. He is not the biggest physically but no opponent comes up against him and departs without knowing they have been in a battle. Which leaves many wondering why he is nicknamed “Addo Skillful”.

“I learnt how to play with colts club Mighty Cosmos of Mamprobi. We would play matches at INDAFA Park and Okpotsu. You cannot survive on those pitches without having a bit of a mean streak. So yeah, I had the skill to play as a midfielder hence my nickname. It came from a friend of mine called “Aphiloso” and once the area kids learnt it, the legend of Addo Skillful was born. But when the time came to stick the boot in, I would also be there.”

So how does a player graduate from the sand pitches of Mamprobi to potential trips to exotic locations like the Santiago Bernabeu and the Giuseppe Meazza?

One name. Gideon Attoh.

Attoh’s name is not a household name among football fans and that is the way he likes it. The anonymity gives him the chance to carry out his job in the best way possible. That is to be the chief scout of ArthurLegacy Sports, the agency of renowned Ghanaian agent, Oliver Arthur. He is a mild mannered chap with an easy smile and anecdotes for days if he is so predisposed.

His own career was cut short by injury at a very young age but that did not kill his passion for football. He channeled his passion towards talent identification and although barely forty has become perhaps the most prolific identifier of Ghanaian talent for the European market.

“My approach is simple” he tells me as we watch a juvenile division game at the Mambrouk Park in Dansoman. “I want diamonds in the rough. They are found in the most unusual places so I wherever I see football being played I stop to watch.”

One chance stop at a local field near the ICGC church in Accra is how he identified Edmund Addo.

“I was on the hunt for a player with certain specifications at that time and the more I watched this kid who was playing with his friends, the more convinced I became that he fit the bill. I approached him and he mentioned that he was a player of the popular colts team at Mamprobi known as Mighty Cosmos. I reached out and invited him to play a trial game against other candidates. It took just one match for us to be convinced that he was what we were looking for and more. After that everything else was simple.”

For Attoh maybe. But not for Addo.

Being signed by the most important agent in Ghanaian football meant he could dream. Opportunities would open up but he still had to to do his part on the football pitch to turn opportunities into permanent contracts.

Initial excitement turned to frustration with himself as trail after trial delivered nothing.

Atalanta. Cremonese.Parma.Bologna.Sassuolo. Austria Vienna. No permanent contract.

“I was near hopelessness at a point but my team especially my manger, Paco, kept motivating me . It was hard believing the hope bro. Look at all these clubs and none of them sign? Those were hard times but they told me to work hard and things would change.”

They were not wrong as FK Senica, a club in the Slovakian league decided to take a chance on Addo. Signing was easy. Getting there not as much.

The road to Senica lay through Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

The Slovakian embassy’s visa section for work permits is in Nairobi. It is a process that takes at least half a month and requires the applicant to be present throughout the process. That meant Addo, barely 18 and who had always traveled under supervision would have to live in Nairobi for the period by himself. It was an experience that brought much needed maturity and perspective.

“ Look, going through that process was important. I met new people. They helped me anytime I had to get out of the apartment. Being alone also gave me time to contemplate the new challenge that lay before me. I pondered how I was going to tackle my new life in Slovakia. The loneliness, the lack of a familiar face and football. I had these times where because there was no football field around, I could only go for these short runs. Those were my meditation times. By the time I left Nairobi I think I was readier than I had ever been mentally to tackle professional football in Europe.

He would need every bit of that new found maturity and perspective once he landed in Senica.

His new employers gave him a slow start to assimilate him. Games were hard to come by as he realised the matches were more dependent on tactical knowhow than just individual talent. A persistent injury did not help too. By the time he was fully recovered , the team had a new coach and he had to find games with the U-19’s. He didn’t mind . At least he was back on the pitch and playing. His performances in midfield with the U-19’s would soon catch the attention of the upper management of Senica who wondered why he was languishing with the youth side. Back to the first team he went.

His return to the first team however meant a change in position.

“I was switched to centre back. I didn’t mind because when you play colts football in Ghana you play in a number of positions. Sometimes , I would be used at right back too. I basically became a do it all type of player at Senica. Being moved around all those positions also meant I made mistakes but the advantage was that I always brought something new to the position”

By his second year he was pretty much a staple in the side as he contributed goals as well. But Addo was also desperate to improve . To test himself. He only needed an opportunity.

FC Sheriff Tiraspol provided that opportunity .

Which brings us to present day.

The past two years of his career have been in near anonymity. One of hundreds of Ghanaians plying their trade in an obscure corner of Europe. The move to FC Sheriff didn’t make too many headlines as well. Ghanaians are football snobs of the highest degree. You are more likely to be criticised for a move to Moldova than to be praised for it. For Addo’s team however, there was method to the madness.

“ After Edmund’s second year, we felt that he had matured enough to test himself at a higher level and were willing to consider the right offer for him” explains Paco, his Italy based minder. “There were offers from Belgium and other places but we chose the FC Sheriff option because we felt it was an opportunity for him to make it to the Champions League. They were on a good path and had added quality to their team so we accepted their offer. It has turned out quite well don’t you think?”

That is an understatement.

Addo made his debut in the Champions League qualifying stages soon after being signed by the Moldovan champions and he hit the ground running. There went his anonymity. That is the power of the world’s most popular inter club competition.

“ People were calling me from Ghana after my first game because it made headlines in Ghana. A Ghanaian in any stage of the Champions League is a big deal. I was happy.”

That joy was doubled after they dumped Croatian champions, Dinamo Zagbreb from the tournament to become the first ever Moldovan club to make it to the group stages of the Champions League. There they would be paired against giants Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Shaktar Donestk.

Addo was immense in his debut as they defeated the giants from Ukraine to give themselves the perfect entry gift.

Up next is a visit to Real Madrid’s iconic Santiago Bernabeu.

“Look growing up we always mention these clubs and dream of playing against them or for them at some point in our careers. For a kid who only played colts football in Ghana to appear against Real Madrid in the Champions League? I feel blessed. I am living that dream and I thank God”.

He is however rather coy on how he will perform.

“Let the game come and I will do my best. That is all I can say about this match.”

Thousands in Mamprobi, Chorkor, Osu and Korle Gonno will have their eyes fixed on their screens. They will cheer his every touch and feel his every mistake. That is how that community rolls. He is one of theirs.

One person however will not be there. Physically at least . For Addo, that person is the most important.

His late mother is a presence he always feels. His pain is obvious as he thinks about it.

“She was strict you know but she always supported me. I know she will be watching and she will be proud of me. I know that.”

Places.

Addo has visited many and has plans to visit a few more before his career is done. He has no idea what lies ahead in any of those places. Well that is not exactly true.

“I have told Paco to bring home cooked jollof rice to the stadium when we visit Milan to face Inter. I am tired of eating rice and spaghetti all the time.