Ghana winger Albert Adomah will be sat in a five-star Brazilianà hotel, preparing to face the USA on footballââ¬â¢s greatest stage.
By the time the World Cup is over, the 26-year-old winger will also haveà pitted his wits against Germanyââ¬â¢s Mesut Ozil and Bastien Schweinsteiger, notà to mention Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Yet without Harrow Borough and their erstwhile manager David Howell, Adomahà might well be hanging wallpaper in Shepherds Bush whilst watching the Worldà Cup on TV.
Adomah, born in Lambeth to Ghanaian parents, was 15 when he got the bus toà Ravenscourt Park in Hammersmith and begged for a game with the local streetà wardens. They agreed, and luckily for him, one of them was big mates withà Howell.
ââ¬ÅI do a bit of event management and one of my DJs kept getting on to meà about this young player he had at Ravenscourt Park,â⬠recalls Howell.
ââ¬ÅI asked him down for a Harrow youth game, but after about half an hour Iââ¬â¢dà seen enough. He was so quick and he just flowed when he ran with the ball. Ià took him off, signed him up and Albert was with the first team from thatà moment on.ââ¬
Despite initial fitness issues (ââ¬ÅAll of his early appearances were lucky toà last an hour,â⬠laughs Howells), Adomah â⬓ who supplemented his ã50-a-weekà wages by working as a painter and decorator with his brother â⬓ soon became aà star.
A move to Barnet in 2008 was followed by a ã150,000 switch to Championshipà side Bristol City two years later. The came his biggest break, a ã1m move toà Middlesbrough in August that resulted in 13 goals, 40 games and a player ofà the season award.
ââ¬ÅIââ¬â¢m not surprised,â⬠says Howell. ââ¬ÅI always said he was good enough to playà in the Premiership. I still think that and I hope this World Cup showsà everybody how good he really is.
ââ¬ÅWeââ¬â¢re still friends. He lived literally five minutes from my house so Ià used to pick him up, take him to training and bring him back. I spent a lotà of time getting to know him, talking about his game and things to improve.
ââ¬ÅHe was an impressive learner in that way. He always listened, always wantedà to be a better player. He was never big headed, and he isnââ¬â¢t to this day.
ââ¬ÅI last spoke to him about three weeks ago. He was going away to playà Holland with Ghana and at that point the squad still had to be cut from 25à to 23. He wasnââ¬â¢t definitely on board yet and was obviously fretting a bit.à So I wished him well for the Holland game, he played 90 minutes and made theà cut.
ââ¬ÅWeââ¬â¢ve just had a baby, four weeks old, and Albert said heââ¬â¢d come round toà see us. But I said ââ¬ËDonââ¬â¢t rush â⬓ I think youââ¬â¢ve got bigger fish to fry!ââ¬â¢
ââ¬ÅIt was typical of Albert, though. Heââ¬â¢s thoughtful, polite, well-mannered â⬓à everything that people think a footballer isnââ¬â¢t. I couldnââ¬â¢t think of a nicerà bloke for this to happen to and I wish him every success in Brazil.ââ¬