The 1993-94 season had been a special one for Villa with Ron Atkinson’s side securing a League Cup win against Manchester United at Wembley.
The summer after that heady day at Wembley began a changing of the guard at Villa, Tony Daley being just one departure. Of those that came in the other direction, Phil King will always be cherished for that night against Inter Milan but the less said about John Fashanu the better. Joining them was a young Ghanaian Nii Lamptey.
Words by: Ivan McDouall
Pictured – Nii Lamptey signs for Villa
In an era before FIFA and the internet little was known of Lamptey. Despite having played for relatively large European clubs – Anderlecht and PSV – his arrival was largely unheralded until some old headlines were discovered with Lamptey being described as ‘the new Pele’ by, well, the original one himself.
It was that headline that gives thew title to Jorius Kaper’s new book on Lamptey, which I have just finished. It’s a cautionary tale of a young and naive footballer which transcends his limited time in claret and blue.
Pictured – Jorius Kaper’s new book ‘Nii Lamptey – The Curse of Pele’
Pele had burdened the young Lamptey with his blessing during the 1989 U16 World Cup, hosted in Scotland. Ghana were a relatively new federation but the ‘Black Starlets’ as the team became known impressed and the 15-year-old Lamptey was at the forefront.
By the time the starlets returned for the 1991 version of the tournament Lamptey was an Anderlecht player and Ghana won trophy, with Nii named Player of the Tournament. Whilst he was never a fixture at Anderlecht his star was clearly rising – all against a backdrop of a difficult childhood, as saliently re-told in the book.
Lamptey’s father was especially cruel at points, including stubbing cigarettes out on his son. It was no wonder that when Nigerian captain Stephen Keshi helped engineer a move to Anderlecht Lamptey was happy to travel under a false passport that stated he was Keshi’s son.
Pictured – Nii Lamptey at Anderlecht in Belgium
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Lamptey went onto further success with Ghana winning an unprecedented bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Although they lost to a Spain team including Pep Guardiola in the Semi Final there was immense pride in Ghana being the first African team to win a football medal.
In an understated tone that is a constant through the book, Lamptey merely says ‘that was something to be proud of’. Following the summer Olympics, Lamptey still struggled to be a regular starter for Anderlecht and moved to PSV Eindhoven in 1993.
According to the book, it was a move encouraged by fellow future Villa player Luc Nilis who also moved from Belgium to PSV a year later. At PSV Lamptey had a strong record scoring 10 goals in 22 games. He had the fortune to learn from the likes of Erwin Koeman and seemed to be fulfilling that early, much hyped promise.
Pictured – Lamptey at PSV playing against a young Edgar Davids for Ajax
And so, to Villa, and a transfer in that Summer of 1994. I was at an age that season where even the most fringe of players are fixed in my memory, but it’s sad to read that Lamptey felt he ‘went to England at the wrong time’. Ten league appearances tells its own story, but I have fond memories of an electrifying Lamptey under the lights at Villa Park in a League Cup tie against Wigan, scoring when prone on the ground after a sparkling run.
The somersault celebration seemed unique at the time, and a 12-year-old me was perhaps dazzled by that ‘new Pele’ tag. Lamptey scored two more in the second leg against Wigan, but alas those were to be the highlights.
Interestingly Lamptey is critical of the style of play in England at the time, lamenting that ‘he wanted to get the ball from defence but before I could even ask for the ball it had already been kicked forward’.
Pictured – Lamptey celebrates against Wigan in the League Cup
Ron Atkinson, who had brought Lamptey to Villa was soon gone and Brian Little seemed to have zero time for the Ghanaian. Atkinson moved onto Coventry and Lamptey joined him there after a solitary season in B6. He played even less there, and what followed was a long and many staged career around leagues as diverse as China, Italy and Argentina.
Lamptey talks fondly of his football career, but again the overriding sense of the book is one of tragedy and misfortune – financially and personally. There seems little doubt that his then agent pocketed any signing on fee from Villa for example, and Lamptey lost two children at birth on his global travels. To top it off, Lamptey discovered his surviving children were not his more recently.
It is a cautionary tale and one that could have some resonance for young players of any generation. For all the potential glamour, takes of young men being surrounded by the wrong people are not limited to Nii. His is an extreme example – made even more depressing by that ‘new Pele’ tag. There is a lesson here in how we build up young players and pin our hopes on them.
Reading Lamptey’s story also made me think about how these players place themselves (or not) in the Villa lineage.
This is a man who made a handful of appearances over a single season, but I tell you what, I remember him with as much fondness as many of that Muller adorned era. Is that pure nostalgia? Possibly. But reading the book I was glad to be able to look back to those fleeting moments against Wigan and be glad that Nii Lamptey has survived to tell the tale.
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