By Cameron Reed
As the tumultuous-looking snowfall enshrouded the boundaries of Samogitia’s most evocative footballing theatre – the Gargždai Stadium, its beloved club: FK Banga, were utterly merciless against a helpless FK Riteriai, emphatically piercing the visitors’ net four times within sixty-minutes.
Merely past the hour-mark, FK Banga’s stalwart centre-back – Deividas Malžinskas, delicately scooped his clearance from the periphery of the penalty area up towards the halfway line; as the ball leisurely bounced off the artificial surface, FK Banga’s new signing – Aaron Appiah, cleverly outmuscled FK Riteriai’s Montenegrin centre-back – Vasilije Radenović, before pivoting abruptly. There was simply no stopping him; as Appiah darted away, he left the defenceless Radenović gasping for air – now, he bore down on Simone Moschin’s goal. Appiah promptly glazed his burgeoning eyes directly upon the target, before expertly slotting the ball home past the stranded Moschin – it was his second goal of the afternoon, and the cherry on top to mark what was a sensational home debut in front of the Gargždai faithful.
For Aaron, this jubilant moment stemmed not only from his perpetual dedication to the beautiful game, but a deep-rooted spiritual belief that can only be internalised by a certain few – some may refer to it as ‘the powers above’, yet for Aaron, that potent unseen force is derived solely from “Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour”.
Adjacent to his exceedingly humble demeanour, and unwavering devotion to God in each sphere of life, Aaron is able to connect both his Swiss and Ghanaian heritage simultaneously, resulting in an unorthodox playing style which enables him to immediately stand-out; his footballing optics convey Swiss-centred precision, and Ghanaian-based vigour, a rather quintessential combination for a modern-day centre-forward.
From commencing his footballing adventure with the BSC Young Boys youth academy in Switzerland’s exquisite capital city – Bern, then honing his abilities in the appealing Swiss cantons of St. Gallen, and Schaffhausen, home to FC Wil 1900 and FC Schaffhausen respectively, before taking a leap of faith to sign for FC Dobrudzha Dobrich in north-eastern Bulgaria, Aaron is now striving to conquer the TOPLYGA not only with his goals, but with his resolute faith in the Unseen Hand guiding his path.
In this exclusive interview, Baltic Football News caught up with Aaron to learn more about his personal journey in the world of football thus far, how his faith has shaped him as a character, and his personality away from the pitch.
How did you first become involved in football – do you come from a sporting family? Are there any clubs and players who you particularly enjoyed watching as a youngster?
To be honest, I wouldn’t necessarily declare that I come from a sporting family, although my father played football many years ago whilst in Ghana and Nigeria. For myself, I first started playing football when I was around four-years-old at local Bernese club – SC Holligen 94, in Switzerland. Ever since taking my first steps into the world of football at SC Holligen 94, football is, and remains to be a fundamental part of my life; I would even go as far to say that it is in my blood – literally! As long as I can recall, I have been a Manchester United FC supporter for a significant amount of time. Furthermore, when it comes to fellow football players, my absolute favourite is Mancunian – Marcus Rashford, but I also thoroughly enjoy watching AC Milan’s Rafael Leão, and Italian maverick – Mario Balotelli.
At the time of writing, you have only been in Lithuania for two months. What are your initial impressions of Lithuania as a country – have you been made to feel at home, and are you enjoying residing in Gargždai?
Well, since I have only been living in Lithuania for two months, the vast majority of my time has been consumed by football, therefore I have not yet had the opportunity to visit a variety of places, neither here in Samogitia, or Lithuania in general. However, my initial first impressions of Gargždai are very positive – I can definitely say that I feel comfortable, and at ease here. I consider myself particularly fortunate, because I have extremely considerate teammates at FK Banga who have enabled me to feel as though I have settled in, and in general; I feel better each passing day. Actually, I’m pleasantly surprised with my experience in Lithuania so far!
Whilst researching you, I noticed that there was a Christian cross next to your name on your Instagram profile. What is your personal connection to Christianity, and how important is your faith to you personally?
My faith is an extremely big part of my life – actually, it is in fact the foremost part. Everything in my life is centred around Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. I am exceedingly grateful for what the Lord has done for me – I pray each day, and I attempt to read the Bible as frequently as I can because it continuously emboldens my faith. Personally-speaking, I’d confess that my faith assists me a lot in my football career, specifically because I truly understand that I am never alone – God is always by my side, both guiding and strengthening me. Furthermore, I would like to read you my favourite verse from the Bible, Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. This particular verse resonates with me a lot, and helps me to get by in my daily life, as well as in the world of football.
You were born in Switzerland, but you also have Ghanaian heritage. How important is your heritage to you personally? Also, you were previously selected for the Swiss-U19 National Team – did you also have an opportunity to represent Ghana too?
