Enis

🇽🇰🇦🇱

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨🤍 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Yan Diomande emotional letter to his late sister:

"Dear Roxane,

Remember when somebody bought me a fake United jersey, and I wrote Ronaldo 7 on the back with the black marker?"

"We didn’t know rich or poor. We just knew happiness."

"Remember 25 people sleeping in one house back in Abidjan? Mum wanted to watch her soap operas. Everyone else wanted to watch movies. Remember how I always used to fake like I was asleep and then go into the TV room after midnight? I’d put the TV on real low. Just like 2 volume bars. I’d watch football in the dark and dream."

"Remember when the adults saw me playing football in the dirt and nicknamed me “Roberto Carlos” because of how hard I would shoot? And remember how I was secretly so mad about it, because CR7 was my idol?"

"Remember when I went to play so far from home? I was 9 years old. Inter Foot Sud Comoé, all the way near the Ghana border. Just a little boy on his own. I don’t know if I ever told you this story, but me and the other kids used to go into the village and steal potatoes because we were so hungry. We did a “bank heist.” Two kids distracting the shop owner, and 18 other kids running out with two potatoes. They weren’t even good. But they tasted amazing. Hahahah. It’s still my favorite thing to eat. Boiled potatoes with some oil. It reminds me of those times."

"Remember when I got my first real football boots, and I used to sleep with them? Growing up, I always played in those white plastic sandals. Even when I go back home now, I still play in them. It’s our tradition."

"Remember when I would come back home, and you would tell my friends from the neighborhood, “Why did you stop training? Yan is not going to buy you cars. You have to keep working."

"You were 10 years old, and already my agent."

"Remember how we used to sit and dream about moving to France? How we were going to go shopping and get our own apartment and I was going to be a rich footballer with cars and a big house, and you wouldn’t have to worry about nothing. You were the one who always believed that I could be the next Cristiano, when everybody else laughed."

"Remember when I moved to America for high school at 15, and I was so homesick? I didn’t know what anybody was saying for months. They sat me next to a French kid, and he tried to translate everything the teacher was saying. Remember when I called you, saying, “You won’t believe it, the kids here argue with teachers."

"Back home, you know we wouldn’t even dare to blink at our elders."

"Remember when I couldn’t believe the kids were smoking after school? You used to say it sounded like I was in an American TV show."

"Remember when they took me on trial at Bournemouth? At Chelsea, Rangers, Olympiacos, Crystal Palace? Eze and Olise even came up to me after one training and said, “Yo kid, you’re really good.”"

"But they still didn’t sign me."

"Even the B teams in the MLS didn’t want me. I didn’t even know why. They never gave me a reason. The adults handled everything. They just kept taking me all around Europe, and everybody kept saying no."

"My visa was up. My dream was over. They sent me back to Africa, and we cried together."

"You were the one who never stopped believing. A few weeks later, I signed for Leganés and we cried different tears."

"That was back when I used to have emotions. Now, I don’t feel anything. It’s like I’m not even human. Since you died, I’m just blank."

"I don’t even think I shed a tear the day they told me that you were gone. I was just in shock."

"It was a few weeks after I made my debut for Leganés. Who makes their debut at 18 against Real Madrid? It was too crazy. It was a dream."

"And then it was a nightmare. Someone kept calling me from back home. I was annoyed. I didn’t understand why they kept calling me."

"I picked up, and they didn’t even soften it. You know how it is back home. No emotions. Just……..

“Your sister is gone.”
“What?”
“She died.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Somebody put something in her drink at a party, and she never woke up. She is gone.”

"You were 15."

"15."

"I never got any answers. I don’t know if I want to know why. Maybe it was jealousy. Maybe it’s just something that happens in our country. Maybe I could have protected you. I don’t know."

"I try to trust God’s plan. It’s all I can do. I don’t try to forget, because I know I won’t forget. All I can do is use the pain to work harder, and to do everything we dreamed about."

"I wrote this because I can’t speak about it. I wrote this because I want you to know that I will make sure that you live on. I will make sure that everybody knows your name. The whole world."

"Everything I do on a football pitch, it’s for you."

"So much has happened since I last saw you…… You would not even believe it. I don’t know if I believe it."

"You know what’s crazy? After my debut against Madrid, I actually swapped shirts with Mbappé. Remember when we used to watch him on TV, and you’d say, “Mbappé? Yeah, he’s good. But my brother is better.”

"I was wrong about one thing. I don’t want to be rich. I see what it does to people, even to family. When I was at Leganés, everything I was earning, I was sending home. It got to the point where I didn’t even want money anymore. It was just a burden. They never stopped asking. I guess they thought I was a millionaire already. I didn’t even have an apartment. I was living at the training ground in a room with no TV. Just football and sleep, football and sleep."

"I didn’t want a big house. I didn’t want cars. I just wanted to put everything into football. Everything to show the world that my sister was right……."

"Ha…. you will think this is funny. When I moved to play at RB Leipzig, I was always late. Well, not late. But I was on time, which in Germany means you’re very late."

"So you already know what I did next. I started arriving 90 minutes early to everything. I was so early all the time that the guys started calling me “The German.”"

"I always have to overdo everything. I have zero chill. You always said that."

