He sits his 193 centimeters and puts a little vaseline on his lips. "It's very cold!" he exclaims, although the exclamation of Samuel Aghehowa, Samu, (Melilla, 20 years old) is as faint as a whisper. This shyness barely lets you hear the Andalusian accent of someone who, today, is in the spotlight in the Spanish national team. Protagonist of a journey that began in Nigeria, passed through Morocco, continued in a shelter in Melilla, and blossomed in a humble neighborhood in Seville, the boy tells his story with the look of someone who still fears that it's all a dream. Not even having to rush out of a Mercadona in Porto because he is an idol there distracts him from his goal: to keep improving to give back to his mother everything his mother has given him.
Well, how are you? Living a dream that sometimes I can't believe is happening. Have they played any pranks on you? Have they made you sing? No, not yet... I have a song prepared just in case, but well, if they forget, it's okay. How did a 20-year-old boy who debuted in La Liga just over a year ago get here? With a lot of sacrifice. I think I have worked very hard to get here, always eager to improve and be better every day. I don't forget all those who have helped me.
He says "with a lot of sacrifice," but in all honesty, the first sacrifice, the toughest one, and around that almost the entire conversation revolves, was made by his mother, Edith Aghehowa. She was the one who left Nigeria while pregnant with Samuel, she was the one who crossed to Melilla so that her son, whom she feared losing several times in that odyssey, would be born in Spain, she was the one who, moving to Seville, stayed alone with Samu and his sister, Precious, now 16 years old, and she did it as best as she could: cleaning, taking care of the elderly... Perhaps that's why she asks to be known by her second surname, Aghehowa, and not, as until now, by the paternal one.
What do you remember about your mother when you were a child? I remember her working. She worked in many different jobs, whatever she could find, because she didn't have a steady job. It was a very tough time, and my mother worked in whatever she could to put a meal on the table for my sister and me every day. Do you feel like you missed out on something during those years? I am very proud of my mother, she has always fought for my sister and me to succeed. We were not in a good situation, but she always gave us everything she could, and now I try to repay her, although no matter how much I earn, no matter how much I give back, it will never be enough.
You recently said that your goal was for your mother to stop working. Have you achieved it? Thank God, I have been able to make my mother stop working. She suffered a lot for me, she deserves all the good things that happen to her, especially a peaceful life. What else do you remember from those years? Well, my mother used to accompany me to training because to get from home to the Sports City we had to take two buses, or else the metro. We would arrive home very late many days, and the next day I had school. All that suffering, that sacrifice she made for me... What did you do with the first money you earned from football? Of course, I bought her a house so that she and my sister can enjoy the life they deserve. I am very proud of her, everything I do for her falls short compared to what she has done for me. How else can you repay her? By telling her that I love her very much. I tell her every day. She is the most important woman in my life, and everything I do is for her.
"When I go to my neighborhood, I still do the same things I did with my friends"
Edith, the mother, was alone with her two children, as it is written, so she always needed help to balance work and taking care of the children. Here comes the story of Antonio and Juani, "my godparents." "Antonio was like a father to me, he passed away years ago. When my mother had to work, she left us with them, who were our downstairs neighbors. They were the ones who helped raise us, educate us. Antonio was the one who signed me up for my first team, Inter 4, a futsal team in Seville. I will be eternally grateful to them," says someone who only received scoldings from his mother when something broke at home due to the boy's kicks to the ball.
You are a grateful person. I am very humble and grateful. I never forget the people who helped me in difficult times. Did football help you ignore the dangers of a humble neighborhood like yours? I am a person who knows very well what I want, and I am not influenced by others. No one has influenced me negatively. I have seen the bad things that have happened in my life and I have distanced myself. I have always had a very healthy environment. Very humble, but very healthy. It is always emphasized, negatively, the fact of living in a humble neighborhood. I have been very happy, and I am very proud of where I come from [the El Cerezo neighborhood in Seville]. In fact, when I go to my neighborhood, I still do the same things I did with my friends. We go to the park to talk about life, or whatever. Just because of where I am now, it doesn't mean I have changed as a person.
Nico Williams once told us that he wanted to buy a Porsche and his mother didn't let him. What about you? I haven't even considered it. If in the future I can indulge myself, I will, but right now the only important thing is that my family is well.
The records show that he wears a size 48 shoe. "It's a 47," he clarifies, and regardless of whether it's a documentation error or if he has shrunk, a more relaxed Samu explains how every summer he has attended technical training camps to improve. "Not only in the summers. Even on rest days, I never stop training because there are many things I still need to improve. I want to be a good player at a European and global level." He lives alone in Porto, although he receives many visitors: his mother and sister, friends from Seville, his agents. He has scored 12 goals, eight in the league and four in the Europa League, and in him, a striker for a decade is sensed, much calmer now facing the opponent's goal, much better at decision-making. He is fulfilling the dream of someone who always knew he would make it, almost since that Inter 4, or Nervión, or Granada, or Alavés...
When do you realize that, that you are going to make it? I have always had in my mind that football was going to be my life. When I was in the Granada reserve team, even in the youth team, I had a conversation with my mother because I was struggling training in the morning and studying in the afternoons. I told her I was going to be a footballer and... And you dropped out of school. I did, yes, because I couldn't handle it and I'm not a very good student either. Do you plan to go back to studying? Yes. No one knows what will happen in life, and I will resume it sooner rather than later, that's for sure.
"Nico, Lamine, I... represent the country regardless of skin color"
The diversity of this team is highly praised. Nico, Lamine, Balde... now you. There are immigrants in Spain, that is evident. Nico, Lamine, I... we represent the country regardless of skin color. Have you experienced racism? I have experienced racism, but it's a topic I don't want to talk about.
The conversation comes to an end, and the epilogue sums up Samu. "How do I see myself in a few years? Being the same humble person I am." Even if he has to put on a hoodie to avoid causing chaos at Mercadonas in Porto.