Guidetti: Proud Swede, made in Kibera

When Sweden’s national team manager Erik Hamren named Celta Vigo’s John Alberto Guidetti in his 23-man squad for Euro 2016 tournament in France, few Kenyans took notice.

Even fewer took notice when he won the 2015 Uefa Under-21 tournament with Sweden in the Czech Republic, which remains Sweden’s biggest footballing triumph so far.

Unknown to many, Guidetti spent his childhood in Nairobi’s sprawling Kibera slums, hoping to become a winger in the mould of his idol, former Manchester United and Real Madrid star David Beckham.

Just over ten years ago, I had the privilege of being Guidetti’s personal coach when he was a student at the Swedish School off Ngong Road. In the process, I volunteered to be stand-in coach for his team, Impala Brommapojkarna FC (Bromma Boys). Bromma Boys, mainly made of boys from Kibera, was an affiliate of IF Brommapojkarna, a Swedish football club located in the borough of Bromma in the western part of Stockholm municipality. It is the largest club in Europe in terms of number of active teams of all ages registered.

In Kibera, Guidetti naturally mingled with boys from poorer backgrounds and was the team’s clown, often cracking jokes that left us all in stitches. He at times chose to speak in broken Kikuyu and, like his team mates, he used pit latrines at Kibera’s Olympic Stadium and played barefoot when need arose.

Guidetti’s dream was to become a professional footballer and he zealously demonstrated hunger to work his way up. His diet was tailored towards his goal.

From free-kicks, penalties, through passes, finishing, throw-ins, anticipation, leadership, teamwork and small target hitting to enhance accuracy, we did it all. Through all these we found time to joke, laugh, sing, dance, talk, tease and high-five each other.

We played competitive game at the end of most sessions during which the young Swede displayed deep passion for winning. At times he cried if he lost. Such was and still is Guidetti; passionate. Losing to him on the other hand was a nightmare as he would rub it in at every chance.

Eventually, Guidetti and I went our separate ways. He to Sweden and I to England.

PLAYED FOR MANY TEAMS

He went on to play in various youth tournaments in Europe, catching the eye of top European teams, including Italy’s Inter Milan, AS Roma, Sampdoria and Lazio. He was signed by Premiership giants Manchester City in 2008 and played on loan for Stoke City and Burnley, then joined Dutch side Feyenoord and Scotland’s Celtic.

I took immeasurable pride in watching him on the BBC’s Match of The Day programme almost every other week.

At Feyenoord he is considered a true legend for his record-setting exploits, among them becoming one of only two players to score a hat-trick in three consecutive home games in the Dutch top flight league.

He also became the first player to score three hat-tricks in one season in the Dutch league since Dirk Kuyt in 2004-05. He did all these when he was barely 20.

A career-threatening virus that started with food poisoning brought his career to a halt but he made a resounding comeback with the Manchester City Under-21 side.