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"The mother did not remember when you gave birth to her, she abandoned her as a baby. She was raised by her grandmother", the removal of the defibrillator and the life of Rafael Duamena

2023-11-13 09:34:07Sport SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
"The mother did not remember when you gave birth to her, she abandoned her
Rafael Duamena

Rafael Duamena has left many memories in his life, but one of the greatest media legacies he left behind was an interview for the Swiss media "NZZ", where he recounts his entire life. The interview was conducted on October 19, 2022, about a year ago, just two months before he signed with Egnatia.

TO OLD BOYS - An old man enters the Margelaker sports field in Mutenz and excitedly asks everyone: "Is Damian playing?" In response he gets everyone's stares and total silence. "He, Damiani, who played with Zurich", adds the grandfather, who was referring to Rafael Duamena

Actually, yes. Duamena was on the field on October 22 last year, in that match of the second interregional league, where he was playing for the Old Boys Basel team, in the fifth division of importance in Switzerland. The class of the Ghanaian was accompanied by the cigarettes of some teenage fans, as in the club they often ask how such a footballer ended up in this team.

CHILDHOOD – And Duamena does not hesitate to give his answer, starting from the day he was introduced to this world. It all started in Nkaukau, a small town in Ghana. Rafael was raised by his grandmother, as his unmarried parents abandoned him. When he grew up, although it was too late, he met his parents again at the time when he had already become a popular player in Ghana and his talent had taken off.

When he met his parents, one of the questions his mother asked him was: "How old are you?" She did not remember when she had given birth to her son, she had forgotten him. Above all, at no point did Duamena choose to ask his parents why they let him grow up with his grandmother. Reason? He didn't want to appear ungrateful to his grandmother.

She was a very strict and authoritarian woman. Devout Christian believer and headmistress of the school in the area where she lived. To supplement the family's income, the grandmother allows little Rafael to sell homemade ice cream.

THE LITTLE FOOTBALL PLAYER – If the boy loved football, the grandmother thought otherwise. According to her, football is a waste of time and that school should come first. Whenever his grandmother falls asleep, Rafaeli secretly, without noticing, leaves the house and goes down to the neighborhood to play football with the other children.

Despite the boy's great love for football, the grandmother does not change her opinion for a long time. Right there on the street, when he was playing with the neighborhood kids, a talent scout spots him and invites him to a test on Monday. But the grandmother appears again, with the argument that the boy has to be at school on Monday and there is no football practice. Rafaeli despairs and asks many relatives and family members to act as a mediator for his grandmother, including her son, Patrik.

After long negotiations, the "padroni" obeys. When she was only 14 years old, her uncle gave Duamena her first soccer shoes, a pair of yellow "Diadora". They will be his most guarded treasure, says Rafael: “When I got them, I couldn't sleep all night. I had to make sure the shoes were still there in the morning."

Rafael is then accepted into the local Red Bull academy. His first contract was 100 euros per month. "As a child, I didn't know what to do with so much money," he says.

IN EUROPE – After three years in the local academy, Red Bull sent the talented youngster to Austria, to the Salzburg academy. He played with the U-18 team. He finds Europe fascinating, but also strange. Overall he likes it, he's living the dream. Meanwhile, the career is moving with galloping steps. He is immediately evident as a very hardworking and easy to care for guy.

On only one occasion did he go out of his way and do something unbecoming of the person he was. Against Saint Polten, he created an incident on the field and was punished with a red card. It was then clearly proven that he was insulted with racist terms.

This was the first card, out of two in total in the boy's career. A few weeks ago, he was punished for an interference with Najdovski in the challenge with Tirana. It was unintentional.

The former striker felt guilty and made sure to apologize several times to the captain of Tirana, who also showed himself to be professional. Let's go back again, when in January 2017, Duamena landed in Zurich and immediately helped the team climb to the Swiss Super League.

After an explosive form, Premier League club Brighton are interested in him and reach a preliminary agreement to buy him for more than 15 million francs. At noon on August 22, Duamena received a phone call telling him he had to pack his things and move quickly.

The plane to England would take off in the evening. His agent, Filip Degen, publishes a "selfie" with Duamena on "Instagram" and writes: "Let's make your childhood dream come true." In England, they had made him a 4-year contract, which would have made him rich immediately. A day after arriving in England, the transfer fails.


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