Akinola in pursuit of happiness by way of Maryhill
Partick Thistle’s defending revelation on the philosophies helping him navigate life’s foibles
TUNJI AKINOLA is posing for photographs at the corner of Firhill Road and Dave McParland Way when he’s met by a wellwisher. “Keep it up, big man,” says the supporter. “You’re doing brilliant.” Akinola, sporting a bruise on his nose from a knock sustained in a recent match, smiles and politely thanks this would-be head of the Tunji Akinola appreciation society. The whole episode is a nod to how well the centre-back has settled in at Partick Thistle since his arrival from West Ham United in the summer.
Akinola was named player of the month in September and Thistle sit fourth in the SPFL Championship, two points off the top ahead of today’s trip to Queen of the South, and have lost just once in their last 10 games (coincidentally against Queens). It’s an impressive spell that has been fortified by a record run of seven clean sheets in a row. It can be no coincidence that the shutouts have started to rack up ever since Akinola, dominant in the air, physically imposing and calm under pressure, was paired with on-loan Rangers defender Lewis Mayo at the heart of the Thistle defence for the home win over Ayr United at the start of October.
Standing beneath the mural to Thistle’s legendary former manager, it’s easy to imagine that he’s looking down on Akinola approvingly. McParland, after all, was part of the team that set the previous record of five consecutive clean sheets in a row in 1968, which has been matched a number of times since. For his part, Akinola is modest when asked about any contribution he might have made to helping Thistle set the new record.
“I don’t think there is any secret,” he says. “I think it’s just a desire to defend really properly. As a back four, the two midfielders in front of us and the whole team who all have that desire to be aggressive, to close down the ball and defend with intensity. We have a really good goalkeeper [Jamie Sneddon] as well. When you are in a team that has got quality on the ball, you end up keeping the ball for longer periods, you end up sustaining more attacks and, if you have got the ball, the other team can’t score.”
It is the day after Akinola’s 23rd birthday and the defender exudes the aura of a young man who is enjoying life on and off the pitch.
“I’m playing more regularly than I thought I would and we have got some good results, I’ve played against some good teams,” says Akinola, who spent last season on loan at Leyton Orient. “This is the first time I have had to cook for myself, do the washing, clean the house. As soon as I came in, the coaching staff and the players made sure that I was part of the group. Just in general, as well, people in Scotland are more friendly and more open to interaction whereas in London it can be ‘head down, take care of myself’.”
Like McParland, who was meticulous in his preparation for big games, Akinola leaves no stone unturned when it comes to seeking an edge; one birthday present in particular reveals much about his character – it’s a book by David Epstein called The Sport Gene. He admits he is almost obsessive about learning the secret to self-improvement and one of his favourite reads is The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma.
“It’s about a guy who lives a really chaotic life working in business. He ends up getting so stressed that, even though he is making so much money, he isn’t enjoying life. He goes to Asia to live with Buddhist monks for a year. His life is turned upside down, he has no phone, he is living close to nature with these wise men. He would wake up and do the same routine every morning and the same routine just before bed. They would exercise for five minutes every day when they woke up, they would drink loads of water, they would have fruit and veg with every meal. They would read books for hours and when they finished they would reread old books that they had read to keep the information fresh in their minds. When the guy returned to his old life, he applied these things that he had learned and he found he was living a much happier, more productive and more successful life. The book helped me to bring things like that to my life. I made sure every meal had fruit or vegetables. I made that a conscious decision. I’ve got pre-bedtime routines, too, like visualisation. I’ll do that at night before a game hoping to achieve a positive outcome.”
It’s not just books that Akinola finds inspiration in. He tells me that The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith as a down-on-his-luck
salesman, who raises his son while attempting to hold down a job and keep a roof over their heads, is his favourite film.
“I think it is a really emotional, inspiring film. The scene that always sticks out is when Will Smith’s character is speaking to his son and he’s giving him a pep talk for life and the boy is too young to realise what he is saying but it’s just the message he is giving him about life – nothing is going to be given to you, you have got to go and earn it, you will have to face obstacles and challenges but everyone does and it is the strong ones who come out the other side.”
Whether through watching films or reading books, Akinola’s commitment to improving
himself has become something of a mantra; one that was imbued in him and his siblings by his parents. His brother works for a private equity firm having studied at Cambridge while his sister reads English at the same university.
In The Pursuit of Happyness there are echoes with Akinola’s own journey from Enfield to Glasgow’s West End and the sacrifices his parents – born in the Nigerian capital Lagos – made in supporting him as a young boy looking to get a head start in football.
“I went up for trials at MK Dons so my dad’s thinking was if I can get scouted for them, why not try and look at other teams? He was contacting lots of clubs, Arsenal, Tottenham and he found out that West Ham were doing open trials for boys my age. My dad found six open trials online and I think we ended up going to two or three of them. I can’t remember if it was after the first one but I went there, did well, and I got a call asking me to come back to train at Chadwell Heath.”
One stipulation his parents had was that their son’s education must come first.
“It’s a thing in African cultures where education is massive. Education had to be the main priority. A lot of the boys joined the West Ham school at 15 but my parents wanted me to stay in my own school; they wanted me to stay focused on my education until GCSEs at least and that I wasn’t going to put all my eggs in the football basket. They instilled in me that mentality. Nothing is given to you, you’ve got to earn it. Even when you apply it to school work, you’ve got to do what they ask you and more. If you are asked to do a certain number of questions, always do one more, keep pushing yourself to make yourself better. That applies to my football, too.”
PROOF of his parents’ foresight came when he was released by West Ham but a conversation between David Moyes and McCall, teammates together at Dunfermline in the 1990s, alerted the Thistle manager to Akinola’s availability and a deal was agreed until the conclusion of this season. Such has been the impact he has made that a contract extension is said to be imminent. He plays the straight bat when asked if it could be a double celebration – a new deal and a campaign that yields another promotion following last season’s League One title success.
“I know it’s a cliché but you can’t get too excited in football,” he says. “As soon as you start thinking too far ahead you lose sight of what’s in front of you. The manager has got everyone on the same page. I feel like he has formed the perfect blend of experience and youth. Having those experienced boys around us gives us a bit of a boost. I think that’s the reason why things are going so well.”
Later as we walk along Maryhill Road, the well-wisher – now in his car – spots Akinola and toots his horn, waving enthusiastically in our direction.
“This is the most I have ever enjoyed my football,” says Akinola. “The fans seem to really like me. Confidence and happiness is such a massive thing in the game.”
People in Scotland are more friendly and more open... in London it can be ‘head down, take care of myself’