As five-time Ballon d'Or nominee Yaya Toure prepares to lead his Slovan Bratislava side out against Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart in the Champions League, Rossington Main boss Ben Hunter is analysing what happened the night before in his mid-table team's clash in the ninth tier of English football. The coaches are united by one player. Manasse Kianga was living in Rotherham and playing Sunday league football when he helped Doncaster outfit Main to promotion to their current level in 2023.
Three years later, he fired the Slovakian champions into Europe's premier competition after reportedly being promoted from the reserves due to an injury crisis. South African Kianga, 24, could make his debut in the competition later. Toure's troops began their Champions League campaign away to French giants Paris St-Germain last month and will also take on the likes of Roma and Inter Milan during the league phase.
"He came to trial with Rossington and I had a look at him and straight away loved him," recalls a proud Hunter, who remains close to the forward known for his electric pace. "He was a really great guy as well and always played with a smile on his face."
Kianga, who can play anywhere across the front line, scored an injury-time winner for Slovan in the third and final round of qualifying. He travelled with the first team to the Parc des Princes but missed the matchday squad despite registering two goals and two assists in the opening three domestic matches. Hunter remembers him as "very raw" when he moved to South Yorkshire around 2017. The move to Rossington came through Kianga's brother, Bobby, who briefly represented the club. At the time, Kianga was studying business and accounting at Thomas Rotherham College, which also counts Jamie Vardy among its former students. Chris Walls, the college's assistant principal, remembers him as a "popular and outstanding student and football player" who was overlooked by several professional clubs. "We took him to England schoolboy trials and he made the last 30 but he couldn't get a passport in time," recalls Walls.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing