Ghana-born soccer hopeful dreams of becoming first naturalized South Korean international
- 4 years ago
가나에서 온 축구 청년 데니스 오세이, 대한민국 국가대표를 꿈꾸다
It's not everyday you see a combination of Korea, Ghana, and soccer all mixed into one.
But a high school soccer prospect from Ghana dreams of becoming the first naturalized player to represent the South Korean national team.
Our Han Seong-woo has the details.
Born in Ghana and raised in Korea, Dennis Osei dreams of soccer superstardom.
"I want to grow into a player who is a great soccer player who is very famous to like win the Ballon d'Or in the future."
The Suwon Kyemyung High School freshman is no ordinary athlete.
Clocking in at 11-point-three-six seconds in the 100-meter dash, Osei is already one of the fastest high school players in the nation.
The 17-year old also had an impressive goal return as top scorer in the Gyeonggi-do Province Middle School Weekend League last year.
But, what's more interesting than his goal tally, is his goal in life: to represent the South Korean national team as its first-ever naturalized player.
"...people usually say that I'm almost a Korean person and actually I agree with that because I lived here for so long for many years and I even learned almost everything in Korea so I'd rather prefer playing for Korea than Ghana."
Osei moved to Korea permanently at the age of seven, making 2020 his 11th year living in the country...and so will be eligible to apply for naturalization once he turns 19.
"Depending on how hard he works, I think Dennis will be able to make it into the South Korean national team if he chooses to naturalize."
Last Thursday, Osei helped his school finish runner-up in the 53rd President's Gold Cup, a national high school soccer tournament...and received media attention as the team's "super-sub" in the process.
But, aside from becoming a professional soccer player, the teenager also spoke of his plans to help the less fortunate in his country of birth.
" I just want to go there and help the people who don't have shoes and stuff to eat, clean water… I just want to change some of that in the future when I get the money."
For now, Dennis Osei is a schoolboy with big dreams.
One day, though, Korea may just see him on the pitch at a World Cup, proudly representing... his adopted home.
Han Seong-woo, Arirang News.
It's not everyday you see a combination of Korea, Ghana, and soccer all mixed into one.
But a high school soccer prospect from Ghana dreams of becoming the first naturalized player to represent the South Korean national team.
Our Han Seong-woo has the details.
Born in Ghana and raised in Korea, Dennis Osei dreams of soccer superstardom.
"I want to grow into a player who is a great soccer player who is very famous to like win the Ballon d'Or in the future."
The Suwon Kyemyung High School freshman is no ordinary athlete.
Clocking in at 11-point-three-six seconds in the 100-meter dash, Osei is already one of the fastest high school players in the nation.
The 17-year old also had an impressive goal return as top scorer in the Gyeonggi-do Province Middle School Weekend League last year.
But, what's more interesting than his goal tally, is his goal in life: to represent the South Korean national team as its first-ever naturalized player.
"...people usually say that I'm almost a Korean person and actually I agree with that because I lived here for so long for many years and I even learned almost everything in Korea so I'd rather prefer playing for Korea than Ghana."
Osei moved to Korea permanently at the age of seven, making 2020 his 11th year living in the country...and so will be eligible to apply for naturalization once he turns 19.
"Depending on how hard he works, I think Dennis will be able to make it into the South Korean national team if he chooses to naturalize."
Last Thursday, Osei helped his school finish runner-up in the 53rd President's Gold Cup, a national high school soccer tournament...and received media attention as the team's "super-sub" in the process.
But, aside from becoming a professional soccer player, the teenager also spoke of his plans to help the less fortunate in his country of birth.
" I just want to go there and help the people who don't have shoes and stuff to eat, clean water… I just want to change some of that in the future when I get the money."
For now, Dennis Osei is a schoolboy with big dreams.
One day, though, Korea may just see him on the pitch at a World Cup, proudly representing... his adopted home.
Han Seong-woo, Arirang News.