At Union Saint-Gilloise, we have often praised the qualities of the management, capable of seeking out unknown players to help them develop.
This is particularly the case with Henok Teklab, which the leaders sought from the German fourth division. A transition from D4 to D1 which was not easy.
“I combined with the job of postman”
“It’s true that during the first weeks of training at the Union, everything went much faster. Everything was much more technical. I learned a lot, especially from Loïc Lapoussin who plays in the same position as me. I always watch what he does because he is calm with the ball, he performs impactful actions and he has good vision,” he explains to -.
And when asked if he was surprised to be recruited by a D1 club, he replied: “But that’s my story. I always had problems. People thought I was too small, too thin. But I wasn’t surprised that the Union came, no, because other teams wanted me, especially from German D2.”
Knowing the Union from having seen them play against Leverkusen last season – he was at the stadium – he had the opportunity to face another German team this season, Frankfurt. “I played for Eintracht when I was little. It was a dream to play for this club. But the step was too high for me at that time. At the age of 9-10 , I moved to the second club in the city, so being able to face Eintracht and win was the best thing, especially since all my family and friends were there,” explains Teklab.
Before joining the Union, the German of Eritrean origin had only two years of professionalism behind him: “I turned professional three years ago, when I was 22. Before that, I combined football with the job of postman. It was difficult because I didn’t want to do this job. The only thing I wanted to do was play football. always said: be patient, believe in yourself and it will come.”
