Norman Campbell enjoying life as football pro; hungers for more
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — In a very strange way Norman Campbell has never been happier in his life.
The former Jamaica College Manning Cup champion is realising his life-long dream of playing professional football, but at the same time he endures a lot of boredom and loneliness at his FK Graficar Beograd club in Serbia.
“I have never been so happy, even with the boredom that comes in at times, because from a kid playing football my dream was to become a professional footballer and now I have achieved that goal, although I am still not where I want to be, but it is a stepping stone,” he told the Jamaica Observer here on Thursday night ahead of today’s first of a two-game international friendly series against the hosts at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in the capital city.
Match time is 7:30 pm (11:30 am Jamaica time).
“I have to take small steps because not everyone is so lucky to make big first steps, so I have to take small steps. But I am enjoying the life now, it’s pretty good,” he reiterated.
This year has been topsy-turvy for the former Harbour View FC forward, and at one stage he was so stressed out that he thought a move overseas would not materialise.
Then all of a sudden he was drafted to the senior Reggae Boyz set-up and as fate would have it, seems set to start from the opening whistle due to a combination of factors, including limited players available to Head Coach Theodore Whitmore.
“I am honoured to represent the national team. I have been waiting for my first senior call-up and now I get the opportunity; I am honoured.”
He has been niggled by an ankle problem but looks set to battle through the pain barrier and take his place in the first team today.
But earlier this year, his much-desired wish to move overseas took a trip on the roller coaster.
The 20-year-old journeyed to Stoke City in England on trial and believed he had done enough to secure a contract, only for work permit stipulations to prevent the signing.
“I had to live with it because I had no control over that,” he said.
He had gone to Stoke City two years earlier as part of the Ricardo Fuller experience with six other players, including Lamar Walker, and had gained a preview of what professional football was all about.
Then he went to Udinese in Italy in February and that was another successful operation for him, because at the end of it the club wanted to sign him, but there was a problem with international player positions in the team and because they have an agreement with Watford City FC, he was referred there.
“Then the coronavirus came up and I had to be waiting, which was difficult. It was devastating for me, until I finally went to Watford in August.
I was training, did medicals and everything, then a slight problem during the medicals came up and I ended up having to move to Graficar because the transfer window was almost closed [five days were left] and my agent Kevin Cowan, who is also the agent of Shamar Nicholson and Kaheem Parris, had to find somewhere for me because going back to Jamaica would be like a disaster,” he explained.
But now at far-away Serbia, Campbell tries to make the best of his life at the second division club.
“It is not easy to settle in Serbia because of the language, but I have some friends from the team who are trying to help me, so it is getting better every day and I think it will be okay,” said the young man who has been forced to eat mainly pasta and chicken because he doesn’t really like the Serbian cuisine.
The cold climate is also another bother, and since he’s been there he’s only been to the mall a couple of times to get away from the boredom of constantly staying at home.
“They [teammates] talk to me about the culture, telling me it is rough with a lot of wars that they have been through, so it is different, and I haven’t been out much, I stay home most of the times.
“When I return in January I think I will be more comfortable and I will go out more and learn more about the culture. I would say that I am coping.”
At the end of November the league will take a winter break to resume early next year.
Campbell has been impressed with the quality of football played in the country, especially the second tier, and believes it’s more on the technical side than the physical side.
So far, he has played two games as a substitute and believes the coaching staff and his teammates have been impressed, even if he thought his performances were just ordinary by his own standard.
“I played two games; went on for about 30 minutes in both games. In the first game we were down 1-0 and I went on and we won 2-1; we were up 1-0 in the first half and I went on in the second half and we won 3-0 for the second game.
“The coach said I did well, and they all thanked me for the performance, and the players liked my performance, but for me, it wasn’t my standard of performance, it was only okay in my estimation because I know I can do better.”
And being on a learning curve, young Campbell is cognisant of the fact that it will take time for him to adapt to his teammates and the club’s style of play, and he firmly believes he will only get better.
Apart from his training regime, Campbell says he spends a lot of time on the phone with his close friends Tyreke Magee and Kaheem Parris, both of whom are making their rise up the scale elsewhere in Europe.
Campbell is certain that he has been improving a lot — physically, technically, and mentally, mostly mentally because that was one of his weaknesses.
Today, Jamaicans will get a chance to assess for themselves.