The curious case of Savio Nsereko

[MC Prussian]

Some of you may remember a young, lightning-quick German left-winger with African roots, who can also operate as a striker, from youth tournaments.

He was once hailed "the talent of the century" in German football circles, when Savio Magala Nsereko won the 2008 European Youth Championship under coach Horst Hrubesch.

He proved to be an essential element and was a huge fans' favourite.

Born in Uganda and brought up in Munich, he was snapped up by Brescia, where he made immediate impact.

Three goals in 22 matches prompted West Ham to sign him up for a staggering 10.2 million Euro (£8.3m) in 2009, and this is where it all went a little bad.

The fate of Savio Nsereko is closely tied to the temptations of the English Premier League, it is a tale of a promising, yet fragile football player seduced by the big buck, living it up for a while before losing it all - almost.

Given the shirt number that once belonged to Craig Bellamy, the 5ft 7" winger-slash-forward with the nickname Savio failed to make the real cut at Upton Park, playing only ten games for the Hammers.

The only sportive high point in his short-lived West Ham stint was an assist for a Jack Collison goal that helped the Newham club beat Manchester City in March 2009.

Three years of a constantly inconsistent professional footballer's life followed; he was soon sold to Fiorentina and loans led him to attractive places such as Burgas in Bulgaria, Juve Stabia, a smaller Serie B club, and the Romanian side Vaslui.

1860 Munich, the Bavarian equivalent of Millwall (sans the thug element and with a much nicer stadium), were another station in his somewhat tumultous career.

Unfortunately, the contract with his original youth club, where Nsereko spent his early career before starting his European journey full of twists and turns, was mutually cancelled after just three months in October 2010.

Not only, but also because he missed training without prior announcement one day, instead showing up in London shortly after, staying in the English capital for two straight weeks.

It was not the first time Nsereko didn't take his profession all too seriously - during his spell at Juve Stabia, he went under the radar for several days, prompting his mother to contact the police, with Interpol following suit also.

Today, at age 23, Nsereko admits that his time and the contract in London led him to live a life without having to think about tomorrow. At first.

"I made a lot of mistakes. In fact, I did everything wrong that I could" Nsereko explains.

"I was handed a million Euro in cash thanks to the move and earned 65'000 Euro (more than £50'000) a month at West Ham. I lost grip with reality completely."

Soon enough, he was dishing out money left and right to pals or people appearing as such, carelessly and extravagantly. For two of his birthdays, he flew himself and (female) friends of his to Miami. In a private jet. For a mere 160'000 Euro total.

"Nobody ever told me how to deal with that amount of money. My parents fled the war in Uganda after I was born and my dad died when I was only two and a half years old. My mother was left with five children to raise on her own."

Savio Nsereko has gone missing a few times as a footballer, so maybe some people saw it coming when he apparently got kidnapped whilst being on vacation in Pattaya, Thailand, in October 2012.

According to his own words, the 3'000 Euro ransom that followed were but "a fluke".

The Thai authorities saw it a bit more formal, charging Nsereko, still on Fiorentina's books, for stating false claims. He was arrested, or maybe not. Nsereko again denies the incident took place at all.

"I sent an SMS to my relatives in Germany, but they misinterpreted it completely, then informed the German Embassy, worried about my whereabouts" he comments on this episode.

Now, trying to leave the unfitting high-profile past behind, a time when he was dealing with people, powers and money of unheard dimensions, Nsereko is willing to give it another try. This time more thoughtfully.

In late 2012, he signed with Spielvereinigung (SpVgg) Unterhaching, a small banlieue club from the outskirts of Munich, once and probably only famous for staying in the Bundesliga longer than they were ever expected to (1999 to 2001).

"I have a new agency that treats me very well and helps me a lot" Nsereko comments on his newly-found hope. "And I am eternally thankful that Unterhaching have come in for me."

With a new and private fitness coach, Nsereko is prepping up for a fresh start in the 3rd Bundesliga. Almost as swift as in his earlier days, he now does 30 meters in 3.88 seconds.

Disclaimer: This story is patched together thanks to information coming from several sources (predominantly wikipedia.org and bild.de) for your own personal entertainment.

[RobHawk]

Reminds me of this that i read on BBC Sport yesterday! amazing how such talent can be wasted!! http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20946368

[Kitchandro]

Never heard of him. Good read though

[Alexikokopops]

Given the thread title I'm presuming you know of this, but for anyone else When Saturday Comes does a feature every month called "The Curious Case of..." which is always worth a read. Sadly they're not available online, but all the more reason to buy the print magazine!

[Mack]

There are no excuses in reality.

When life give you an opportunity like that to squander it is just plain stupidity.

[Trav Le Bleu]

Three goals in 22 matches prompted West Ham to sign him up for a staggering 10.2 million Euro (£8.3m) in 2009

They can spot quality.

[FantasticMrFuchs]

Good read that

[SOCCERROO FOX]

Given the thread title I'm presuming you know of this, but for anyone else When Saturday Comes does a feature every month called "The Curious Case of..." which is always worth a read. Sadly they're not available online, but all the more reason to buy the print magazine!

Remember reading that a few times when i was in the Uk great magazine, might do some investigation and see if i can get it out here.

[Alexikokopops]

Remember reading that a few times when i was in the Uk great magazine, might do some investigation and see if i can get it out here.

I think you can get a worldwide subscription but I've no idea about buying the odd edition. Send them an email, they're always very helpful (to me at least)!

[Guest MattP]

Happens a lot.

Young players often look great but then don't adapt at all when it comes to the professional game.

I used to do a bit of researching for Championship Manager in the late 90's when it was still at the stage where the Collyer brothers owned it and remember watching some of the world youth championships. I spotted three players who I said would be superstars.

Adailton and Bernado Romeo, both brilliant goalscorers that would lead the attacks of Brazil and Argentina for years.

There was another guy who I said might be ok but I wasn't sure, he was called Juan Roman Riquelme. Short fat guy but controlled the game.

Had you given me 20million to invest in two we would have take Adailton and Romeo.

Just found the tournament. Interesting seeing the names on it now.

http://en.wikipedia....th_Championship