Luqman Gilmore and i go as far back as 2014 when when he came to play for Chelsea Fc Adura in a local organised league in my neighborhood . He was persuaded by Segun Abiodun to come and play for us. Luqman is a versatile player who can play almost any role on the field but he is most efficient and best utilized in the attacking side of the midfield, at least then. He is very passionate about the game, he literally wears his passion on his face on the field of play. He is dedicated, motivated and a professional to the core. He is one of the best player i ever kicked the ball with. I always knew he was going to be a top pro in no time and i tell him this almost every time we play together.
Luqman has had his share of really dark times in the game he loves so much as he's had trials with so many top clubs in Europe years back, notably Stoke City Fc of England where he spent almost 3 years in their youth team. He was also drafted and called upon to the Nigeria U-17, U-20 and U-23 national teams respectively and at different times. He was teammates and still very close friends with Kelechi Ihenacho and Wilfred Ndidi, both who presently play in the English Premier League for Leicester City Fc and the Nigeria National team which participated in the FIFA World Cup few months ago in Russia.
Brief History of Luqman Gilmore as i can recall.
I met Luqman about 4 years ago when he arrived from England while with Stoke City Fc youth team but my first real and close encounter with him was when he was persuaded by Segun to come and play for Chelsea Fc Adura in the Adura developmental League which is registered to the local and state government. He was friends with a teammate of mine, Segun Abiodun who is presently trying out with a team in Ethopia. Segun and Luqman at the time were with AACC FC, a football academy owned by an agent who was managing both Luqman and Segun. Luqman was the first of the lots that was afforded the chance to leave the shores of Nigeria. His first trial was with Stoke City Fc of England and he was liked almost immediately. He spent about 3 years with them before the relationship between them ended as his agent and the management of Stoke City Fc were unable to reach an agreement on the player. While with Stoke City, he was called upon by the Nigeria U-17 National team where he met Kelechi Ihenacho and Wilfred Ndidi. He made the team and played a couple of matches but was unable to participate in the World cup as Stoke City Fc demanded that he returns to England. It wasn't an easy decision as his agent advised that he returns to England because they both thought that his chances with Stoke City was brighter and could catapult him into the limelight. Subsequently, he was also later called upon to the Nigeria U-23 National team.
As soon as he left Stoke City, his agent also took him to a couple of teams in Europe but Luqman was unable to pen a contract with any of the teams. It was a very trying time for my friend as he was really eager to showcase his talent to the world. Moreover to see some of his former teammates and friends play for top clubs in Europe while he was clubless was heartbreaking for him. But Luqman never stopped training, in fact he doubled his practice time. It was around that time Segun advised him to come and play in the local league in our neighborhood in order to keep him match fit. I was the captain of the team and play in the central midfield, a role where Luqman was also comfortable playing at the time. He started his first game for us on the bench as i made way for him in the second half. He had a wonderful debut. He became the fans favorite in no time. Luqman and i were preferred by the coach to play together in the midfield. We had a very good chemistry and even became really close friends outside the field. Luqman was playing in this local league to keep him busy and match fit in order to prepare him for any trials with teams as soon the opportunity presents itself.
FC IMERETI AND FC DINAMO TBILISI
Around June last year, Luqman told me his agent had secured a trial with a team in Georgia and he was due to travel in less than 2 weeks. I was really happy for him and i was convinced he was going to get a contract because i witnessed first hand how hard he has worked this last year. Luqman is very dedicated, extremely professional and very cool headed. He never argued with anyone and always wants to win every game. His trial was with Fc Imereti and he signed for them in January 2018. Luqman kept in touch and tells me how hard it is for an African to sign a professional contract with teams in Europe and beyond because of the style of play, language barrier, weather and a couple of other unfavorable factors. Luqman was later deployed to the defense because of his work rate and physicality. He was mostly played at the right full back and occasionally in the central defense and the defensive midfield. After almost a wonderful and prolific year with Fc Imereti, another team came begging for Luqman's signature. This time, it was Fc Dinamo Tbilisi, perhaps the greatest club football team in the history of Georgian football. Luqman signed for Fc Dinamo Tbilisi on September 10th this year. Luqman is also surprisingly the only African playing for Fc Dinamo Tbilisi at the moment.
Luqman and i have kept in touch ever since he left the shores of Nigeria and it just occurred to me last week that introducing Scorum to him would be a great idea. I took my time to tell him everything i know about Scorum and he was glad and signed up immediately. I also urged him to tell his teammates about Scorum. His username is @luqmangimore. Please guys, lets welcome this professional footballer by following him. His introductory post will be coming up in a short-while.
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