Talent Scout: Stephen Sunday

July 3rd, 2007 by SM Dev (ste)

Stephen Sunday was born 1 September, 1988, in Lagos.The Nigerian born youngster has recently moved to Valencia, and is seen as an emerging talent in the Spanish game.

Sunny was discovered by a soccer agent in 2003, whilst attending the Taribo West Academy in Tamuno, Nigeria. At the time Sunny was registered on the books of Nigerian outfit Tamuno Inemi. He followed the agent to Spain, where he went to live in Madrid for a few months. Whilst in Madrid he participated in the third edition of the annual Immigrants Mundial, and his dazzling performances made him one of the stars of the tournament.

His performances impressed Poli Ejido’s General Director, Juan Jose Melero, so much that he signed him into Ejido’s B team following a two week trial. Due to him being an illegal immigrant, one of the directors of Ejido had to become his adopted father to allow him to obtain the necessary paperwork to stay in the country.

Spanish giants Real Madrid recognised his talents, and offered the club a packaged deal of 300,000 Euros, plus a friendly game for his services. This offer was refused point blank by Poli Ejido.

In the summer of 2005, Sunny was promoted to the senior team at the age of 17, and made his debut in the Segunda Liga, coming on as a second half substitute against Elche. Sunny’s performances in his debut season attracted interest from Deportivo La Coruna, and Real Betis.

During the 2006-07 season, Sunny continued producing mature performances in midfield week in week out, with his with his superb right foot, his uncanny awareness of space and angles, and the ability to mark, mix up the play with his perky dribbles and right-foot passes over long and short range. Scouts from several La Liga clubs kept track of him, and at the end of the season, Real Madrid, Napoli, Celta Vigo, and Deportivo La Coruna all showed interest, but only Valencia made a concrete offer.

Although Sunny was born in Lagos, Nigeria, he is eligible to play for Spain under FIFA rules, which allow players with dual nationality to change their international allegiance before the age of 21. Officials of the Spanish under-19 side have been impressed with his displays, and a few days after he was issued his Spanish passport, he was called up to their youth side for a tour of Portugal. He has also been called up to represent Spain in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, in Canada.

Sunny is currently an 82 rated defensive/central midfielder, and SkySports journalist Guillem Balague recntly said: “He is a little like Claude Makelele but better going forward, with a bit of Michael Essien in him. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him as he will become an international player for Spain in two or three years.” If this is the case, then Sunny will surely hit the 90’s.

Posted in: Talent Scout, Players

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