Antoine Semenyo’s goals for Bournemouth have caught the eye this season, with his latest effort setting the club on its way to a first ever win over defending Premier League champions Manchester City.
The 24-year-old has firmly established himself in the Cherries’ starting XI, is a regular for Ghana and has been linked with moves to the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle, but his path to the game’s elite has demanded patience, perseverance and faith.
Semenyo, a Christian who prays before and during games, endured more than his fair share of rejections during his teenage years, with unsuccessful trial spells with the Gunners and Spurs alongside ones at Crystal Palace, Fulham and Millwall.
“As a 15- or 16-year-old, you don’t know how to cope with your emotions – being so high, being so upset all the time,” Semenyo told Football Focus.
“I did have a lot of doubts but I had positive parents. They always told me life’s not always going to be roses.
“They are all experiences that you have to go through. But it’s definitely helped me and motivated me to this day.”
Most painful for Semenyo was finding out he would not be signed by Palace – a setback which caused him to believe his dreams of becoming a professional were over.
“I was there for maybe eight months and loved every moment,” he said.
“My dad told me he’d seen one moment during a game where I should have passed the ball to someone, and I shot and missed. And he saw the coach in the distance just shaking his head.
“From that moment, he knew I wasn’t getting signed. I got called into the office and they told me the bad news.
“I remember going back into the car, just being emotional, crying.”
Semenyo decided to concentrate on his schoolwork and enjoying time with friends, spending a year out of the game.
After lacing up his boots again for an open trial, the forward eventually joined South Gloucestershire and Stroud College’s football academy, where he was picked up by Bristol City.
Semenyo still ranks the day in January 2018 when he signed his first professional deal with the Robins as the proudest moment of his career.
“I remember that day like it was yesterday, and I remember the look on my mum’s face,” he said.
“She was just so emotional, so happy for me, so proud. That always sticks with me.
“I’m going to cherish that moment for life.”
BBC
