I played Gaelic football until I was 17… but I switched careers and now I’m playing every week in the Premier League
LUTON winger Chiedozie Ogbene has opened up about how he very nearly chose to play Gaelic football as a youngster.
Ogbene, 26, has featured in all nine of Luton’s Premier League matches this season after joining from Rotherham in the summer.
His goal in Luton’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest was his first ever in England’s top division.
But in an interview with Sky Sports, he said growing up in Ireland meant he very nearly played another game entirely.
The Ireland international revealed that, for a long time, he played football and Gaelic football concurrently.
And it was only after having a meeting with a Cork City youth manager that he made the decision to pursue his dream of playing in the Premier League.
Ogbene told Sky: “I go back to when I was 11, my brother was playing for Tramore Athletic when I was playing Gaelic football.
“I always played street football but I never really joined a football team. So my brother used to come back and talk about how his football games went and I used to aspire to be like him.
“Football took over when I was 17. I was playing Gaelic football and football at the same time and I had to make a decision to pursue one career.
“I remember I was 17 and there was a county final with my local club, Nemo Rangers [Gaelic football], and we had to have a replay.
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“In the game I scored a goal and three points and we took it to a replay, and I had to sacrifice… the replay was the same day as a Cork City Under-19 game in UCD in Dublin.
“The manager sat me down and said, I know you are a valuable player for us, but it’s going to be unfair for other players who train everyday if you go off and play Gaelic football and come back and fight for your spot in the team, it’s going to be a difficult decision for me to make.
“So I had to make that decision at 17, that I needed to chase my dreams and chase my career that I wanted to have. It was a difficult decision.”
Ogbene said that while he was delighted to open up his Premier League account on the weekend, the circumstances meant his celebrations were muted.
On the goal, he said: “It’s a great feeling. Obviously the manner in which I scored, getting the first goal to make it 2-1, I didn’t really celebrate the way I wanted to.
“I celebrated more for Elijah (Adebayo)’s goal than mine.
“But just to have that on my CV that I’m a Premier League goalscorer is something I never actually thought would be possible.
“I dreamed of it, but it was like a far-fetched dream. But I’m just so happy that I could have registered one.”