West Ham wing-back Antonio: Mum made crucial career decision for me

Published on: 27 March 2017

West Ham wing-back Michail Antonio admits he owes his career to his Mum.

Antonio revealed how his mother was determined that he complete his education before trying to embark on a career as a professional footballer as a teenager.

"I was going to go to uni," he told whufc.com. "At that moment I was in college doing a BTEC and I actually got into Southampton University to do Sports Science. So in the following September I would have gone to uni, but I managed to get signed [by Reading in 2008].

"I was thinking of becoming a PE teacher, so I've had other plans, but there was only one thing in my heart and that was football.

"At 14, the manager of my school also coached at Tottenham and he got a scout to come down. Me and my friend both got scouted and he scored an unbelievable overhead kick from outside the box! So, he went and my Mum said 'No' because, to be honest, I lived in south London and would have had to travel to north London every day.

"I also had to do college, so I'd have got home at eleven o'clock at night and then had to get up to go to school. My Mum said 'football isn't a guarantee, but education is' and 'education comes first' and I think it's one of the best things she could have ever done for me, to be honest, because I've now got my education and I've also got my football."

Source: tribalfootball.com

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