Sometimes, the most significant names in a matchday programme are hidden in the footnotes. On page 22 of the August 2013 edition, the “Match Facts” section proudly highlights a wave of new blood at FC Groningen. Under the header “Vijf Debutanten: Totaal 358” (Five Debutants: Total 358), the text celebrates the official club debuts of players like Giliano Wijnaldum, Nick van der Velden, and Krisztian Adorjan during the opening weekend.
The influx of new talent pushed the all-time number of players who had represented the club in official matches to 358. However, it is the very last sentence of this paragraph that catches the eye of any modern football historian: “Van de nieuwelingen heeft alleen William Troost-Ekong zijn opwachting nog niet gemaakt.” (Of the newcomers, only William Troost-Ekong has not yet made his appearance).
At that moment, Troost-Ekong was just a 19-year-old center-back picked up on a free transfer from the Tottenham Hotspur youth academy. Sitting on the bench at the Euroborg, he was an unknown quantity, patiently waiting for manager Erwin van de Looi to give him his first taste of senior professional football. He was just a name at the bottom of a page, a young prospect hoping to become player number 359.
A Look into the Future
The young defender who couldn’t get off the bench in August 2013 would go on to have one of the most remarkable international careers of anyone in that squad. While his time at FC Groningen was relatively brief (eventually leading to loan spells and a transfer), William Troost-Ekong blossomed into a formidable center-back. By the 2020s, he was playing in the Premier League and Serie A, but more importantly, he became the iconic captain of the Nigerian national team, leading the Super Eagles in World Cups and Africa Cup of Nations finals. That single sentence in the 2013 programme is a humble origin story for a future international leader.