Non-League and Academy football writer

Former Ghana international Derek Asamoah is a player who has so far enjoyed a wonderful career in the game. In a long professional career which has seen Derek play for the likes of Northampton Town, Carlisle United, Hamilton Academical and Lokomotiv Sofia, the 42 year old forward is still loving playing the game. The Brightlingsea Regent player, who was superb for Isthmian League North Division side New Salamis during the last couple of seasons, is a player who I admire greatly, for his talent and longevity in the game. I recently caught up with Derek to look back on some of his footballing memories (so far), with some emphasis on his time in non-League. It really was a real privilege to speak to Derek about his footballing career.

What are some your earliest footballing memories?

Derek: My earliest memories are back in Ghana, when I used to love listening to the football on the radio or watching it on the TV. All of my family members were fanatical about football, and so that’s where my fascination with football started. 

Could you talk me through some of your earliest memories in non-League? And also, how it would help you in your later career in the professional game?

Derek: I went to a football college programme called Protec, where you would train as well as doing your education. Obviously we wouldn’t have the backing of any clubs, it was just us training and hopefully being ready for the chance of a trial at a club, or getting an opportunity in non-League football. My first non-League club was Barking, and the coach there was Craig Edwards, who is now the Cheshunt manager. He actually coached me at another college system in Southend, but he asked me if I wanted to play for Barking, the team that he was managing at the same time. Obviously it was daunting playing in non-League, as I went from being a 17/18 year old playing against people my own age, to playing with and against men, who are physically, mentally and emotionally stronger than you. At the end of the day football is a universal language, so once you do your job on the pitch and show your quality, then everything else falls into place. Playing non-League football prepared me, and it made me want to make it more, and also not go back to how it was before. So you do everything in your power to stay in professional football. So going through non-League you don’t have the comfort of having everything done for you, and also not really knowing where you’re going to end up.

When you’re not in academy football, you have to do everything yourself, and so it means a lot more to make it in football. When you’ve had to struggle to make it, you tend to work harder to keep it.

As a youngster were there any footballers that you looked up to, or tried to model your game on?

Derek: I did try to model my game around the Brazilian Ronaldo. I liked the way that he played the game, and also his power and directness. When I first started playing football I was very direct, and I tried to emulate exactly what Ronaldo did, and luckily it worked for me. So he was the player who I really looked up to.

Have you had any great footballing influences in your career, such as coaches for example?

Derek: That’s one thing that I don’t think that I really had. Growing up there was the dad of a friend of mine called Hopeton Murray, he didn’t have great connections in football or know a great deal about academy football. But he instilled belief in my ability and he told me to keep working hard. He also looked out for me, as his son was trying to make it as a footballer as well. My dad tried his best to help me in football as well, but he didn’t know too much about football, and he wasn’t connected to people in the game. But Hopeton on the other hand did know a bit about football, and he’d get us some trials here and there, and also help us with gym programmes and stuff like that. But then once I started out in non-League football, I was on my own, so to speak. 

After having a really good career in professional football, could you talk me through some of your favourite memories of playing non-League football so far?

Derek: Helping Haringey Borough get promotion was a good highlight. Coming back into non-League football I didn’t really know what to expect, because even when I was younger and when I played for Barking, Slough Town and Hampton & Richmond, I wasn’t really sure which level that was. Because coming back into non-League I wasn’t sure whether I’d played at a higher or lower level of non-League football before. But helping Haringey win promotion (to the Isthmian League Premier Division) and also helping New Salamis win the league as well (earning promotion to the Isthmian League North Division), were real highlights.

You were in outstanding form for New Salamis. What was it like playing for them and doing so well with them during your time at the club?

Derek: We had amazing talent and players there, and it was just a pleasure playing with some of those players. Obviously I brought my own quality into the team as well, and so it was an amazing team that we put together. I think that had we stayed together, then that team was capable of doing a lot more than we did, and especially last season (2022/23) when we played some really good football. After leaving the pro leagues I was surprised at the quality, because I hadn’t really watched a lot of semi-pro football, but coming into it I was really surprised that teams get the ball down, and really pass the ball and move it around.

