SPECIALFEATURE
I was capable of what I have done this
season; I think I can do more. When
I work hard and feel good, I’m one of
those players who can show my quality,
but the team has helped because
we’ve played some big games and
that has allowed me to do more
things individually.
“I know the opposition look at me
more than before because I have scored
goals, but I just have to try harder, keep
on going. We have other good players,
so if the opposition is looking at me,
it might free up another player to
score and we can still win.”
Growing up close to Eindhoven,
like most of his peers, Gakpo spent
his days playing football until deep into
the evenings. His parents, a Togolese
father with Ghanaian ancestry and
a Dutch mother, have been there
through every step supporting him.
That, he says, has been paramount
to his success.
“I started playing when I was four
at the local amateur club and joined
PSV aged six,” he recalls fondly. “I had
a great childhood, playing football
almost every day with my friends in the
neighbourhood. There were some stupid
things everybody does when they are
young, but most of the time, I wanted to
play football and enjoy every moment
outside. At PSV, I had to consider my
games at the weekend; it meant I had
to go home earlier than my friends,
which was difficult, but it worked out.
I would try to stay out as long as I could
after school until my mum or my dad
came to get me for dinner. Then after,
we’d go back out again. You try to keep
that freedom as close as possible in theDirect dribbler...
Gakpo running
with the ballCup winner...PSV players celebrate with Gakpo
after his decisive goal against arch-rivals Ajax