The former Aston Villa man who was once touted as the next Pele had a tragic end to his career.
Aston Villa’s late move for a young top talent this summer, 18-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye, somehow reminds some fans of a similar transfer story in the past, when The Lions secured a move for a young star tipped as the next Pele.
Back in the mid-1990s, there was one young star who stole the spotlight all over the news. He was already playing for two top teams in Europe and had scored a goal in the UEFA Cup against AS Roma at the age of 17 after making his senior debut with Belgian giant Anderlecht at the age of 16. He was Ghanaian star, Nii Lamptey.
In the summer of 1994, Lamptey, who was 20 years old at that time, was already a top figure and key man at PSV Eindhoven and Anderlecht. Aston Villa managed to secure his move, initially on loan.
However, it was Lamptey himself who admitted that his move to Bodymoor Heath was not a good idea. He shared his reason during an interview with Daily Graphic, as reported by the Coventry Telegraph.
“It was really too much for me, to me it was a wrong decision to move to England at that time.”
The former Ghanaian star, who earned 38 international caps, then explained further why he opted to switch sides to Villa despite enjoying a fine spell at Eredivisie giant PSV Eindhoven.
“I went there because Anderlecht did not want to approve of my stay in Holland, which would have helped me much and I was also not willing to return to Belgium.”
During his loan spell in the Netherlands, he scored 10 goals and provided two assists in 25 games in all competitions. Unfortunately, he moved to the top league too soon.
Consequently, his spell in England became a disastrous one. In Villa’s shirt, he was only fielded eight times in all competitions, scoring just twice, both in the EFL League Cup rather than the Premier League.
The versatile winger then moved to Coventry City to reunite with his boss at Villa Park, Ron Atkinson, in the 1995/96 campaign. Once again, he could not replicate his fine form in Belgium or the Netherlands. Lamptey only bagged twice and provided one assist in 11 appearances.
He then shared the challenges of playing in England, which really gave him a hard time.
“It was not easy to fit into the [Premier League] in those days. Their style of play was too robust for my liking and besides, I met very tall players, so I struggled to cope.
“Their style of play never suited me at all. The players were not only tall but also they liked playing long balls and running for them. I was short and skilful at that time, so it affected my performance so much.”
Lamptey’s doom truly began in England, and he failed to bounce back elsewhere too. Due to his attachment to Italian player agent Antonio Caliendo, who allegedly took advantage of his illiteracy and managed to take Lamptey’s bonuses for his own personal commission, he moved to Italian side Venezia in the 1996/97 season.
Yet, it did not work out there. He then moved to various clubs abroad, including Boca Juniors and Union Santa Fe in Argentina, Turkey’s Ankaragucu and Portugal’s Uniao Leiria, as well as Bundesliga 2 side Greuther Furth. Sadly, none of those spells was successful either.
A combination of frustration, cultural shock, racism and marital issues, including the deaths of his children, his wife’s affair and eventual divorce, contributed to his downfall. The Accra-born former winger eventually left Europe in 2001 to play in Asia until 2004 before returning to his home country in 2005 and hanging up his boots three years later.
The player who was supposed to lead Ghana’s golden generation failed miserably. Lamptey had all the success he needed at the beginning of his career. He helped his nation win the U17 World Cup, reached the final of the 1993 U20 World Cup and clinched a bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
That was when he was tipped as ‘the next Pele’ by Pele himself. Unfortunately, such expectations became a burden for him, and his impatience only made his career worse.
If only he had agreed to stay in Belgium…
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