Men’s FA Cup final
Date: Saturday, 17 May Venue: Wembley Stadium Kick-off: 16:30 BST
Let go by Arsenal. Released by Fulham and Reading. Trials at Bristol City and Sunderland that came to nothing. Told by Millwall: “thanks, but no thanks.” All before the age of 18.
It would have been easy for Eberechi Eze to give up on his dream of becoming a professional footballer.
After all, the youngster from a council estate in Greenwich, south-east London, had experienced nothing but pain, frustration and crushing rejection.
“I remember facing Arsenal a few months after being released by them [at the age of 13] and welling up because of all the emotions and not dealing properly with the feelings of being released,” says Eze.
“I didn’t know how to process it. I had tears ready to pour down my face.”
Having been told by Millwall he would not be handed a professional contract at the end of a two-year scholarship in 2016, Eze had another trial – this time with Sunderland – which was unsuccessful.
His confidence was at an all-time low.
Then Queens Park Rangers offered him a chance – and the rest is history.
On Saturday, Eze is set to feature in the FA Cup final for Crystal Palace, who will win a first major trophy if they beat Manchester City at Wembley (16:30 BST kick-off).
From growing up playing football with jumpers for goalposts in a cage with friends to representing England at Euro 2024, Eze’s story is one resilience, determination, faith and self-belief.
It is a journey full of rejections and tribulations that is all too familiar with so many youngsters who have spent time in academies up and down the country.
“I remember the deflation,” Eze says about the knockbacks he received as he tried to find his way in the game.
“But all I kept asking myself was: ‘When’s the next trial? When’s the next trial?'”
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‘Praying for a Sunderland contract’
At 26, Eze is reaching his prime, having established himself under Roy Hodgson, Patrick Vieira and now Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace.
He has seven goals and eight assists in the Premier League this season.
In addition, three of Palace’s 12 FA Cup goals have come from the number 10 – including a wonderful finish from outside the box that set his team on the way to a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa in last month’s semi-final.
After all those rejections at a young age, he is reaping the rewards of refusing to give up.
“I feel like the journey I’ve been on has forced me to grow up, improve and be better,” adds Eze, who grew up in a Christian household, regularly going to church.
“I know so many people who got released from one club, got released from Arsenal and that was it – they stopped playing. The fact I am in this position, I can only say God thank you because I could be anywhere doing anything.
“But the love of football never left.”
After Arsenal, Eze spent two and a half years at Fulham’s academy before being released. Then a trial at Reading resulted in a familiar sinking feeling.
After being let go by Millwall in 2016, he was invited up to Sunderland.
“I was there for a week,” adds Eze.
“I remember getting home, lying on bunk beds with my brothers and praying: ‘Please give me a pro contract, I know I can do it.’
From Millwall reject to Premier League forward
By 2018, Eze – aged 19 – was making regular appearances for QPR.
“I met people at QPR who saw me and understood what I could do,” he says. “It was a journey getting there – so many clubs, so many rejections.”
He credits technical director Chris Ramsey, coaches Andy Impey and Paul Hall, and former QPR forward Les Ferdinand with helping with his development and building up his confidence at Loftus Road.
“I’m hugely grateful for them because that was the changing point in my career, and my belief shifted because of them,” adds Eze.
“They opened my eyes. They taught me it can’t just be nutmegs. They improved me massively, they saw potential in me. It was just about bringing it out.”
When Eze completed a £19.5m move across London to Crystal Palace in August 2020, he had 20 Championship goals to his name.
He had gone from Millwall reject to Premier League forward in the space of four years.
Does Eze feel any resentment towards the clubs who rejected him?
“I don’t look back at any of the teams and say, ‘oh, they shouldn’t have released me’,” he says.
“That’s the decision they made at the time and it made sense for them. Of course, now it looks like they’ve made a mistake. But at the time, it was probably clear for them to make that decision.
“So, I don’t blame anyone, to be honest. I feel like the journey I’ve been on has forced me to grow up, improve and be better.
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‘Peace after wonder goal’
Talk to those who have known Eze since he was a boy honing his skills in a small yellow cage in Greenwich, and there is immense pride at how far he has come.
“Growing up in south-east London, playing football in cages was a social thing with our mates,” Dajon Golding, a school friend of Eze’s and now a striker at Scottish League Two side Elgin City, says.
“Even from a young age, Ebs always said he would play at the high level. A lot of us said that. We had big dreams and were naive.
“But it’s a testament to Ebs that he has achieved it.”
Eze’s younger brother Chimaechi, who plays for Palace’s Under-21 side, says he is a source of inspiration.
“As a little brother seeing all the setbacks he has gone through, if I am in that situation I don’t know if I could have continued,” he adds.
“So him showing that for the family helps everyone to push on when going through tough times. He is 100% an inspiration. He has shown you can always change the narrative.”
Despite his elevation to the England team, scoring against Latvia in March, Eze has not forgotten where it all started.
“I just got in contact with the two guys who taught me how to play football [in the cage], Gabriel and Rafael,” he adds. “They are the reason I play football the way I do now.
“They showed me all the skills and I owe so much to them.”
Lisa Shaw, Eze’s former teacher at Fossdene Primary School in Charlton, has seen how he had stayed connected with his roots.
She tells the story of him inviting children from his old school to watch Palace train.
“He sent a fleet of cars to pick them up. It was very generous,” she says.
“The children look up to him. He has had a lot of setbacks in his career but he was resilient. That’s why he’s such a good role model.”
Will Eze score another wonder goal in Saturday’s showpiece final – like he did in the semi-final?
“I think he felt at peace when that went in,” adds Golding about Eze’s stunner against Villa.
“Words cannot describe how proud I am to call Ebs my friend. I am super proud of his journey and what he is going to achieve in the future.
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Related topics
- Premier League
- FA Cup
- Crystal Palace
- Football
