By Hymar Idibie
When you mention Karim “The Dream” Adeyemi, what most football fans remember would be his magnificent solo goal against Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie.
In scoring, Adeyemi displayed his fatal five threats at once: the close control to receive an erratic long ball while on the run, the satanic swiftness to thunder past EPL record signing Enzo Fernandez, the strength to stay on the ball, brushing off Enzo’s attempt at interception, the skill to deftly swerve past the onrushing Kepa, and the precise accuracy to finish the move from the tightest of angles.
At 21 years old!
But that’s not all there’s to his game. In the very next match against Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga, two more aspects of Adeyemi’s football came to the fore. In a game where Dortmund demolished their visitors from Westend Berlin 4-1, Adeyemi bagged a goal, an assist, and an injury. All in 30 minutes!
What stood out wasn’t his beautiful side-footed opening goal or his storming runs at the Hertha Berlin defence, it was his injury moments before he dropped the cross for the assist for the second goal of the game.
Tearing down the left wing with his trademark speed, Adeyemi slipped past his marker into the box and just as he prepared to deliver the cross, he tore his hamstring and noticeably began limping.
Other players would have slowed down, kicked the ball out of play and fallen to the turn. Lesser players would have limped off the ball, signalling for medical attention. But Adeyemi showed he had something else to his game; heart. What Americans call the dawg. He drove through the pain and not only delivered the cross for the assist, but delivered it with just the right weight, before collapsing to the field, writhing in agony. Dawg.
He would miss the return leg of the champions league clash at Stamford Bridge which Dortmund lost, and briefly return weeks later, not fully fit, and be rushed into action, starring briefly in the title-decider against Mainz where he limped off again in the first half as Dortmund bottled the league title on the last day with a draw at home.
From his time at Salzburg where he burst onto the scene, introducing his promise, winning the top scorer award in the 2021/22 season, and raising eyebrows with his performance on the bigger stage, especially against Barcelona in the Champions League where he ran dizzying rings round the entire defence, Karim Adeyemi’s career has always taken a dreamy shape.
The dream of being capped by the German senior national team (to the dismay of Nigerian hopefuls), the dream of being included in their Word Cup squad. Then, there are other dreams that hover above him, waiting for him to live them out. Dreams of bigger club football. Dreams of golden boots, golden balls and major cup finals. Dreams of success in its many multifaceted forms.
You get the feeling that if Adeyemi played for a more established team, he would be rated even higher than he currently is. You get the feeling that his injuries, mostly due to his explosive style of play, have denied us, again and again, chances to witness more of what he’s capable of when he consistently plays. And you also get the feeling that, still 21, Adeyemi has the heart to overcome his injury challenges and discover that level that separates great players from good ones. And we hope, when that happens, we get to see him still doing celebratory somersaults of joy.
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