I was both born, and raised in Switzerland, but my mother and father are originally from Ghana in West Africa. Actually, my heritage is especially important to me, and I’m immensely proud to represent both Ghana and Switzerland respectively. I have previously been called-up for the Swiss-U19 National Team, but to date I have not yet received an opportunity to play for Ghana, although I can boldly say that it would be nothing but an honour to one day have the possibility to represent the Ghanaian National Football Team, or more endearingly known in Ghana as the Black Stars.
For football fans across the globe, Bern is synonymous with its local football club – BSC Young Boys. As a Bern local yourself, you spent several years progressing through the youth system at Young Boys – who were the most well-known players who you played with in your youth?
As a local Bernese lad, I was fortunate to spend eleven-years developing my skills at BSC Young Boys, one of Switzerland’s most prestigious football clubs, and a source of pride to many of us Bernese people. Here, at Young Boys, I felt as though I managed to develop not only as a player, but also as a person as well. I am delighted with the time that I was able to spend at the club – I look back on it fondly. Well, I’d say that some of the most well-known players which I played with at the Young Boys academy were Aurèle Amenda, who currently stars for Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany, and the Swiss National Team, and Medon Berisha, who is plying his trade with US Lecce in Italy, as well as featuring for the Albanian National Team.
Following your departure from Young Boys, you remained in Switzerland to have spells at FC Wil 1900, and FC Schaffhausen – what did you learn most from your time at those two clubs, and did you feel as though you were able to continue your development?
I am very grateful for FC Wil 1900, as they allowed me to take my initial steps into the professional game, so it will always be a club that holds a special place in my heart. During my first season in Wil, the coaching staff provided me with a lot of playing time, and I was able to add a couple of goals to my name as well. On the contrary, the time which I spent at FC Schaffhausen was rather short-lived – I was there for only four-months; therefore, it is a bit difficult to provide you with greater detail about that period.
Before signing for FK Banga this February, you were playing for FC Dobrudzha Dobrich in Bulgaria. This was the first time that you played outside of Switzerland – what was your general experience like in Bulgaria? Perhaps, you gained some valuable life experiences which you’d like to share?
Moving to Bulgaria to sign for FC Dobrudzha Dobrich was indeed the first real step that I took outside of my comfort zone, and I believe that it’s a step that not many people would perhaps opt to take. As for me, I had no doubts that I wanted to challenge myself, and prove to oneself that I am mentally resilient enough to play in a first division club in a competitive league (First Professional Football League Bulgaria) with a number of standout teams such as: CSKA Sofia, PFC Levski Sofia, and PFC Ludogorets Razgrad etc. You know, I even got to play a full ninety-minutes against FC CSKA 1948 Sofia! Overall, Bulgaria is like a different world compared to that of Switzerland, but I was primarily there to concentrate on football, and honestly-speaking it was both an enjoyable experience, and beneficial for my development.
Following your first couple of matches in Lithuania, what are your initial impressions of the TOPLYGA? Are you surprised at the level of play, and do you think that there is more potential for the league to develop? How would you compare the TOPLYGA to the leagues which you have performed in to date?
In general, as I have only been in Lithuania for around two-months, I can initially say that I personally feel comfortable, and I will do my utmost to help FK Banga, and my teammates to succeed in our objectives. I am actually not surprised by the overall standard of the TOPLYGA, because I expected the level to be competitive, and from what I’ve witnessed thus far, there is a lot of quality too. It is quite difficult to compare the TOPLYGA directly to other leagues which I competed in, as every country has its own personality, and style of football.
As a professional athlete, can you explain to me how your faith enables you to remain humble, motivated, and hard-working – have you come across other religious players in the teams which you have played for, and currently at FK Banga?
Being a Christian, my faith is foundational in everything that I do in life. When one reads and truly understands the philosophy of the Bible, it can most certainly help an individual a lot spiritually-speaking. Football itself comes with many ups and downs, it is not always the glamourous game that many imagine it to be, therefore having steadfast faith enables you to deal with those more challenging situations. As a footballer, it’s crucial that you are mentally prepared, particularly when your family is not always around to provide you with love, support, and understanding – despite that, God always remains with you. At FK Banga, there are also some other players who are committed to their faith, and that creates an extremely special bond between us.
Outside of football, away from the field, what are your hobbies, and things which you enjoy spending time engaging in? Have you sampled any Lithuanian dishes which you particularly enjoyed thus far – do you plan to learn the Lithuanian language?
When I am not thinking about or playing football, I would describe myself as someone who has a very calm nature. Typically, I enjoy playing video games, specifically on the PlayStation, reading the Bible, and spending time with my family when we are able to visit one another. I must confess, I have not yet sampled any Lithuanian dishes, but I’m definitely open to it, and I shall most likely do that in the near future. Also, I would like to learn some of the Lithuanian language – I know that it is one of Europe’s oldest languages, and a particularly interesting one at that! In fact, I know ‘Laba diena’, so it’s at least a start?
