From non-league to the World Cup - the Semenyo story

Sport InsightFrom non-league to the World Cup - the Semenyo storyPublished2 minutes agoCommentsImage source, BBC SportByJess AndersonBBC Sport journalistWhen Antoine Semenyo signed for Bournemouth, he sent former Leeds United manager David Hockaday a bottle of Champagne.An unlikely duo? Perhaps. But if anyone can take credit for Semenyo's rise, it is Hockaday.On the label of the bottle read the words "hunger and belief".Words that resonated with Semenyo so much as a teenager that, at the biggest moment of his career to that point, he felt the need to reiterate them to the man who instilled them in him.Semenyo's journey to the top has been a complicated one. The failed academy trials, the 5am starts to play non-league football, the thoughts of quitting the sport altogether.But, now aged 26, it has all led to this. A game against England in a World Cup.A humble, determined man, his remarkable rise is rooted in his resilience and the belief of a select few people who saw something in a down-and-out kid searching for his big break.This is the Semenyo story.Born in London to Ghanaian parents Larry and Dela, Semenyo and his brother Jai grew up in Greenwich with a ball almost permanently attached to their feet.It should be little surprise Semenyo is now so adept with both his right and left feet given his father, who played alongside Tony Yeboah in Ghana's top flight, encouraged him from a young age to kick "paper, a can, anything" with both feet. By the age of six it came naturally to Semenyo - and the dream of becoming a professional footballer was born.His talent was spotted and encouraged by his parents, who sent him on trials at Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Millwall before an eight-week trial at Crystal Palace aged 15.None of those avenues proved successful.At 16, Semenyo was deflated, disillusioned and ready to give up on football altogether.Enter Hockaday.Semenyo headed to a trial session at Bisham Abbey, later saying he only wen...