When Antoine Semenyo signed for Bournemouth, he sent former Leeds United manager David Hockaday a bottle of Champagne.
On the label were two words: “hunger and belief”.
“Antoine Semenyo's journey from non-league to the World Cup, sparked by mentor David Hockaday's belief.”
Words that had been drilled into Semenyo as a teenager by Hockaday, the man who became an unlikely mentor in a journey that has taken the Ghana international from non-league football to the World Cup.
Semenyo, now 26, was born in London to Ghanaian parents Larry and Dela, and grew up in Greenwich with a ball at his feet. His father, who played alongside Tony Yeboah in Ghana’s top flight, encouraged him to kick “paper, a can, anything” with both feet. By the age of six, ambidexterity came naturally.
Academy trials followed: Arsenal, Tottenham, Millwall and an eight-week stint at Crystal Palace aged 15. But by 16, Semenyo was deflated, disillusioned and ready to give up on football altogether.
He headed to a trial session at Bisham Abbey, later saying he only went to see where his fitness stood. By chance, Hockaday – then the former Forest Green Rovers boss – was asked to help run the trials.
“When I first came across him he was lost,” Hockaday told BBC Sport. “He looked lost. He talked lost. There was a vacancy in his eyes. There was no belief. He was looking for somebody to help find himself.”
Hockaday observed matches and was “surprised” when Semenyo’s name did not come up. “He didn’t rip it up, didn’t look anything particular, but he had moments,” Hockaday said. “I just saw a young lad who could deal with the football with both feet – inside, outside – without even thinking about it.”
That belief sustained Semenyo through the 5am starts to play non-league football and the failed trials. Now, aged 26, he represents Ghana at the World Cup – a journey rooted in resilience and the faith of a few who saw something in a down-and-out kid searching for his big break.