(Nazret.com) Traveler can be a good word to describe Abdul Wali Aman. The 23 year old forward has been moving from place to place throughout his life.
“I’ve moved a lot of places,” Aman said. “From college to college,
high school to high school.... sometimes it is good to challenge yourself in life. Always you learn something new when you move.”
Abdul’s voyage, however, did not commence in the high schools and colleges of the States. Born on August 15, 1989 in Ethiopia, son of Abdurazak Aman and Zeytuna Kadir, he moved with his family to Kenya in 1996. It was in the streets of Kenya he started playing football using pieces of plastic as ball.
Aman started playing football at a club level when he joined Lower Milan Kenya in 2000. In the following four years, he was the two-time league leading scorer and MVP and the team was four-time league champions and two-time state champions.
After moving to the United States in 2005, he started attending high school at Nathan Hale where he played midfield for the school team. Though he wanted to play up-front for the team, he was not given the chance. Nevertheless, he scored 14 goals for the team in the calendar year.
He got his dream role of playing forward when he transferred to the nearby Roosevelt High School, which had a team that competed in the 4A King Conference. In his freshman season, he participated in the Rough Riders' soccer program and earned First-Team All-Metro honours. He was his club’s top scorer with 12 goals in 2007. In the 2008 season he scored eight goals in 13 games and enhanced his reputation as a goal scorer.
After graduating, Aman joined Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Washington. During his one year spell there, he was the league’s top scorer with 27 goals and was named the Northwest Athletic Association of Community College’s MVP. He then went to Clarke University and played for the Crusaders for 2 years. In his first season, he played in 17 of the Crusaders' 19 games and started in 15. He shared the team lead in assists (5) and ranked second in goals scored (12). He was the second-highest scorer in a season in the school history.
It was in 2010 Abdul approached Alex Silva, the coach and owner of the Premier Development League (PDL) side Yakima Reds. After two practice sessions, Silva put him in the starting line up in a game against Gonzaga, and he completed a hat-trick by scoring 3 goals. After his debut, he played regularly for the team for the rest of the year.
In the 2011 season, he followed owner/coach Alex Silva to Snohomish County as a member of Silva’s new club Seawolves. Aman took another step in his soccer career when he signed for the Division I club UW. Former University of Washington coach Dean Wurzberger began recruiting him but it was Jamie Clark that succeeded in doing so.
“[Aman] has just played a lot of soccer,” Clark said. “That’s his thing. It’s more of an international route he’s come, where he plays pick-up, he plays men’s league, he plays in the summer – he just plays all the time. It’s not been as structured or as formal, as other people on our team, but that’s what also gives him that edge and that spark when he plays. He plays with more flair than most guys.”
In 2011 he was drafted by Major League Soccer side Seattle Sounders and had a short stint with them during the MLS preseason.
Even though Abdul could not make the final team that will represent Ethiopia at the 2013 AFCON, many believe that he may be the main goal scorer for the team in the future. With time by his side, the 23 year old forward will have to acquire a much needed major league experience. As coach Alex Silva recently commented, “My experience with this player has been the best. He’s so hungry for the game and has the natural talent. He knows how to score goals and has a great speed. He will surely be one of the top talents for the Ethiopian National Team and I can’t wait to see Ethiopia qualify to the World cup in my home country Brazil in 2014.”
For Highlights of Abdul Wali Aman playing, take a look at the following video:
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