Never in a million years could I have imagined school would be able to suck all the live out of me. Having attended a very nice primary school, with nice kids, good teachers and of course the school yard to play football, I entered secondary school without most of the kids of my primary school, because they went to a different school. The kids in this new class were terrible: didn't want anything, only mess around, which wasn't my cup of tea. Years later I learned, this was actually the worst class this school had ever seen - my luck, I guess.

In this crucial period in life, you need friends, or parents that know how to be parents. I had neither, and as a result detached myself from the world. A crucial element missing, in hindsight, was the street. Playing football on the street provides the crucial skills to survive, which you also need in daily life. Stimulating parents is another option, or a trainer that recognizes talent - but my life in the crucial phase was completely devoid of people seeing me.