Alex Freeman ya ci ƙwallon sa na farko a gasar kofin duniya a ranar Juma'a, inda ya taimaka wa Amurka ta ci 2-0 kan Ostiraliya, lamarin da ya tabbatar da wurinsu a zagayen kofa na gasar 2026 da ake gudanarwa a ƙasarsu.

Wannan lokaci yana da ma'ana ta musamman — mahaifinsa, Antonio Freeman, ya kasance dan wasan NFL mai hikima wanda ya lashe Super Bowl tare da Green Bay Packers a watan Janairun 1997, bayan an nuna ƙwarewarsa ta musamman da touchdowns biyu a kan Seattle Seahawks a watan Satumban 1996. Kusan shekaru talatin bayan haka, sunan Freeman yana sake bayyana a Seattle, amma wannan karon a filin wasan ƙwallon ƙafa.

"Lokaci ne na iyali wanda ya dawo cikakke," in ji Alex bayan karshen wasa. "Yana nuna zai iya zama mai girma, amma ni kuma zan iya zama mai girma ta hanyata. Yana da ban mamaki ka sami uba mai nasara wanda zai iya ba ni shawara don in kasance a shirye don irin waɗannan lokuta."

Daga ƙungiyar ajiyar zuwa matakina duniya

Tafiyar zuwa wannan lokaci bai kasance mai sauƙi ba ga dan wasan mai shekaru 21. A lokacin da Kofin Duniya na 2022 ke gudana a Qatar, Freeman na buga wa ƙungiyar ajiyar Orlando City — yana da wuya a sanya shi cikin tattaunawar ƙungiyar ƙasa.

Komai ya canza lokacin da Mauricio Pochettino aka naɗa shi a matsayin kociyan Amurka a shekarar 2024. Tsohon manajan Tottenham Hotspur ya gina ƙungiyarsa a kusa da matasa, kuma Freeman ya zama ɗaya daga cikin muhimman sassanta. An kira shi zuwa ƙungiyar ƙasa a karo na farko a bara, ya zama ɗan wasa na duk lokaci a Gold Cup, kuma ya tabbatar da matsayinsa ɗaya daga cikin sunaye na farko a jerin Pochettino a wannan Kofin Duniya.

"Ina son ba Orlando Club da ma'aikatan horarwa yabo," in ji Pochettino. "Idan ba ka da goyon bayan kociyoyin Orlando kuma ba za ka iya gina wannan alaƙa da aminci ba, yana da wuya bisa ga ɗan kalmomi kaɗan na bidiyo. Yana da tarihin da ya burge, yana son koyo, yana sauraro koyaushe. Yana da ikon zama ɗaya daga cikin mafi kyawun 'yan wasa a duniya a matsayinsa."

Sha'awa da aka ɓoye da lokacin da ya zama na yanar gizo

Zama ɗan wasan ƙwallon ƙafa na ƙwararru a ƙasa da American football ke mamayewa bai kasance abu mai sauƙi ba. Freeman ya taɓa ɓoye ƙaunarsa ga wannan wasa, ba ya tabbata yadda mahaifinsa zai amsa. Mahaifiyarsa da mahaifinsa na rikon gida — wanda kuma ya kasance kociyan farko — suka ƙarfafa shi ya bi wannan hanya.

"Yana nuna yadda abubuwa za su iya canzawa da sauri kuma kada ka yi shakkar kanka," Freeman ya faɗa. "Yanzu ina nan, yana nuna ba za ka taɓa mika wuya ba. Ka ci gaba da turawa kuma ba ka sani wane dama za ka samu ba."

A wajen filin wasa, Freeman ya kwace zukata na ƙarni na matasa. Ƴar uwarsa na rikon gida, Diamond Spaulding, ta buga a TikTok kafin wasannin farkon Amurka da Paraguay tana ƙarfafa magoya baya su yi wa "#16" nishadi. Bayan Freeman ya bayar da taimako a nasarar 4-1, wannan sakon ya yadu sosai kuma an ba shi laƙabi "Diamond's Little Brother." Bayan burinsa kan Ostiraliya, wasu magoya baya a X sun ɗaukaka laƙabin zuwa "America's Little Brother."

"Yana nuna yadda na yi nasara ta hanyata," Freeman ya ce. "Na yi aiki duk rayuwata don in isa wannan lokaci, don in rera waƙar ƙasa a gaban taron gida. Yana sa ni farin ciki sosai."