Adelaide United’s African-born sensation Al Hassan Toure reflects on his FFA Cup final heroics
Adelaide United sensation Al Hassan Toure is proudly wearing the Mark Viduka Medal after his FFA Cup final heroics. But don’t suggest the grounded Reds teenager is about to emulate the Socceroos legend.
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HE calmly strolls across a deserted field in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, seemingly oblivious to the fanfare his heroics have just created.
Two medals hang from his neck. One recognising his team’s achievement as the first club to win a hat-trick of FFA Cups.
The other bears the name of a Socceroos legend, his stunning arrival in professional soccer is starting to resemble.
Less than 24 hours earlier, Al Hassan Toure had fired Adelaide United to knockout glory in front of a partisan home crowd in the city he arrived in as a shy four-year-old.
But the African-born sensation was not getting carried away by the flood of praise he had received, following his man-of-the-match display in the Melbourne City rout.
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“It feels unreal,” Toure, 19, said, at the Reds’ Playford training ground on Thursday.
“But I just have to block them (plaudits) out, because I don’t want to get a big head.
“Right now everyone is talking about me, but I have to focus on what I have to do in the coming games.
“The FFA Cup is done. We wanted to win and we’ve won.
“Now it’s just (about) the season. Get more goals and win.”
Toure’s phone had been ringing hot with calls from wellwishers, both in Adelaide and his birthplace, Guinea, since his audacious opening goal set up United’s victory.
His Dad, Amara, who used to travel western Africa playing football just to put food on his struggling family’s table, quickly shared videos of his son’s feats with loved ones back home.
Even his mother, Mawa, who usually watches games on TV as she gets too nervous viewing them live, was among Toure’s family and friends at Hindmarsh for the decider.
“She forced herself to come because it was a final,” said Toure, the oldest of six siblings whose parents fled war-torn Liberia before they were born.
“Even though she was closing her eyes the whole game, she just wanted to be there.
“I haven’t seen my Mum and Dad yet (post-match), because they were asleep when I came home.
“But I talked to friends and other family members ... and my Grandma back home (in Guinea), and they were really proud.
“The whole community is proud of what I’ve done.”
The Croydon Kings product delivered a flash of genius to break the deadlock 25 minutes into the rousing 4-0 success.
Spotting Dean Bouzanis anticipating a cross, the hitman fired a first-time strike inside the City goalkeeper’s near post from an unlikely angle.
The physical strength and awareness, which belie his tender years, were on show early in the second half.
Toure shrugged off 193cm, 93kg Harrison Delbridge in the centre circle, before pinging an inch-perfect pass for Riley McGree to tee up Ben Halloran’s composed finish.
It sparked wild celebrations among his teammates and brought the youngster to tears.
“It was just overwhelming,” said Toure, who took his record to six goals in seven senior outings.
“Afer the second goal, I felt like I’m a big part of the win.
“It just felt emotional.”
Toure left the pitch to a standing ovation from the near-capacity 14,920 gallery, to be replaced by Kristian Opseth 18 minutes from time.
His inspired performance fittingly earned him the Mark Viduka Medal for best on ground.
Toure’s seamless transition to first-team action was not dissimilar to that of the ex-Australian captain, who burst into Melbourne Knights’ side in the ex-National Soccer League aged 17.
He had some way to go to emulate hitman Viduka, the competition's leading scorer and player of the year in his first two seasons, ahead of a glittering 211-goal European adventure.
And Toure was not interested in comparisons, claiming the accolade should have instead gone to McGree or Nikola Mileusnic.
“I would like to thank my teammates for that,” said the Chelsea supporter, who dreamt of furthering his career overseas.
“Without them I wouldn't be in this situation.
“They’ve encouraged me since I’ve been here and I just look up to them.
“I don’t really think of long-term.
“Just training with the team (and) improving as a player.”