What has been the overall highlight of your footballing career, so far?

Derek: The overall highlight would probably be representing Ghana, as that was a great honour. Obviously signing my first professional contract tops it all, because when you’re growing up you think that it might be a mountain too high to get to, but when it finally did happen it was a really big thing for me. People from my area and my friends, they were all talented, but none of them really made it, so for me to sign my first professional contract was a real highlight of my career.

You’re still playing the game week in week out at the age of 42. What do you put your long career in the game down to?

Derek: I’d put it down to how I started in football, and the love and passion that I have for the game, which is skin deep. As long as I’m looking after myself then I’m going to keep playing it. As I said, I looked after myself when I was younger and I didn’t follow the footballers lifestyle, and I didn’t indulge myself in it too much. I kept my diet right and also my fitness right, and I kept my gym routine going, and I also hardly drink alcohol. So I’ve always kept myself like that, and I think that that’s why I’m able to carry on being in a physical condition, and also be recovering from games like I was when I was in my 20s, and so long may that continue. My longevity in the game is purely about me looking after myself.

In your opinion who is the best player that you have ever shared a pitch with in football?

Derek: The best player that I’ve ever played against would have to be Cristiano Ronaldo. And the best player that I’ve ever played with would have to be Michael Essien.

What has been the favourite goal of your career that you have scored, so far?

Derek: It would probably be the goal that I scored for Ghana against Gabon, as it was the most enjoyable goal of my career. It meant so much to me because I was playing for my country, and the whole country was watching, and so to score a goal for Ghana definitely made my parents proud, and Ghana proud as well.

Do you have ambitions of going in to coaching/management in the future?

Derek: It’s not something that I really wanted to do in the past, but the more that I’ve been more involved in my sons’ teams and things like that, it means that every now and then I think to myself that I want to get into coaching, especially at non-League. I’d definitely like to see how I would get on, but I think that I’ve got all of the qualities needed to be a good manager/coach. I’d be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t give it a go, so at some point in the near future, then either as player-manager or as a manager, then I think that I’ll give it a go. One of my main passions would be to give non-League players a platform, and to not just manage them but also encourage and mentor them. Sometimes the young players’ attitudes towards the game are not great. Not because they are bad people, but because they don’t have the people around them to tell them that they’ve still got a career in this game, and that non-League is a very good springboard, that a lot of great players have come from. So a lot of these players just need that person to tell them that, but in management I don’t see it a lot.

What was it like to play with both of your sons (on separate occasions) – Maleace and Zayshaun at New Salamis?

Derek: It was unreal to play in the same team as my sons. It was something that I envisaged when I was younger and helping them in training, and it was a huge honour and privilege to be able to experience that. It’s something that I’ll treasure for a long time

What would your advice be to footballers who are starting out in non-League, who are trying to make it in professional football?

Derek: Being involved in non-League football, I see a lot of young players who get discouraged very easily. Especially if a game doesn’t go well or if they haven’t been picked up by a bigger club after a certain amount of time. But my advice to them would be that you’ve got to make time for your football, and if you’ve got ambitions to go as high as possible in the professional game, then you have to train in the day and put in the work and keep pushing, and not get discouraged. So keep working hard and look after yourself, but also don’t indulge in anything that’s going to affect you as a footballer. Treat it like you’re at a professional club.

What are your hopes and aims for the rest of the season with Brightlingsea Regent?

Derek: My hopes would be to 100% get silverware by the end of the season, and to try and help Brightlingsea get promotion would be great, so I just want to contribute and do my bit to help the team work hard. We’re in a good position at the moment, and we just need to carry that on. The result last week against Enfield Town (in the Velocity Cup) was really good and encouraging.