Five years ago he was playing semi-pro football in Adelaide - but Tete Yengi has come from the clouds to earn selection for the Socceroos at this World Cup.
Tete Yengi is a footballing version of Frankenstein’s monster. And not just because he’s a big, imposing lump of a bloke who is actually much quieter, thoughtful and nuanced than first impressions may suggest - but because he describes himself as a composite player, made up of the sum of his experiences in the game, good and bad.
Five years ago, Yengi was playing semi-professional football in South Australia, having failed to make the cut at Adelaide United in his youth. Three years ago he was on loan in Finland, searching for an opportunity at the end of the earth. Less than a year ago he was in the Scottish second division, and the prospect of a World Cup appearance at that moment seemed absurd.
Everywhere he’s been, he’s picked up something different and added it to his game. Now, Yengi hopes, his collection is complete, and he is ready to become a well-rounded player who his national team can depend on at this World Cup.
“Growing up, I was always thinking pretty football, maybe: I want the ball to the feet, I want to dribble, these kinds of things,” he said, speaking after Australia’s first training session at their “base camp” in Oakland, California. “Going on all these different adventures helped me learn different parts of the game: different coaches, different teammates, different styles of play. Going through difficult times, those things all shape you. Having different coaches can help shape you as well.
“ kind of putting that all together and building the ultimate player. I feel like I’ve taken a bit from every place I’ve been to, and that’s helped me to be who I am today. ”, and they share similar traits: both are tall, broad-shouldered forwards who, because of their build, are typecast as classic target men, even though deep down they probably think of themselves as wingers, or creative types.
They’re both quicker than they look, and much harder workers than their languid gaits might suggest. That is perhaps why things weren’t quite working out for Yengi at Livingston, the unfashionable Scottish club who he helped seal promotion to the top flight last season. He was allowed to leave on loan in January to Japanese club Machida Zelvia, and some Livingston fans were happy to see him go.
But the move has turned out to be life-changing; his football has, all of a sudden, clicked into place. Whatever the reason - he’s still trying to figure it out - but it’s as if Yengi has unlocked a new level within himself, starring up front for his new team as they reached the final of the AFC Champions League, catching Socceroos coach Tony Popovic’s attention along the way.
“I was at Livingston ... it wasn’t going too bad. I was still popping up here and there with some nice goals and stuff. I don’t know. It’s different.
Different style, maybe? Different coaching. Different players around you.
“Then I made the move to Japan. Thankfully, it’s gone so well there. Maybe some players in Japan are suited better for my style of play. They make me stand out more.
Maybe it’s just the style of team play. ” Though he is a first-timer with the Socceroos, having never represented Australia at junior level before being named in Popovic’s World Cup squad, he is with some of his closest friends in camp: he has knownsince he was 12, is in the same group chat with him and Nestory Irankunda, and described Awer Mabil as an “idol” of his.
Kusini has given him some good advice about what to expect under Popovic: be serious, all the time, no matter what, because the coaches are always watching.
“I feel a bit sorry for him,” Tete said of his brother. “He’s going through a tough time with injuries, and so maybe he would have been here instead of me. ” On the field, Yengi offers a different look at the point of attack to Australia’s other strikers - and while he“I’ve got some technique. I like to play with the ball,” Yengi said.
“I don’t just like to stand around and wait for crosses. I think nowadays the most important things are goals, because they can win games. ”
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