Star Field Elite football team midfielder Timon Tenambergen left Kenya for Germany last weekend. While in Germany the lanky defensive midfielder will seek a professional career at Gievenbeck football club based in Munster – a club that has given rise to Bundesliga players Marc Lorenz (Arminia Bielefeld) and Christian Pander (Schalke 04).

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He has become one of the most recognizable figures at Star Field Football Academy. But there’s more than recognition to Tenambergen, behind the long-limbed centre half, there lies a remarkable journey.

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He is every bit as engaging as you might expect, when he speaks about duty, though, his demeanour shifts slightly. Instead, he opts for respect, humility and contemplation.

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“For me, playing at the next level – to achieve my goal, a dream – that discipline was already instilled in me at a younger age. It was easy for me to bring it over to my game and do what I have to do going forward.”

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 “I’m really excited and very much proud for him as a person,” Star Field CEO said. “To see him work, I can tell you one thing – he works really hard.” From here, it becomes the heart of our conversation. He touches briefly on Tenambergen – “he could easily be anything he wants to be; he has a good brain,” but for the most part the focus is on a rare, admirable journey. “It is an honour to have him serve his time at Star Field Football Academy,” he states.

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“I think that’s one of the things that even the coaches at Star Field saw. I’m the type of guy that’s going to give it 100 per cent, even when there’s nothing in the game. In my mindset, it only takes a second to concede a goal. Even if a team needs one goal in one minute, my mindset is that it will only take one second for that to happen, so I need to stay switched on all the time,” the versatile midfielder who can play as a centre back commented.

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As a young child until a teenager, I played football practically every day either in the backyard, on the grassy pitches at school, with my friends at the academy or on any brick wall in sight where I could bang the ball off the wall and practice my control skills.

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“I’m not going to have one foot in and one foot out. I’m going to do my best. I’m going to give it my all. I’m going to lay it all out here. I’m not going to hold back anything. No matter the type of football I’m playing, I’m going to leave it all out there on the field.’

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“Looking back on all that to the point that I’ve arrived at now, I would like thank all those that have contributed to my journey. That’s the first thing I said when I arrived here safely, thank you.”