Under-18s striker Obed Yeboah is aiming to carve out a bit of his own football magic after the exploits of his uncle Tony in the 1990s.
After arriving in England from Germany in 1995, Ghanaian striker Tony was an absolute sensation in a Leeds United shirt, scoring several goal of the season contenders, including a sublime strike against Wimbledon.
As Obed gears up to lead the Dons line in the Youth Alliance Cup Final at Rotherham on Tuesday afternoon, the young forward talked enthusiastically about a link that acts as a source of inspiration.
“I haven’t really spoken to him, but everyone has seen him play," said Obed, who scored in Wimbledon's excellent FA Youth Cup win versus Oxford United last week. "When I was younger I watched the things that he did, the goal against Wimbledon, and everything. As he was a striker and I’m a striker, I look up to him because he has been there and done it. You want to get to that stage, so that’s what you are striving for.
“It’s one of those things that you look up to, and it makes you want to achieve something. I want to concentrate on my own game, which is something I’ve done since I was young. It’s just about me on the pitch working as hard as I can.
“It was good to score in my first FA Youth Cup match. I’ve had a bit of a slow start here due to injuries, but it was good to get a goal. I had a few options to go to other clubs, but Wimbledon helped me so much. James (Oliver-Pearce) helped me every single day and I felt it was only right that I came here and tried to achieve a pro contract. James kept pushing me through and this feels like home – a place I’m happy to be at. I have a couple of cousins that were here, Rob knows them, and they’ve gone onto play at different clubs, but I wanted to stay here. I felt this was the best option for me.
“Whether we are first years or second years, we are all together as a group. As Rob has said, togetherness is something we are really working on. It’s just about making sure that we are a team and I think against Oxford that really showed. Everyone was pushing through cramps and helping each other. That’s driven by Rob and James, it’s what made me come here. What I love is that we are close to the first-team, and it’s really good to be a part of it. Hopefully, I will get selected for Tuesday, and I want to help the club to win that trophy. I’m very good at hold-up play, I’m aggressive with a constant work-rate. I try to work hard and smile.”
Under-18s manager Rob Tuvey added that Obed’s character fits in well at Wimbledon as he’s a player who suits the club’s footballing traditions.
“He’s the joker of the pack, and he’s a unique personality,” revealed Rob. “He dances into training every day, he’s always up to no good! But it’s that Wimbledon spirit he’s got inside him and as soon as we seen him play, similar to Kwaku (Frimpong), we felt that he was a Wimbledon boy. We love his personality, he has fitted in so well, and long may it continue.
“His work-rate is something that we really love about him. He has come in and really taken on the values of the club and what he did the other night with his goal is testament to him. The goal was all down to him with his work-rate, and his all-round play the other night was really impressive. That’s something we’ve really worked on him with. He will only get better for that. Obed has a great attitude, he’s a massive personality in the squad, so we are really pleased to have him on board.”
The final at Rotherham on Tuesday will be broadcast live for free on the host club's You Tube channel from 4.00 pm. Visit Rotherham's official website for more information.
Click on the link below to watch Rob Cornell’s full interview with Obed and Rob.