15/30 INTERVIEW – STEVE ZAKUANI

15/30 INTERVIEW – STEVE ZAKUANI

Steve Zakuani was born in Zaire, now called Democratic Republic of Congo, 21 years ago. At the age of four, his family moved to London. Steve is a naturally right-footed forward who was part of the Arsenal youth set up under Arsene Wenger.

On January 15 2009, Steve was selected as the first overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft, an advantage awarded to Sounders FC as the expansion team.

Steve saw action as a substitute in Sounders opening game, but was in the starting line-up for the second match, replacing fellow African Sanna Nyassi. But there is more to Steve Zakuani than a footballer. Prost Amerika took some time to find out more about Steve Zakuani the person. This is what we found out:

PROST AMERIKA: Many people are confused about your nationality. Can you explain Congo and Zaire for us please?

STEVE ZAKUANI: Yes I can. My country was originally called the Belgian Congo because we were under Belgian colonial rule, but after we gained independence in the 60’s, we simply became the Democratic Republic of Congo. We stayed that way until our President Mobutu renamed the country Zaire a few years after our independence. Then in the 90’s, Mobutu was overthrown in the First Congo War, and the new leaders reverted to the old name – the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Steve Zakuani

PROST AMERIKA: Your family moved to London when you were four. What was it like growing up in London as a foreigner?

STEVE ZAKUANI: I was really young at the time and so I wasn’t aware of some of the struggles we went through, or some of the sacrifices my parents made for us to make an easy transition from Africa to Europe. But now that I’m much older, I can look back and see that we moved from house to house at first, living with extended family for long periods of time, and that me and my siblings stood out at school because we couldn’t speak English. Over the years, we became settled in North London, and I began to feel less and less like a foreigner. I grew up in a neighborhood filled with other Africans, and also Caribbean families who shared similar cultures to me, and so that made it easier to fit in.

PROST AMERIKA: Did you experience much racism?

STEVE ZAKUANI: I can’t ever remember hearing anyone racially insult me with an offensive word or phrase, but in all honesty, I feel that I did grow up around certain forms of racism. I remember questioning why certain employment opportunities seemed to be out of reach for people like me. I never had teachers who told me I could be anything I wanted to be, or do anything I dreamed of doing. They more than suggested that I wouldn’t amount to much, and this scenario was true for many of my friends also. A lot of the people I grew up with ended up in prison, taking drugs, and never made it to university. Even though they need to take responsibility for their decisions, a part of me believes that they were written off prematurely by society which led them to believe that they weren’t capable of attaining success. I don’t have any words to describe the feeling I felt when I walked on the street with my friends, and saw grown adults cross the street to avoid walking past us, as if to suggest we were going to rob them. These sort of things definitely had a huge impact on those of us who experienced them.

PROST AMERIKA: Were you deeply involved in European Football against Racism?

STEVE ZAKUANI: Not really. I saw a lot of the campaigns such as Kick Racism Out of Football, and Thierry Henry’s Stand Up Speak Up, but I never really did anything myself. Perhaps it’s because I’ve never till this day, experienced racism on the pitch. But I definitely support those campaigns because they bring together players of all races and backgrounds to play a part in improving the game.

PROST AMERIKA: How did your experiences formulate the person you are today?

STEVE ZAKUANI: They played a massive role. I can never underestimate that fact. I’d like to think they impacted me in a positive way because despite the negative experiences I’ve had in my life, the majority of my memories are positive. I’ve been blessed enough to visit several countries, 4 continents, and experience many cultures. I’ve learned a lot from my parents, my brothers, my sisters, my friends, and also my experiences. Some things, like the moped accident that left me unable to play football for 18 months, have forever changed the course of my life, because without that accident I don’t think I would have been as determined as I was when I began to dream about playing professionally.

PROST AMERIKA: You are at Seattle on a Generation Adidas contract, what is that exactly?

STEVE ZAKUANI: A Generation Adidas contract is basically a joint venture between Major League Soccer and Adidas that identifies the top underclassmen in college before offering them contracts that encourage them to leave school before graduation. As part of the contract, MLS put some money aside that I can use to pay for the rest of my education. So even though they encourage you to leave school early, they understand that most of the players do want to return to their classes eventually, which is why they include that stipend as part of the deal.

PROST AMERIKA: You went to White Hart Lane School. Why was that a problem for a player in the Arsenal set up?

STEVE ZAKUANI: It was a problem at times because the Tottenham stadium was just down the road and so I’d have to walk past it to get to school, and whenever I wore my Arsenal gear, I would draw frowns from a lot of the people around that area. But at the same time, a lot of my classmates were actually Arsenal fans because they were more successful than Tottenham and so whenever we got into debates about who the best team in North London was, I had a lot of guys on my side of the argument.

