Proud to be part of Antoine Semenyo's journey

When Antoine Semenyo signed for Bournemouth, he sent a bottle of champagne to David Hockaday, the former Leeds United manager. Hockaday was at Bisham Abbey when Semenyo, just 16, took part in an assessment to test his form compared to other young talent. He helped with some exercises and observed a series of pranks, being "surprised" to realize that the teenager's name was not mentioned after the test. Hockaday recalled: "He didn't stand out, he didn't look like anything special, but there were moments that made me believe that's what these tests are about. I saw a kid who handled the ball with both feet, without thinking."


The desire to help Semenyo needed to be met. Hockaday doesn't remember exactly how, but over the next few weeks, he tracked down Semenyo's parents and explained who he was, offering his help to the young man. Hockaday joined Semenyo in his team at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, who competed in the South West Counties League. To ensure the boy got to games, Hockaday picked him up from Swindon - where he lived with other aspiring professional players - every Saturday at 5am and took him to matches.

Semenyo's £65 million move to Manchester City in January marked the pinnacle of his career in the football leagues. A change that even Hockaday didn't expect. Semenyo scored 11 goals and provided three assists for City before joining Ghana's World Cup squad. He finished the season domestically as an FA Cup hero, scoring the winning goal against Chelsea in the final at Wembley. "When I see this young man and what he's created and where he's come and where he's going now, it's a little surreal to me," said Hockaday, who describes Semenyo as still "humble" and "one of the good guys" despite his meteoric rise. "After a few rejections, I would tell Antoine, 'don't prove them wrong, prove yourself right, prove myself right'. All he was doing was proving himself right. I've kept in touch with him and usually at the end of each season we meet up for a few hours to talk about things on and off the field. If there's anything he's not sure about, he knows he can call me, and he does. I just feel proud to be able to say I was a part of it. of your journey.