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Eritreans: New Generation of soccer stars making headlines already in 2017

Amazing achievements that were due to pay dividends in time are starting to bear fruit in 2017 already. Young Eritreans by heritage are embarking on great success stories in the international soccer arena. 19 year old midfielder and play maker who was a member of the Swedish champion from last year IFK Norrkoping has been bought by Belgian premiere league team “KAA Gent” also known as “The Buffalo”. This move comes at a time when another Eritrean star Alexander Isak is being courted by one of the world’s top teams Real Madrid. Tess as he is known by his nick name was born in Eritrea and went to Sweden at a young age where he excelled as a player through the Swedish youth academy. The very elated Belgian team expressed their satisfaction as they signed the midfielder to a contract for 3.5 years. The team adds that “Tekie is a young, talented midfielder of Eritrean origin who at the age of eight moved to Sweden.” Tekie was also praised by his new team as a creative midfielder with lots of skill and an excellent passer.

Tesfalidet Tekie signs with Belgium’s KAA Gent.

Norrkoping traded Tess for about 16 million Swedish Kronar according to some reliable sources. It is also to be noted that Heerenveen in the Dutch premier league and French first division Lille were interested in the young man. Tesfalidet Tekie becomes one of IFK Norrkoping’s top trades in a long time. It is to be recalled that Tess also played 32 games in the Swedish premier league in two seasons. The young 19-year-old was also named to the U21 national team at a young age of 18. Congratulations to Tesfalidet for his incredible achievements.

Tesfalidet Tekie should play a big role for KAA Gent.

Meanwhile in Holland a young Eritrean-Dutch by the name of Hennos Asmelash made his debut when he came in the 87th minute for his team ADO Den Haag as they took on the very same team that was attempting to buy Tesfalidet Tekie from Sweden. After being picked on the senior selection squad during the winter training camp the young Hennos left a good impression on manager Zeljko Petrovic who is the head of ADO Den Haag. Hennos Asmelash made his debut in the Premier Dutch League when he came in for Trevor David. Hennos is a strong defender and his potential is unlimited. This past fall he was also included on the national squad of the Dutch under 18 for a friendly game against Italy at the San Giorgio Stadium in Caorle.

Hennos Asmelash making his debut in the Dutch Premier League.

In a major turn of event between today Wed. January 19th, 2017 and the next coming few days the young Eritrean-Swede phenom Alexander Isak will be dotting the ink and finalizing his deal with Real Madrid. According to information from reliable sources, Real Madrid would like to keep Alexander in Spain and not allow him to go back to AIK.

Alexander Isak’s new home. Here while on a visit to his new club.

He would then be playing and training with the B Team until summer time at which point he can join the main team. He would still have to fight for a slot for the right to play alongside Ronaldo. It is expected that Ronaldo may also be present at the signing and may confront Alexander about his recent statement that “Messi” of Barcelona was one of his favorite players in the spirit of sportsman. Whether Alexander stays in Sweden or leaves for Spain he is for sure to be an inspiration to millions of young people and Eritreans.

In Conclusion:

Focus on the things that you want to do and the sky is the limit. Sport is just one medium by which you can inspire people and become the best. It must be noted that it comes in hand in hand with your well being and education. Alexander and the other two stars along with Henok Goitom, Golgol Mebrhatu and others who have represented their Eritreanism have been outstanding citizens with good values. It is within that spirit that Eri-International sports wants to share their stories with you. We will continue to inspire and uplift so that more and more young athletes in every sport, young scientists, engineers, doctors, leaders, business executives and just plain good citizens are doing their share to help build a better world and contribute to their land of origin ERITREA even if it is just signing contracts. Getting the name ERITREA out there is a huge contribution.
Within the spirit of the many people including those who had the opportunity to become great athletes and more but decided to help make sure that “ERITREA” stays independent and becomes a thriving nation, we should always keep that in mind.

For Eri-International Sports

Mike Seium