Southampton’s Kamaldeen Sulemana names Okocha as his footballing hero

While Southampton’s defeat against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend has all but confirmed their Premier League fate, the season hasn’t been without its bright spots.

One such shining light has been their dynamic African forward, Kamaldeen Sulemana. The young Ghanaian attacking talent has showcased immense potential, hinting at a promising future. This week, Showmax Premier League brings you an exclusive interview with Sulemana, where he reflects on his experience in the Premier League.

He also shares his deep pride in representing Ghana and the disappointment he and his teammates feel about missing out on this year’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON)

Catch Kamaldeen live in action on Showmax Premier League this weekend when Southampton take on Aston Villa on Saturday, 12 April at 16:00.

There are plenty of African footballers that have done well in the Premier League. Which African player do you look up to the most who has played in the Premier League?

In the Premier League, position wise I would have to say Jay-Jay Okocha. Obviously Ronaldinho is my idol, and we are similar in how we play, and we fun for people to watch, and he is the player I looked up to, but there are so many in the Premier League that have done incredibly well. The likes of Sadio Mane, who has been at Southampton, Mohammed Salah, Yaya Toure, Samuel Eto’o – there are so many names, but Jay-Jay Okocha is my go to.

You have said in previous interviews that Ronaldinho and Jay-Jay play with a smile on their face, and that you love that about them. You try to do the same, is that right?

Ronaldinho and Jay-Jay made people smile as well; they made people enjoy the game. And that is what I want to do, but I want to be able to back it up with goals and assists. That is the only thing missing from my game. I am pushing and working hard to add to that game. I don’t only want to be an entertainer, but rather a complete player.

Ghanaians such as Jordan Ayew, Andre Ayew, Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo, Jeffrey Schlupp, Emmanuel Frimpong and many others have played and play in the Premier League and have done incredibly well. Does that give you confidence that as a Ghanaian footballer you too can succeed in the Premier League?

My best two friends play in the Premier League. Abdul Fatawu is at Leicester and Mohammed Kudus is at West Ham. Kudus hasn’t had the best season this season, but he was sublime last season. So it’s great to see my best friend doing so well. It gives me motivation to push as hard as I can. Unfortunately Fatawu is injured at the moment, but he is a very good young player. I chat to them almost every day and we meet up on our off days. It’s so amazing that we are all playing in the Premier League and excelling. Last season I watched Kudus excel and I told him I would see him in the Premier League next season and we can destroy the league together.

Which Ghanaian footballer do you think has done the best in the Premier League in your opinion?

The one with the most goals in the Premier League is Jordan Ayew, right? He has played in the Premier League for years and scored so many goals, so I would say him.

So Jordan over Michael Essien then?

Actually I change my mind (giggles). I have to give it to Essien for all he had achieved with Chelsea in the Premier League. If we are looking at strikers, then definitely Jordan, but generally it has to be Essien. He was one of the best coaches I had, as well. We worked together in Denmark. He is such a nice guy.

How big is the Premier League in Ghana? And which teams do Ghanaians mostly support?

The Premier League is not just big in Ghana, but worldwide. It is the best league in the world. It is very competitive, and comes full of surprises. That is something that excites fans, the fact that the Premier League is always full of surprises. In terms of support in Ghana, Chelsea and Man United seem to be the most supported English clubs in the country. Obviously, my family supports Southampton, but looking from the outside, it has to be Chelsea and Man United, especially United.

Who is the toughest defender you have come up against in the Premier League ?

I think they are all good and all tough to play against. If a defender plays well on the day, I give them their flowers. If I play well on the day, it can be a tough day for the defender, so it all depends. But generally, all the defenders in the Premier League are tough to play against.

You are able to choose a five-a-side team featuring African players who play or have played in the Premier League. Who makes your ultimate five-a-side team?

I’m not choosing a goalkeeper because we are playing small poles, tiki-taka format, okay?
Here they are:

• Yaya Toure
• Michael Essien
• Jay-Jay Okocha
• Mohamed Salah
• Didier Drogba

Mohammed Salah will play on the right, Jay-Jay Okocha will play on the left, and then two players to hold in the middle with Didier Drogba up front. What a team with flair, right!

What is the best Ghanaian restaurant in the UK that you enjoy eating at?

There are so many. I usually do take-out. We order take-outs and Kudus normally orders the food because he knows all the spots. In Southampton I go and eat at Elmina Lounge. Quite often we get chefs delivering us food, but when I am in the mood for Ghanaian food then I call them and order. Our chefs try and cook Ghanaian food also. Some days we eat real English food, and some days African food, so we switch it up. We are not only eating continental, we keep it local as well.

It’s the first time since 2004 that Ghana will be missing from the AFCON tournament. How disappointed are you that Ghana failed to qualify?

We are very disappointed. There are no words to describe how sad we feel. We really missed out big time and this is a huge blow for the whole country. Even though we are doing well in the World Cup Qualifiers, our failure to qualify for AFCON is still in the back of our minds. How did we miss out on AFCON, miss out on a local one like this? AFCON is so different from every other tournament, and we take so much of pride in taking part in AFCON, so we are greatly disappointed.
Obviously Ghana hasn’t won AFCON in a long time, and we really want to take it home, so we are really sad we haven’t qualified.

We also didn’t perform well in the last two AFCON tournaments, so we were hoping to make this year a great one. We as players take the blame and take full responsibility for not qualifying and we have apologised to the country and our fans. We want to do well in the World Cup qualifiers and in the World Cup.

Do you think that there is a lot of work to be done to once again become a dominant force in Africa?

We are slowly getting better, and this international break showed the future of Ghana. We have very young ones coming in and doing well, while the older ones are leading the team with their experience and leadership. We are playing well and have got a good group, with the experienced ones helping the younger talents. We know what we have on our hands.

In Ghana, football means everything, there is no sport like football. We eat and drink football, and everything is football. So when we do play for the national team we always want to fight and do our best for our country. We have seen the likes of Essien and Asamoah Gyan achieve great things for Ghana on the biggest stage at the 2010 World Cup, and that is still in our brains and we want to be able to recreate that. There are many memories that are engrained into our brains thanks to the past generation. Now it’s our time to give the older generation and new generation great memories so that they have something to live and cheer for.

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