lamptey

Only now, at the age of 33 and with new goals in his life, is Lamptey prepared to talk about the pain and sorrow he has endured.

Diego died, unable to breathe, and Lamptey and his wife Gloria later lost another child, Lisa, also at four months to the same lung disease.

Lamptey signed a contract for five years as soon as he was 16, but did not know what he was doing.

He was one of the few people Lamptey trusted.

Every class in the Glow-Lamp School is named after one of the countries where Lamptey played either for a club or in a big tournament.

Some years before, Caliendo had secured Lamptey as a client by flying to Accra and paying him a cash lump sum to sign on the dotted line.

Before arriving at the academy, Kwame, like Lamptey, spent all his time playing football.

When he spoke of his ex-agent, Caliendo, I asked Lamptey, as a check, to spell the man's surname.

Lamptey was neglected and abused by both parents during his childhood in Accra and Kumasi, the two biggest cities in Ghana.

By the age of 19 Lamptey's best years were already behind him.

In 1996, Lamptey, still only 21, was discarded by his national team and has not played for them since.

'When the agent phoned to tell him I was in Lagos, I heard Keshi shout with joy, ' says Lamptey, who was then 14 years old.