Striker who killed off mighty Barcelona once used to speak Kikuyu
New Celta Vigo Swedish striker John Guidetti used to enjoy speaking Kikuyu and walking around barefoot, his former coach at Ligi Ndogo has told Nairobi News.
The 23 year old who only transferred to the Spanish La Liga at the start of this season, was impressive during his side’s 4-1 win over Barcelona on Wednesday evening, and even scored the fourth goal of the match.
The result ended the Spanish and European champions’ unbeaten run in the La Liga this season.
During the Wednesday night match, Barca paraded their international stars including Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Guidetti honed his skills in Kenya where his family lived for five years as his parents taught at an international school.
TEAM CLOWN
It is was during that time that Guidetti had stints at Ligi Ndogo and later Mathare United where he met coach Tirus Waiyaki.
“John was the team’s clown, often churning rib cracking jokes that left us all in stitches. At times choosing to speak in broken Kikuyu, it was all mad fun!” Waiyaki told Nairobi News.
“He also used the pit latrines at the Olympic Stadium in Kibera and played barefoot whenever the need arose. John’s dream was to become a professional footballer.”
Upon leaving Mathare, Guidetti, who played in the same team with Belgium-based Kenyan attacker Ayub Timbe, enjoyed spells with Manchester City and Burnley in England, Feyenoord (Holland) and Celtic (Scotland), where he won the league and domestic cup in 2014 before signing a five year deal at Celta Vigo last August.