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Sports News of Saturday, 13 March 2021

Source: punchng.com

I almost quit football for NFL- Balogun

Leon Balogun Leon Balogun

Glasgow Rangers’ title winner Leon Balogun has revealed how he almost quit the game to take up American football as a kid.

The 32-year-old defender has been one of Steven Gerrard’s heroes at the back this season.

But as a teenager in Berlin struggling to make the grade, he was close to taking up gridiron and embarking on the dream of becoming a wide receiver in the NFL.

Balogun said, “It’s still hard for me to describe what becoming a champion with Rangers means to me.

“It’s just massive because I have come through so much.

“The most successful I’ve been before now was qualifying for the Europa League directly. I have also won a promotion in Germany.

“But the majority of my career has been in relegation battles. So, this is something else for me completely.

“I just think back to the difficult times and the sacrifices I made.

“There were a lot of doubts along the way, but I think my story is a testimony of not giving up.

“It feels like winning this title is a huge reward.

“It still hadn’t sunk in properly, but I know for sure I am part of something massive now. Something incredible.

“I had moments when I was young when things weren’t going for me, but I refused to shake the mentality of not giving up.

“I always believed if I kept working hard something would happen. When I was a teenager, maybe 15, I had setbacks where I wasn’t getting picked, and I remember I thought about playing American football instead.

“I had some friends who played the sport at that time.

“Back then I was quite quick and flirting with the idea of becoming a wide receiver and maybe making it to the NFL.

“It was interesting to me at 15 when I was a bit adventurous.

“But I kept going, I kept working hard and in the following season, I got picked for the U-17s.

“I remember to this day the older team coach coming to me and asking, ‘Where have you been?’

“He thought I’d been away on a scholarship in America for six months or something like that.

“He asked, ‘Were you away on a programme or something?’. I was like, ‘No, I’ve been here the whole time.’ But I said the important thing was I was here now.”

Having been released by Fortuna Dusseldorf at 25, his family and friends urged him to think again about a career away from football.

Balogun said, “In 2014 I reached the point where I was unemployed after I broke my foot making my national team debut for Nigeria.

“I returned to my club and they said they were not going to extend my contract. After that, I had to see where the journey was going for me.

My parents were worried about what I was going to do.

“We spoke about it and they told me to think about doing an online course or a university degree on something away from football.

“But I just didn’t want to give up.

I always believed something would come, and something did.

“Darmstadt turned round a playoff game to get promoted and I ended up signing for them.

“After one year there I moved to Mainz and played in the Europa League. I also played in the World Cup for Nigeria.

“I’m not going to lie, I was never the most talented guy. Growing up in Berlin, for example, I had Jerome Boateng at the other side of the city.

“People would have looked at me and said, ‘OK, he’s a good player, but he’s not that calibre.’

“When it’s like that, the important thing is to have a strong mentality, perseverance and resilience.

“That’s one trait I learned quite early. I learned how to get my elbows out, as the saying goes.”