At the top of the football ladder lies the prestigious life of money, fame and pleasure but to attain this enviable height, there have to be sacrificed.
The sacrifices include cutting down sleeping hours for training, spending more time in training, and reducing sexual engagement but in the case of legendary Ghanaian footballer, Stanley Aborah his determination to succeed in football cost him regular punishment from his parents and the shame of borrowing Gob3(local name for gari and beans) on credit.
Speaking with Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV, Aborah revealed that his passion for football was the driving force that made him push through all the struggles.
“For motivation, football is my food. I refused to run errands for my mum when I’m playing football. She would drag me to the farm yet I will escape and come to play football. It was like my life was nothing without football. It made me suffer a bit when I travelled to Kumasi to live with my father. I had to stop playing football and be pounding fufu and doing other things. Sometimes I return(from training) and met no food. When he is upstairs and sees me eating, it irritates him, so sometimes I just drink water and sleep. Sometimes I go two days without food because I decided to go to training. And for me, I decided not to quit football,” he said.
Aborah revealed that his dad starved him because he chose to play football. Hence, he had to buy food, preferably, gari and beans and Konkonte(a staple Ghanaian food) on credit.
“So when I’m that hungry, I will pass by and make sure the place is free so that I can get the food on credit. So throughout the week, I’ll buy gari and beans on credit then on the weekend when I play football and gets money, I’ll use the money to settle the woman.”
Stanley Aborah was a midfielder who played for Asante Kotoko from 1987 to 1991 before securing a move to Belgium side Cappellen.
He also played for the Black Stars and was a member of the squad for the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Senegal.
Aborah retired in the early 2000s after sustaining a knee injury. Currently is based in Belgium.