For supporters of clubs, the sight of a new striker lining up for their team at the start of a new season is a tantalising prospect. New signings always get fans excited, but when there is a new No.9 in town, that sense of anticipation is heightened even more. Unlike with a defender or midfielder, everyone will instantly look at a striker’s goal tally and from that they will interpret whether he is a success or not.
The 2022/23 Ghanaian season saw plenty of fresh forwards joining various clubs in the top-flight division. Stephen Mukwala joined Asante Kotoko SC, Francis Andy Kumi swapped Kotoko for Bechem United and later Kotoku Royals and, perhaps most intriguing Kofi Kordzi led the line for Maxwell Konadu’s Legon Cities. Hearts strengthened the depth of their team with the acquisition of Cameroonian forward Diego Albert Eonde from Platinum FC of Zimbabwe.
He had scored 12 goals in 17 games for his club prior to his arrival at Hearts. Those statistics deserve extra credit when you consider just how average Platinum FC were in the Zimbabwean league, and how much of their success was down to his individual brilliance. He was very instrumental in club beating the drop.
But that's where the Albert Eonde story takes a turn. Eonde found it very difficult settling in in his new club. From action hero to Greek tragedy, the 24-year-old suffered a monumental fall from grace ever since he arrived in Accra. He made such a fanfare of his arrival at the club, that it was inevitable if he didn’t immediately live up to expectations, there would be murmurings and discontent. Shameful really.
The poor forward is only 24 years of age, and with the possible exception of the very best to have had a bright start to their Hearts career, is still some way from the player he will become for the Phobians. He isn’t the first Hearts of Oak player to have an inauspicious start to his Hearts career, and he won’t be the last. The likes of Mahatma Otoo, Kwame Kizito and Samuel Affum all struggled to adapt to a new environment.
Kizito, for instance, had a rough two seasons, only to come good with great displays in last season, just as a majority of fans- rather than a minority of ultra-critics-were starting to seriously question him. Leonard Tawiah and Moro Abubakar had a similarly uninspired start to their Hearts careers.
Eonde needs to feel his way into the team, finds his level, remains free of further concerns and then explodes into life. There have been plenty of times where players far more established and far older than Eonde have needed more time to adapt and a manager with a greater tactical palate to help them.
He needs to be eased into the system and allowed to develop a new set of skills. “The Hearts way,” if you prefer. There’s an oft-repeated suggestion that the player is a perfect inclusion in the Hearts setup and that he has the necessary attributes to succeed.
Aside from his on-pitch exploits, he’ll also need incredible mental strength to get through the ordeal of his first season at one of the biggest clubs on the continent.
It’s entirely understandable that he’ll have a torrid start to his Hearts career considering his background.
Fans can be too quick to raise arguments in fueling pub banter, and the media too quick to make a story up just to fill column inches, but Eonde must be shielded from that negativity.
