As the second child out of 5 kids, Onyeka grew up with responsibilities hanging on his shoulders.
He had to mend roofs after school to support his family, so when he said he wanted to go the football route, he didn’t get much support.
His mother out of concern, wanted Onyeka to focus on his studies just like every other African mother would have done at that time, but Onyeka held on to his dream of becoming a professional footballer.
“JUST HOLD ON”
It wasn’t just the family discouraging him, everyone around him didn’t see the future Onyeka saw in football and kept telling him to give up.
Onyeka said, “People told me to quit football because there was nothing there” and because of this he had to trek for over 40 minutes to train, avoiding highways and taking longer, lonely routes to avoid people who kept discouraging him from football.
As a proper Benin boy, he never gave in, all these struggles motivated him to keep pushing.
“KEEP PUSHING YOURSELF FORWARD, DO WHATEVER IT TAKES”
He was playing barefoot on concrete because he couldn’t afford to buy football boots but it never discouraged him.
At a very young age, he joined Flamingo Football Academy and after a while moved to Faith Motors Academy aged just 15.
He was playing a game for Faith Motors Academy when he was seen by Churchill Oliseh, the owner of FC Ebedei in Sagamu, Ogun State.
“GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS ARE BORN OUT OF GREAT SACRIFICE”
In that game, Frank believed he was the worst player on the pitch as he was playing an unfamiliar midfield role but Oliseh saw something in him and liked him.
Oliseh is credited for being the man who discovered Nigerian legend, Obafemi Martins, and his club FC Ebedei had ties with Danish club, Midtjylland FC.
The problem was joining FC Ebedei would mean leaving home and traveling more than 250km from Benin and his family wasn’t comfortable with that.
“WHEN ITS YOUR TIME, YOUR WORSE WOULD BE ENOUGH”
He told his mum that this was something he needed to do because it was his dream and after a while his mum gave in.
It was hard for him too because he missed home and his family but he stayed in the academy with other players, ate, slept, and went to training every day.
In 2015, his sacrifice started paying off as he and two of his FC Ebedei teammates were invited for a trial by FC Midtjylland in Denmark.
“TRUE SUCCESS REQUIRES SCARIFICES”
On his first day in Denmark, he got sick because of the weather conditions, eating the food wasn’t easy either and they also had a language barrier.
Luckily they had Nigerians playing there already like Paul Onuachu and Izunna Uzochukwu who encouraged them to push harder and train well and hope they pass the trials.
They were given 3 months to earn themselves a professional contract and the Benin boy in Onyeka came out as nobody survived Onyeka on the training pitch.
“YOU CAN’T GET ALL IF YOU DON’T GIVE IT YOUR ALL”
The club President said, “Frank greeted the other players on the pitch with a tackle, he really went on”
But despite Onyeka’s best efforts to impress the club officials and earn himself a contract that would change his life, he came up short.
When the trials ended, Onyeka was sent back home with his 2 friends empty and this broke his heart.
“DISAPPOINTMENTS MAKE THE SUCCESS STORIES SWEETER”
They came back home and continued training with FC Ebedei.
So one day he asked his friend if the club in Denmark had called him and he said Yes, that’s Churchill, the club owner told him that he was going back to Denmark.
Onyeka had to muster up the courage to approach Churchill to ask what about him, and that’s when he answered, “Yeah, yeah, I didn’t tell you?”
It was at that point that Onyeka knew he was heading back to Denmark.
“IT ALWAYS HAPPENS LIKE A JOKE”
He returned to Denmark on an 18-month contract and the first thing he did was to build a house for his family with his first professional contract.
He impressed for the youth side, scoring on his debut in September 2017 and when he also debuted for the main team a year later, he also scored on his debut coming on from the bench with 5 minutes to go.
“WHEN THE STARS ALIGN IN YOUR FAVOR, YOUR STORY LOOKS SCRIPTED”
Onyeka became a key player for the team and earned himself the nickname, “The Tank” for his energetic display in the middle of the park.
He spent 3 years with the club winning the Danish Superliga twice and the Danish Cup once.
He had an understanding with the club that he would leave in the summer of 2020 for a bigger club as he wanted to be able to help his family more and be financially independent.
“WE LEFT HOME TO FEED HOME”
But when it was time for him to leave, the club went back on their promise asking him to stay back for one more season.
Onyeka was disappointed but still went back to work, having one of his best seasons for the club and competing in the UEFA Champions League against the likes of Liverpool and Atalanta.
The club, Onyeka, and Brentford had an agreement that Onyeka would sign for Brentford if they got promoted to the EPL as they had to play Swansea in the playoff finals at Wembley.
A match Onyeka couldn’t watch as his future depended on it but Brentford won and Onyeka was announced as a Brentford player.
“DON’T EVER EVER GIVE UP!!!”
He went on to establish himself as one of the finest defensive midfielders in the EPL and a key player for Brentford’s high-pressing game.
We’re also seeing him do the same for the Nigerian Super Eagles at the AFCON, a man of little words who prefers to do his talking with his tackles and interceptions.
No wonder, people call him the “SILENT GENERAL” and today we celebrate him.
Don’t be discouraged, it’s often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock, KEEP TRYING!!!!
The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you will need for tomorrow.
Don’t let what people say discourage you from pursuing your dreams!!!
Congrats to the tank, Frank Ogochukwu Onyeka, we’re rooting for you and the boys!!!!
Credit: Sports Dokita.
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