PROST AMERIKA: Knife crime is something you feel strongly about, how did that come about?

STEVE ZAKUANI: I feel very strongly about it because I lost a friend to it, and came close to losing others. The statistics in London are crazy, I think there were over 20 deaths from stabbings in 2008 among teenagers and young people. This really affects me because I love London, it’s where home is. As much as I love the Congo and being African, London will always be my hometown. And so when I hear that an 18-year-old was stabbed in the chest and died, I usually get very upset because someone I know usually knows that person, and I can relate to what they are going through. It’s not something I fully understand in terms of why the stats are so high, but it’s definitely something I think the British government needs to focus on a lot more in terms of raising awareness and tackling the problem.

PROST AMERIKA: Who are your heroes?

STEVE ZAKUANI: There are four people who have forever changed my life, for different but interrelated reasons. The legendary UCLA coach John Wooden is one of them. When I first arrived in the States, my college coach gave me a book written by him, and even though I had never heard of him, I decided to give it a read. Once I was done with the book, it was impossible for me to approach sport in the same way. I altered the way I viewed success in football and in my career, and I also changed the way I saw myself in comparison to others. In fact, I stopped comparing myself to people completely. I took on board what Wooden said because his record speaks for itself.

The second guy is a Bahamian government adviser and business consultant named Dr. Myles Munroe. I met him on June 12th 2005 at a leadership seminar in London. He was on the stage speaking about mentality and leadership. I sat there mesmerized by what I heard. That was the first time I could ever say that someone had actually changed my life. Since that day, I’ve read almost all of his books, listened to his CDs, attended more of his seminars, and written back and forth to him.

The third is Malcolm X. To me, X was unique among freedom fighters and civil rights activists, in that he not only highlighted the problem, but he engaged in practical methods that taught the oppressed how to better themselves. For example, he went around the country teaching black men how to be better husbands and fathers to their wives and children. He taught black people to learn to have self respect, self-value, and self-belief. In other words, he fought for human rights, before civil rights, because as he once said, “how can you fight for civil rights, when you don’t even have human rights yet?”

PROST AMERIKA: Many would say he was a racially divisive figure who endorsed violence; how do you answer those criticisms?

Zakuani Celebrating his Assist against Salt LakePhoto: Rick Morrison, GOALSeattle.com

STEVE ZAKUANI: I answer them by encouraging people to read his autobiography because it dispels a lot of those misconceptions. It’s a fact that initially after his conversion in prison, he became very radical and often spoke rashly. But if you were to study the end of his life, those last couple of years after he returned from Mecca, you’ll notice that his views changed a lot. He distanced himself from the Nation of Islam and admitted that he was no longer sure exactly what his philosophy was as he was simply seeking the truth. His final days were spent repenting about some of his previous views, although he still retained his passion to see change amongst African Americans.

PROST AMERIKA: And the fourth?

STEVE ZAKUANI: And the last, but most important person to me is Jesus Christ. Raised in a religious home by religious parents, I heard His name very often but I never understood much about Him. It wasn’t until I was 17, when I was going through a personal crisis, that I decided to pick up the Bible for myself. And after reading chunks of it day after day, I became amazed by this Person.  His teachings, His wisdom, His message of peace, His acts of love, all of it left me speechless and I came away with a different picture of Him than the one my childhood imposed on me. He is to me, the most profound, forward-thinking leader and visionary who ever walked the earth. To put it simply, I would not be where I am if it was not for Him, He saved my life!

PROST AMERIKA: Will you be getting involved with Sounders FC’s anti-malaria drive? What does it mean to you as an African?

STEVE ZAKUANI: It means a lot to me that the Sounders are doing this. It will definitely raise awareness of this issue, because it is a pretty deadly killer in Africa. At the moment I don’t think I will be directly involved as Sanna Nyassi is dealing with most of the campaign, but I am definitely happy that the Sounders are launching this drive.

PROST AMERIKA: What is the closest you got to Freddie Ljungberg while at Arsenal? How did it feel when you first trained with him here as equals?

STEVE ZAKUANI: I trained in the same place as him when I was at Arsenal. We obviously weren’t in the same sessions, but we were at the same facility, and I also watched a lot of the games live at the stadium. I’ve followed his career for years, and so it was a great moment when we trained together for the first time. He’s someone I look forward to playing with, and I also hope to learn from him.

PROST AMERIKA: Do you still follow the Arsenal games on TV?

STEVE ZAKUANI: As much as I can but because I am so busy with training and games, I can only usually watch the highlights or read the reports. I’m maybe not as big of a fan as I once was because I’ve been away from London for so long, and also because the Sounders occupy my mind a lot more now. But they’re still my team in Europe, and I’m always hoping they can win their games.

March 29