Emmanuel Latte Lath remembers the feeling he experienced as an eight-year-old when his journey from Ivory Coast, his country of birth, to a new life in Italy began. "I started to realise when I was on the plane and I saw people different than me, I was a bit scared," the ex-Middlesbrough striker tells BBC Sport. The Ivorian forward, now playing for Union Berlin, was six years old when he discovered he was moving to Europe, finally making the move two years later.
Despite leaving behind many friends and family in the west African country, he would be reunited with his father in Italy, which gave him an opportunity to grow their relationship. "It was important because when I was born, it wasn't that close," the 27-year-old says. "He went to Italy to find a better life, so it wasn't that easy talking with him every time by phone.
I was missing this part from my father. "When I saw him, it was kind of a new life, new motivation to stay close to my father, and then everything started again. It looks like I had two lives." This reconnection with his father helped him settle into his different surroundings, although he still missed parts of the life he had as a young child in Africa, especially the freedom he found playing football.
Latte Lath explains: "Me and my five friends, we just built our team and we would go to play against another city, there was like no pressure, nothing. "It was just funny moments, enjoying football there, and it was quite competitive because it was almost every time finishing in some fights, so it was street rules. I was one of the most competitive.
Always together, being with my friends. It was really, really fun." Those early football experiences were extremely important for Latte Lath when he arrived in Italy, settling into his new life and attempting to learn the language. Before he arrived he would never play in boots, and had never been part of an official team, but that quickly changed once in Europe.
"It was exciting to learn and to show my potential," says the Union Berlin striker. "It was difficult in the beginning because I didn't know the language, but I had a really good person who helped me. "It was important for me because I didn't have too many friends there.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
