Do you know Saido Berahino? A sad story of great African continues

The case of Saido Berahino is the perfect example of how ruthless football can be. During the 2014/15 season, while playing for West Bromwich Albion, he scored 14 goals in the Premier League, opening the door for a serious transfer to a bigger club. At the time, Tottenham was mentioned as a potential destination, but the Baggies’ management rejected the offer, which later led to problems for Berahino.

He was arrested multiple times and fined for drunk driving, fell out with the club, and that was the beginning of his downfall, which continues to this day. Berahino has now signed with Slovenian second-division side Tabor Sezana. He arrives in the town near Trieste as a free agent after an unsuccessful stint with Rajasthan United, a second-tier Indian club where he didn’t play a single match.

Before that, he changed clubs frequently, moving between five teams in five years (Stoke City, Zulte Waregem, Charleroi, Sheffield Wednesday, and AEL Limassol). He never stayed long at any of them and was never particularly effective. Thus, a player once compared to Harry Kane and on the verge of an England call-up has ended up wandering around Slovenia’s second division.

Tabor Sezana currently sits third in the standings and is aiming for a return to the top tier, where they last played in the 2022/23 season. However, only one team secures automatic promotion, and Tabor is currently four points behind leaders Gorica with a game in hand. One can only hope that Berahino, an undeniably talented player, still has enough football left in him to lead the team to the top. After all, let’s not forget how much a stubborn manager like Tony Pulis once praised him.