‘Never lose faith’ – Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze’s message to young aspiring footballers
Eberechi Eze has urged young footballers to “never lose faith” and be “bold in yourself” even if you receive setbacks in your pursuit of your dream.
The Greenwich-born 23-year-old was released by Millwall at the age of 18. But in the summer of 2020 he moved to Crystal Palace for a reported fee of at least £16million from Queens Park Rangers.
Eze has made 34 appearances and scored four goals for the Eagles.
Eze told BT Sport’s second episode of their new docuseries South Of The River: “I wanted to help my family as much as possible. I realised what football could do and I put all my eggs into that basket and said: ‘This is what I’m going to be’.
“It’s a lot of ups and downs, as football is. Going through these emotions of: ‘I’ve got no club, what am I going to do?’ It’s very difficult, for sure. There’s so many questions that you’re asking but you have to be strong enough, bold enough in yourself, to say I’m going to get there.
“There’s nice parts of Greenwich where people have got money and there’s not so nice parts. I grew up in a not so nice part. Because of how hard life is, and how hard life can be, I will not stand here and scorn anyone for doing anything that they do.
“I went to Millwall and got released from there. No-one’s going to give it to you, but you’ve got to be strong enough in yourself to say: ‘I will keep going until I get there’.
“I’m not going to worry about anything anyone has to say about me, that’s not important to me, because I know where I’ve come from.
“How I enjoyed playing football in the cage, that’s what I want to do in the Premier League. My advice would be to never lose faith. Never stop believing that you can get there.”
Everyone at the South London Press thanks you for your continued support.
Former Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has encouraged everyone in the country who can afford to do so to buy a newspaper, and told the Downing Street press briefing:
“A FREE COUNTRY NEEDS A FREE PRESS, AND THE NEWSPAPERS OF OUR COUNTRY ARE UNDER SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL PRESSURE”
If you can afford to do so, we would be so grateful if you can make a donation which will allow us to continue to bring stories to you, both in print and online. Or please make cheques payable to “MSI Media Limited” and send by post to South London Press, Unit 112, 160 Bromley Road, Catford, London SE6 2NZ
