His pace was no accident, nor simply the reward for gruelling sessions in the gym. It was a secret recipe straight out of the Nigerian kitchen. That is how German star Karim Adeyemi revealed the true secret behind his status as the fastest player in the German league.
Everything has an explanation, even the extraordinary speed of a footballer. Adeyemi chose to reveal the source of his strength after his legendary goal in a Borussia Dortmund shirt against Chelsea in the Champions League in February 2023.
Just 21 at the time and already holding the record for the highest speed in the Bundesliga, the forward credited neither a complex physical programme nor endless conditioning work. He pointed instead to his Nigerian father's genes and a traditional dish handed down through his family roots.
In a striking interview reported by the Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" after the match, Adeyemi dropped a surprise. He put his astonishing ability to run down to a dish called "fufu", known locally as "akpu".
"Fufu" is no ordinary meal. It is a fundamental and sacred African dish in the Nigerian diet: a soft dough, thick and highly elastic, made exclusively from fermented and boiled cassava, and it gives the body enormous, sustained energy.
This "Nigerian fuel" is what carried Adeyemi to insane speeds of between 36.6 and 36.7 kilometres per hour in official matches, with some readings clocking even higher peaks. It turned him from a quick talent into an unstoppable human rocket.
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