By Admin,

Amin Askar dreams of playing for Ethiopia looked destined to be fulfilled over the weekend as Ethiopia Walia Ibex  prepares to clash with Mali in an Afcon qualifier.

For Askar its a special occasion and moment for the player who left Ethiopia when he was barely 1 year old and returned back at 29 years (Birthday 1st October) .Askar who was born in Teferebar before his parents migrated to Norway exclusively told Soka25east.com that the journey to Ethiopia after 29 years was both emotional and exciting as he was not aware of exactly where he was going.

Askar described his feeling as he landed at the airport and found everything different from the passionate fans to Amharic which he barely knows to new players that he had never met the experience was just breathtaking.

“It was a good feeling to land in the airport. The fans has been amazing so far.Its Nice to be here in Ethiopia  and play football in Africa.I Still need  to adapt to many things like language barrier but so far so good i feel so happy that my dream has come true”

“On the pitch i have been taking English with the players and having Walid Atta and Yusuf Saleh  with me in the team is refreshing as it makes me to ease up and adapt faster as i can talk both Norwegian and English with them comfortably”‘

“It has always been my dream to play for Ethiopia and finally its looking all positive and i am very happy with the reception from both the technical bench and the players who have been fantastic not forgetting the fans who have been amazing throughout.Its a new experience playing in Africa though i dont know much against Mali  i am optimistic we will get good results “Amin Askar told Soka25east.com from the team hotel in Addis Ababa.

Askar who plays top flight football for  SK Brann in the Norwegian league  has had  his thoughts wander back to his roots despite on several occasions being called upon to play for Norway at the senior level.

The winger who has scored some beautiful goals has dreams of playing for his motherland where he had not returned since his parents migrated to Norway.

“I want to bring to Walia my 11 years of experience playing professional football in Europe and with the quality I have hopefully Walia can get some benefit .My strength as a player is my determination, speed and goal scoring abilities.”

“In Norway I played for the youth national teams ,but not at the senior level and I would never trade my football for anything else that is why I have been patient  and the confidence Mariano Barreto showed in me by calling me up was awesome to help  birth country,” a determined Askar told Soka25east.com

“I am really enjoying my life as a professional footballer in Europe and now I want to also experience football in Africa as I also dream to play in the World Cup just like other players,” Askar added.

Askar won the prize for the best goal scored in Norway last season and the soft spoken player cannot wait to put on an Ethiopia jersey to bring his experience home.

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com