Akio aims to be a hit after his epic miss
IT’S fair to say that William Akio isn’t your average new arrival in Scottish football.
Born in a Kenyan refugee camp after his family fled civil war-torn Sudan, the 23-year-old South Sudan international holds both law and psychology degrees.
Now a Canadian national, he courted international infamy just before his move to Ross County by somehow clearing his own team-mate’s goal-bound effort off the line.
Hazy on how or why it happened, the moment has been dubbed football’s greatest miss of all time, with footage suggesting Akio might have been attempting the final touch.
The fuss has been difficult for the pacy attacker to process, but he has never been publicity shy.
While carving a reputation as the second top scorer in Canadian Premier League side Valour’s history, Akio built a social media following of 30,000 subscribers after first documenting his battle back from injury.
Malky Mackay’s tenth summer signing joins younger brother Victor Loturi at County and is likely to make his debut in today’s home clash with East Fife.
Asked to explain the incredible goal-line incident in Valour’s league game against HFX Wanderers earlier this month, Akio did his best.
He said: ‘The ball got played over the top. Moses (Dyer) was running down the line and I was just watching everything on the right-hand side.
‘He crossed it, but one of our midfielders made a run into the channel and he tapped it.
‘I was in the six-yard box, and I just went blank a little bit.
‘I was excited thinking: “It’s a goal” so I was just running as fast as I could and tried to smash it with my toe into the side-netting, but it was an absolute fail.
‘I got a lot of stick for it, but I’m the type of person that just laughs about it because I know I will have more opportunities in the future.
‘I can’t really let it get to me and bring me down.
‘It went everywhere. I had to turn my phone off for a couple of days actually, as I got a lot of mean messages — but I just laughed at them.’
As a kid growing up, William and his brother dreamed of playing football in Europe where their heroes all resided.
Parents Paul and Grace are beaming with pride at the twin move across the Atlantic to join County.
Akio, though, has always been level-headed and was determined not to let his love of football get in the way of academic achievement — another source of pride for the family. He said: ‘This is something I used to dream about. To be here in Dingwall for my first contract in Europe means everything. I’m ready to give this club everything I’ve got.
‘I’m a player that likes to run a lot. I have pace, speed, agility and strength. I want to excite the fans.
‘I heard the manager was really good and my brother was here earlier and confirmed that.
‘Victor can lean on me, and I can lean on him.
‘I have been without my family for a few years now so it’s really nice to see him every day.
‘We used to talk about it all the time, that one day we would maybe play together. Now it’s happening, it’s surreal.
‘Hopefully, I can keep my tears back!
‘It’s going to be amazing for my family.
‘I didn’t know I was going to take my game this far. When I was in Canada, I was studying to be a lawyer and I got my degree. Only 18 months ago, I turned professional.
‘I did my associates degree in legal studies. That was a three-year programme, before I did my degree in psychology. I can potentially go into law school when I finish football. That’s my dream. I did it for my dad as well, as I’m a first generation graduate. None of my family have got a degree, so it meant a lot to my dad. I did it for him, mostly.’ A crowd-pleaser who celebrates goals with backflips, Akio (below) is promising to get crowds on their feet this season. ‘I just want to play as much as I can, and adjust to this level,’ he said. ‘I want to score some goals and do some backflips. ‘I have had lots of messages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram from people who are very excited to see me play. I started on YouTube when I was in college. I had my knee surgery and it was a really tough time for me. ‘I just decided to document my journey of getting back onto the field, and potentially signing a professional contract. ‘Ever since I started that journey, it has just been going up and up. Here I am now, and I feel like it’s just part of my life. ‘I like to share little things behind the scenes of my everyday life as a professional soccer player. ‘I’m going to keep it going here, with all due respect to the club, as long as they allow me.’