I inherited my father’s stubbornness, tenacity – Troost-Ekong

Nigerian defender, WilliamTroost-Ekong has revealed that he inherited his father’s stubbornness and tenacity.

Born and bred in Haarlem, Northwest Netherlands, Troost-Ekong recalled the endruing times playing for small teams before breaking into top actions in England.

The centre back, according to The Nation, said his stubbornness and belief in his ability kept him going.

Though, his father, Ekong, who hails from Akwa-Ibom, but at the time an immigrant in the Netherlands, did not support him to play football for a career, he went ahead with the blessing of his mother, Eleanore Troost.

It was a difficult time for Troost-Ekong, but he said his stubbornness and tenacity kept him going.

“We are stubborn in my family. I must have inherited it from my father. He did not want me to play football. He felt I should go to university, but I wanted football.

Troost-Ekong has a Dutch mother and a Nigerian father and played for a long time at less appealing clubs such as FC Dordrecht, the Norwegian Haugesund, and Turkish Bursaspor.

It was only two years down the line that he joined his dream league, the Premier League with Watford.

Watford struggled to stay afloat in the Premier League last season and ended up relegated to the lower league.

Troost-Ekong mentions his parents as the main source of motivation. His father sent him to an English boarding school when he was 12 years old to be disciplined for university. After three years, he came on the radar of Tottenham Hotspur’s famed academy, but his father refused to sign, crucial to being admitted.

His mother signed on the last day. “I’m still very grateful to her for that. It caused considerable friction between my parents, later they divorced.”

The episode led to prolonged friction with his father.

For a long time, we did not speak with each other. He felt that school was my best chance for a bright future that is not in the offing for many Nigerians. Now that I am a father myself, I can understand him better.”

His mother’s sacrifice and his father’s skepticism gave Troost-Ekong no other option but to succeed. So, he perseveres through the many mental setbacks along the way.

He did not make it that way at Tottenham, FC Groningen, and KAA Gent. On gloomy evenings on the Krommedijk in Dordrecht, in cold Norway, sweltering Turkey, or during an impending strike at the Nigerian national team due to a financial conflict, he thought of his father shaking his head and then put his shoulders back under his life’s work: succeed as a professional football player. “We are both very stubborn. I wanted to prove him wrong. After the 2018 World Cup, we made peace.”

He added: “I’ve always kept faith in myself, but you don’t make this up if you’re still playing at FC Dordrecht at 22. With more than fifty international matches, bronze at the Games, already allowed to play a World Cup, and now Premier League player and captain in the Africa Cup. Awesome.”