Mls Spotlight: Nyarko Living A Dream In Chicago

Patrick Nyarko

Patrick Nyarko turned and pointed out the window of Palace Gate Restaurant on a chilly October day in uptown Chicago, where he was having lunch with Fire teammate Dominic Oduro. He can’t look at an open space in a cramped city, like the small parking lot outside, without being reminded of his childhood soccer games. “If we were in Ghana, we’d play right out there,” Nyarko said with a smile. Oduro nodded in agreement. Nyarko remembers those carefree, barefoot games on the dirt and gravel fields fondly, even though they were far from organized. Nothing shaped his style of play or love for the game more. Still, he loves life in Chicago. He enjoys the anonymity that comes with being a professional soccer player in a big American city, where he can take long walks or go to a restaurant without being recognized. But on this particular day, a stocky Ghanaian man not much older than Nyarko walked into the restaurant and immediately recognized the two soccer players sitting in the corner. The man turned to them and, speaking in the native Ghanaian language of Twi, told them that he recently attended a Fire game. In a different setting, Nyarko would have shied away. But the two chatted. The man told Nyarko that he played soccer back in Ghana with some well-known players, some of whom Nyarko recognized. After about five minutes, the conversation turned to laughter and the man left with his takeout. Nyarko had so many friends like the man at the restaurant. So many players back home dream of being in Nyarko’s position, only to have their careers derailed for one reason or another. He was almost one of them.