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By Abiodun Adewale.
Borussia Dortmund forward, Karim Adeyemi, seems to be in constant touch with his Nigerian heritage despite being a German footballer, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The origin of the 21-year-old has become a subject of interest again following his comments after Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League first leg round of 16 game on Wednesday night.
Adeyemi controlled from a counter inside Dortmund’s half before outrunning Enzo Fernandez, then rounded Kepa Arrizabalaga to slot in.
In his admission of his Nigerian identity after the game, Adeyemi revealed that his qualities on the pitch were down to the genetic traits he picked from his father, as well as the strength he got from eating fufu, a Nigerian delicacy made from cassava.
“I eat lots of African food, but I have good genetics from my dad, so, I think it’s difficult for you to get.
“It’s called fufu, and it’s very good,” he told the reporter.
Another video later surfaced online where the player was seen eating another Nigerian food and okra soup during his last visit to Nigeria in December 2022.
Borussia Dortmund also shared a picture of Adeyemi during the game and captioned it, “fueled by fufu.”
PUNCH Sports Extra had reported that Adeyemi made a public appearance in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria on Boxing Day, during a visit to Nigeria last year.
The player was spotted at the Olubadan Stadium, where he watched his team, Adeyemi FC play a novelty match against Nigeria Professional Football League side, Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan. The game ended 1-0 in favour of 3SC.
Fans at the stadium were excited to see the Germany-based player who hails from Ibadan as many pictured with the 20-year-old footballer just as tweeps shared the updates on social media.
Adeyemi was born in Germany to a Nigerian father Abbey Adeyemi and a Romanian mother Alexandra Adeyemi but opted to play for the German national team.
In connection with his father’s traits, Adeyemi had once revealed that his father saw in him a fulfilment of the career he could not pursue.
“My father came to Europe to play football because he comes from a football family but he was already old when he got here. So, he could not play much. Since I was little he taught me about football and was always buying me ball and soccer stuff,” Adeyemi said in 2021.
The Dortmund forward was part of Die Mannschaft squad that crashed out of last year’s World Cup in Qatar from the group stage of the tournament.