Daniel Nii Adjei: The journey so far

An outstanding midfielder by all standards, Daniel Nii Adjei has carved a niche for himself in association football.

He needs no introduction as far as local football is concerned. He’s been absolutely enormous since he began his play-for-pay career, with his fighting spirit, energy and ferocity in midfield embodying his managers’ philosophies brilliantly.

The journey hasn’t been rosy for Nii Adjei as he is popularly known locally, whose cool demeanor has earned him a lot of respect among the Ghanaian football fraternity. His stint with Ghanaian giants, Kumasi Asante Kotoko was a success story, one which will forever be remembered by the Porcupine Warriors.

“I remember as a boy, I always had to skip classes and house chores just to exhibit my God-bestowed talent. I was always running into trouble with my parents because they wanted to see a different ME other than a footballer.”

“This continued for a long time till they were really convinced that I had what it took to make it big, so they started supporting me. Gracefully, I have a successful career and hope to achieve more.”

The current TP Mazembe enforcer started his professional career with Norchip FC, a Division One club in Kumasi, where his immense talent was spotted by the technical handlers of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, who quickly whisked him to their fold.

“I wanted to be a footballer. But I had so many people telling me that I would never be one. But it was really special, firstly to be a pro footballer, and to start my career with Kumasi Asante Kotoko, a giant in Africa, was fabulous. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it means a lot to me.”

“Playing for Kotoko was a dream come true. Kotoko is my boyhood club and a club my family supports. I spent 6 seasons with them and won a lot of trophies including 3 league titles. My memories with Kotoko are one that will stay with me forever.”

After his ‘bromance’ with Kotoko came to a successful end, Nii Adjei found himself on the radar of another giant of the game, TP Mazembe. He officially joined them in 2013 after Kotoko successfully concluded the negotiations with the DR Congo based club.

“It’s a big project, a big club,” he quipped. “I thought my cycle had ended at Kotoko, because I was very happy to be there, just then an offer came and it was the kind that would benefit Kotoko and myself. I wanted to join a new project. The project here is amazing, for the present and for the future. It didn’t take much time to accept their offer.”

It didn’t take long for him to be an integral member of the TP Mazembe team. His ethic and drive to learn has kept him this far and hopes the younger ones can replicate this, as he believes where there is a will, there is a way.

"When you play for a big club, you have to convince every day. You need to have this responsibility. You have to be hungry and want to improve every day. If you don’t have this mentality, you can’t play for a big club. I was able to cope with the pressures associated with playing for TP Mazembe because I played for another big club, Kumasi Asante Kotoko.” He quipped.

“If we hope to learn everyday about everything, we can improve,” he said. “No one is a reservoir of knowledge and so we must not be puffed up to learn from each other. I’m not afraid of tackling opposing players, but I also like to play with the ball, initiate attacks with series of short passes and also play a long ball straight to the striker. I’m not afraid of taking those risks.” He continued.

Nii Adjei has won virtually everything there is to win in African club football with TP Mazembe, including the prestigious CAF Champions League and Super Cup.” It is the dream of every footballer to win laurels especially continental silverwares. It was always my dream to have a feel of the coveted CAF Champions league trophy.”

Nii Adjei late last year had opportunity to participate in the FIFA World Club Championship in Japan. “The tournament in Japan was great. It provided me another platform to learn from others and I believe I have learnt a lot to make an upsurge in my career.”

Daniel Nii Adjei still expects to play actively in the next five years and is optimistic of donning the jersey of the Black Stars one day, representing his Motherland in the World Cup. “I still have a lot of football in me. My aim is to represent my country in the World Cup. Hopefully, I will be playing in the World Cup one day and in Avram Grant’s books for Ghana.”

Asked the secret to his seemingly invariably sunny outlook, he said: ” I just remember how I started and be thankful to God. First I have my health and then, this fantastic job. I do what I love. So it’s just about trying to find solutions rather than seeing the problems. That’s the way I live.” He said.

Religiously, Nii Adjei is a staunch Christian and worships with the Lighthouse Chapel International. He dreams of becoming an evangelist to spread the gospel and win souls for God’s kingdom. “I wish to be an evangelist soon after my football career to help save the lost as the scripture demands.”

Don’t be surprised to find Evangelist Nii Adjei on the streets, buses preaching salvation, saving the lost and shouting HALLELUYAH!