Sonny Pike (born 1983) is an English former footballer who became famous at a young age for his talent, which saw him being compared to players regarded as among the greatest of all time, such as Diego Maradona and George Best.[3] Despite his early promise, Pike left the game at the age of 18 without ever having played professionally.[4]
 Pike in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1983 (age 40–41)[1][2] | ||
| Place of birth | Enfield, England | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| Enfield Colts | |||
| Enfield | |||
| 1996 | Leyton Orient | ||
| Stevenage Borough | |||
Early life
editPike was born and raised in Enfield.[2] He joined Enfield Colts at the age of 6, moving to Enfield F.C. at the age of 10.[2]
Career
editPike received much publicity when he went on trial with Dutch club Ajax in 1995;[2][5][6] though the club wanted to sign him, he returned to England to sign for Leyton Orient instead.[2] A proposed move to Chelsea fell through, and he later went on trial with both Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace before signing with Stevenage Borough.[2] He had a trial at Grimsby Town,[5] before quitting football at the age of 18.[2]
There were reports in the media that he had a non-league career at clubs such as Barnet and Waltham Forest under an assumed name,[6] or that he was playing in Dundee, but Pike has denied those reports.[5]
Later career
editIn 2016 Pike was working as a taxi driver in London.[5] In February 2020 he opened a football academy.[7] He is married with two children.[2] He continues to be cited by the football media as the archetype of a heavily promoted child prodigy who ultimately did not achieve success in the sport.[8]
References
edit- ^ "First Person Plural". radiolistings.co.uk. 14 January 1996. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
Twelve year old Sonny Pike is a footballing genius
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Back to the future: Sonny Pike returns to Ajax". www.goal.com.
- ^ "Too much too young?". BBC News. 23 June 1999. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
- ^ "Lost soccer talents: teen players who sparkled too early". 90soccer.com. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d Ames, Nick (25 February 2016). "Sonny Pike on life as a football prodigy: 'At 17 my head was finished. I was suicidal'" – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ a b "Sonny Pike". When Saturday Comes. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012.
- ^ Ames, Nick (31 March 2020). "How Sonny Pike, the wonderkid who fell to earth, is guiding young players" – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ Dickson, Andrew (28 November 2016). "Celtic's Karamoko Dembele will hopefully have more good fortune than me, says Sonny Pike". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
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