From the under-20 Golden Ball to the junction: the strange story of Adiyiah, legendary AC Milan meteor

In Egypt, in 2009, among the general surprise the under-20 World Cup was won by Ghana. It is October 16, the final ends on penalties and the Africans beat the Brazil of Douglas Costa, Ganso and Toloi. In the Ghanaian national team there are some well-known faces of Italian football such as Badu and Mensah, both of whom passed to Udinese after the world championship victory. But the one who steals the eye is another footballer. Dominic Adiyiah is practically unstoppable. In the tournament he even scores 8 goals, winning the title of top scorer and also that of best player in the competition. The striker’s performance does not seem to leave any doubts, he is predestined. And in January 2010 Milan took him home for over a million euros.

RED AND BLACK METEORA – It is a pity that Adiyiah’s story is not at all that of an affirmation in football that counts. There is little left in the Rossoneri, just enough time to train with the first team without ever seeing the pitch and playing a few games with the Primavera. Then in the following summer, after the World Cup in which he misses one of the penalties that condemn Ghana against Uruguay, his very personal … world tour begins. In reality, the Ghanaian had carried on with the work, because the Rossoneri bought him from the Norwegians of Fredrikstad, who in turn had discovered him at home. From Milan he leaves for three loans. The first, in Reggio Calabria, brings his only two Italian goals as a dowry. Then the following, at Partizan in Serbia and at Karşıyaka in Turkey, confirm the suspicion: the boy is a flash in the pan. Adiyiah, however, does not let himself down and continues to look for his place in the world of football.

MORE AND MORE TO THE EAST – His long wanderings take him further and further east. First in Ukraine, where with the Arsenal Kiev shirt he too manages to go on the net a few more times, while never touching the double figures. Then in Kazakhstan, where the Atyrau welcomes him, without receiving convincing performances in exchange. And finally the Ghanaian finds his place: in Thailand. The first team that believes in him is Nakhonratchasima, which remains the club with which he has scored the most in his career: 20 goals in almost 100 games over the course of three seasons, before even joining the second division at Chiangmai United. But at the beginning of 2021 he decides that the employment relationship must end with the release. Not exactly what was expected from his career a Golden Ball of the Under-20 World Cup. And perhaps, several years after its compilation, those of Don Balon who included him in the list of the best footballers born after 1989 … realized that they had exaggerated with the forecasts!