"The pitch is the only place that I feel at home anymore. It’s the place where I feel calm, and I can speak to you. I just wish you were still here so I could tell you….. We did it."

"Everything you said came true."

"We’re leaving for the World Cup tomorrow. For real. Your brother is going to play for Côte d'Ivoire, like Drogba, like Yaya, like Gervinho."

"I don’t even look at it like a game. I look at it like a stage. This is my chance to show the whole world what you saw in me. Every time I score, I’ll make sure everybody knows your name. I’ll make sure they don’t forget you."

"You always said that I could be better than Cristiano. If I see him there, I’ll tell him hello for you."

"I’m going to do what you predicted, I swear. Before I even had real boots, you were telling everybody, “My brother is going to be the greatest in the world.”

"I will prove that you were right, or I will die trying... Your brother, Yan."

— @PlayersTribune

[Enis @enishotiii]

@Kianbutt10 @FCHTOnline He told him to keep his head up mate, no need to lie now…

[Transfer News Live @DeadlineDayLive]

🚨 Gregory Van der Wiel's incredible testimony about his career 😳🥺

𝗔𝗕𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗬 read this 👇

🗣️ “I won 16 trophies. And I felt nothing. No joy, no pride, no relief. Nothing. I couldn’t enjoy a single moment of my career. Because I was too busy… wearing a mask. Pretending to be okay. Avoiding anything that might unsettle me. Showing that I had everything under control.

I wore that mask for so long that I eventually became the mask itself. A robot playing a role without feeling a thing.

If you feel this way, that mask isn’t protecting you. It’s killing you. Take it off.

What would you give to play without fear? To step onto the field and feel totally FREE. No pre-game anxiety. No post-game depression. Just you. Fully present. Fully focused. Fully yourself.

Most athletes will never know that feeling. They’ll spend their entire careers playing in fear. Fear of the coach’s reaction. Fear of the fans’ judgment. Fear of the media headlines. Fear of their own thoughts.

And they’ll call it ‘pressure.’ They’ll say: ‘That’s just football.’

It’s not. It’s a prison. And I lived in it for 15 years.

I played stiffly when I should have played freely. I held back when I should have exploded. I doubted myself when I should have had confidence.

The version of myself I could have been? It still exists, somewhere. It never saw the light of day. It still torments me, it still haunts me.

But you? You still have time.

You have time to develop the mindset that will set you free. You have time to perfect the tools that will make you invincible in every match.

This inner work is demanding. It’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do in your life. And it’s truly the only thing that changes everything.”

[Florent @FlorentHoti5]

Goal & more importantly 3️⃣ points, good feeling to be back out there with the boys #UTS 💙

[FC Halifax Town @FCHTOnline]

⏰ 50’ | GOOAAALLL

A strong header from Hoti gets Town a second.

🔵 0-2 🔴

#Shaymen | AL

[Enterprise National League @NL_Enterprise]

Last time @FCHTOnline were in the play-offs, Florent Hoti did THIS 🔥

#TheVanarama

[Sport Management Int @SMi_World]

We are excited to announce our latest recruit #FlorentHoti of @FCHTOnline 🙌🏼 Welcome to the @smi_world family Flo ❤️ #NewRecruit

[Enis @enishotiii]

@keiron72762964 @ar6932 @TheVanaramaNL @EastleighFC @EUFCofficial @tamworthfc @BarnetFC @bostonunited @officiallydale @OfficialShots @WealdstoneFC @MUFCYorkRoad Rochdale Reject he says 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[FC Halifax Town @FCHTOnline]

2️⃣ in 3️⃣ for Hoti. 🚀

Watch All National League matches and highlights only on DAZN - Sign up at https://t.co/piJJRHEN5m.

@DAZN_NationalLg

#Shaymen | LD

[- @ekay3s]

INEOS all is forgiven if you can pull this off

[Enis @enishotiii]

Let’s just hope he doesn’t fall off once he’s old enough to step foot in Shôko

[Rants @rantsnbants]

The best player in the world isn’t old enough to buy cigarettes!

[Enis @enishotiii]

Vitinha x Neves 🔥🤷‍♂️

[National League Lowdown @NLLowdown]

⚽️ TEAM OF THE GAMEWEEK
Rochdale’s resolute defence and the five-star Bees take centre stage:

Huge thank you to each of your comments, think this instalment was the most comments we’ve had in terms of player differentiation.

Thoughts all?

[Enterprise National League @NL_Enterprise]

The Vanarama Team of Midweek! 🙌

A combined XI from Tuesday night 👥

[FC Halifax Town @FCHTOnline]

A short story. 📖

#Shaymen | AL

[Tom Scargill @HxCourierTom]

The best 11 players in the National League under 25 as chosen by football analysis tool with York City, Rochdale, Solihull Moors and FC Halifax Town represented:

https://t.co/jJBMb9FmrG

[Enterprise National League @NL_Enterprise]

It’s Vanarama Team of the Week time! 🚨

The National League XI is up first 👇

[Kev 屮 @UtdKev08]

Pep Guardiola after winning 1 in 11 with Man City😭

[FC Halifax Town @FCHTOnline]

⚽ NLP TEAM OF THE DAY |

Well done to Florent Hoti, his performance yesterday against Aldershot Towm sees him in the Non League Paper Team of the Day 👏👏👏

#Shaymen | LD