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Abdoulie Dampha Gambia's Promising Midfield Maestro

Oct 15, 2009, 8:21 AM | Article By: Lamin Drammeh

He is the type of player that every Coach would love to work with due to his technical and tactical approach towards every game he plays.

Abdoulie Dampha nicknamed Aimar is currently one of the fierce-looking midfielders in Bakau Nawettan as a result of his great tackles and great eye for goal that some of his fellow midfielders lacked.

Born in Madiba Kunda in Bakau Central in 1994, Aimar began his football career with Jazz Football Club when he was a young boy, even though he played an influential role in helping Jazz win their second successive league title, despite a very short stint with Bakau outfit and has also earned the admiration of the fans with his dazzling skills and some brilliant passes at the heart of midfield.

Despite that spectacular achievement with Jazz where he made that historic moment, Aimar made a surprise move to another Nawettan team in Bakau, called Katchically United which was under the leadership of Coach Sainey Jarju, alias Youth who has also succeeded in bringing the best out of one of the symbols of the club during his short stay with the team.  But he has failed in his attempt to repeat the same success with Jazz FC after they were beaten in the league cup final by his former club Jazz, following a dramatic penalty shoot-out. But before then, he also played a pivotal role in helping Bakau Primary School earned a place in the semi-final of the Inter-School Football Tournament as they suffered a narrow 1-nil defeat to Danso Primary school some years ago.

According to Abdoulie himself, he was part of Greater Banjul school team that played the finest attacking football of that tournament during the Inter-school Football Championship, but his side eventually lost 2-1 against St Masca where he was voted the most outstanding young player of the tournament.

The demanding midfield maestro later switched to Bakau New Town where he continued his playing career with the most successful Nawettan team in Bakau Linguere FC after spending two full seasons with Katchically United.

He led the last year's league cup title holders to another historic moment as Linguere recorded their third successive league championship title, after edging pass neighbours Ron-Mango in a dramatic penalty shoot-out, and in the process he returned home to join the Bakau giants Milan FC earlier in the season.

In his reaction to the story, the Head Coach of Milan FC Badou Conateh who is said to have being a great admirer of Milan youngster described Aimar as a disciplined and hardworking player, adding only motivation can help him excel internationally.

The former Gambia National U-17 midfield master who expressed satisfaction after receiving the valuable football materials through the support of Aegon Company and Ajax in Holland recently, is with the optimism that Abdoulie Dampha will no doubt realise his ambition of representing The Gambia senior national team at some point in his playing career. But he is aware of the fact that Aimar needs to be focused in order to realise his potential.

The President of Milan FC who also doubles as the club Manager, Ousman Drammeh told this reporter that Aimar is a type of player who is always willing to deliver to the best of his ability at all times, and has also served as a source of motivation for the youngsters that are graduating from the grassroots level.

Mr. Drammeh who also described Abdoulie Dampha as ambitious, disciplined and committed player further recognised the efforts the young lad continued to render for Milan by saying that Aimar is an impact player who has given a lot for the team since joining them earlier this year, and as a result, the club President and Manager seized the opportunity to wish Aimar all the best in his playing career, while expressing confidence that Abdoulie has all it takes to become a professional footballer in the very near future if only he is given the necessary support.

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