Kevin Ellison yana tunawa karo ɗaya da kaɗai da ya taka a Premier League da kyakkyawan bayani: taɓawa huɗu, laifi kan Paul Scholes, da kashi 2-0 na Leicester City a Old Trafford a shekara ta 2001. Yana da shekara 22, ya shigo a matsayin ɗan maye a minti na 84, yana raba filin wasa tare da Roy Keane, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, da Scholes. Bai sake buga wasa a Premier League ba.

Wannan karo ɗaya ya kasance kambi ga hawa mai ban mamaki na yaro daga Anfield wanda Liverpool ta ƙi yana da shekara 15, ya buga wasan ranar Lahadi, ya yi aiki cikakke a wani ginin da kuma isar da kayan gida — sofas, gadaje, kabad — yayin da yake buga wasa na ɓangare ga kulob din da ba na ƙwararru ba na Altrincham. Rikodin kwallayen 23 a cikin wasanni 54 na gasar ya kawo masa canja wuri na £50,000 zuwa Leicester, inda aka biya shi £700 a mako bayan tattaunawa mai ɗimbin yawa wanda aka fitar da wakilinsa daga ɗakin.

Tunani na duhu a kan titin M6

Bayan mafarkin Leicester ya ɓace, Ellison ya sami kansa yana sauka ta rabe-raben gasar yayin da yake fuskantar matsalolin iyali da damuwar kuɗi. Baƙin ciki ya mamaye.

"Mafi duhu lokacin shi ne lokacin da nake tuƙin mota a M6," in ji shi. "Tunanina a wancan lokacin sune: 'shin rayuwar mutanen da ke kewaye da ni za ta fi kyau idan na tashi ta hanyar tsakiya a gudu 100mph?' Haka ne ya kai."

Yana bayanin shekaru na wahala cikin shiru, yana tsoron hukunci. "Ina tsoron mutane su yi min hukunci, su yi magana a kaina, su juya baya gare ni — kawai saboda ni ne miji wanda ke da aikin mafarki kuma ana tsammanin ni dai a kai a kai a rayuwa, ba tare da lura cewa ni mutum ne da ji kamar sauran kowa ba."

Nasiha da ƙarfin buɗe zuciya ga waɗanda ke kewaye da shi ya tabbata cewa shi ne juyawa. "Ban da kunya game da inda na kasance da abin da na sha ba," in ji shi. "Faɗa shi ne hanyar da ta yuwu kawai da na tsallake waɗancan gajimare na duhu."

Har yanzu yana buga wasa a shekara 47

Yanzu yana da shekara 47, Ellison ya fi dacewa da lafiya kuma, a cewarsa, ya fi farin ciki fiye da kowane lokaci. Yana ci gaba da buga wasa wa Vauxhall Motors, kulob din da ba na ƙwararru ba na Cheshire wanda ke gasa a Northern Premier League Division One West — matsayi na takwas na ƙwallon ƙafa na Ingila. Bayyanarsa mai yuwuwa a kan Thackley na Yorkshire a zagaye na farko na FA Cup ranar Asabar zai sa ya zama ɗaya daga cikin 'yan wasan da suka tsufa da suka taɓa fitowa a gasar.

"Kowa yana cewa ya kamata in kasance a gidan tsufa," yana dariya. Duk da haka, Ellison ya buga wasa a cikin matsayi takwas na farko na ƙwallon ƙafa na Ingila a duk tsawon aiki na shekara 29 da kulob 18, inda ya kai alamar wasanni 1,000 a hanyar. Fitattun abubuwan da ya samu sun haɗa da samun tikitin zuwa Championship tare da Hull City a 2005, bayyana sau biyu a wasan karshe na wasa-share a Wembley — tare da Rotherham United a 2010 da Newport County a 2021 — da kuma kwallayen 124 a wasanni 553 na gasar mataki na huɗu, ciki har da 81 a wasanni 352 na Morecambe tsakanin 2011 da 2020.

Nesa da ƙwallon ƙafa, yana aiki a matsayin mai kare yara a wata makarantar sakandare a Liverpool. Ɗalibai, in ji shi, wani lokaci suna tuna masa cewa ya buga wasa sau ɗaya kawai a Premier League. Amsinsa na tilasta fara'a ne kamar yadda aka saba: "I, amma ya kasance ne a kan Manchester United, waɗanda a wancan lokacin suna ƙungiyar mafi kyau a duniya."

Zakaran Kofin Duniya na Babbobi tare da England

A farkon wannan shekara, Ellison ya ƙara wani suna ga tarin sa lokacin da ya taimaki England lashe Kofin Duniya na Babbobi, tare da doke France da 4-0 a wasan karshe a Thailand a watan Yuni. Gareth Barry, Lee Hendrie, Barry Hayles, da Luke Chambers sun kasance a cikin 'yan wasan tare da shi. Ya kuma lashe gasar tare da England a 2025.

Saƙonsa ga kowa da kowa da ke fama da matsalolin lafiyar hankali kai tsaye ne: "Kada ka ji kunya. Kowa na da matsaloli. Da fatan a yi magana da iyali da abokai — buɗe, akwai mutane da suke shirye su taimaka su kuma saurara."

"Idan labarina zai iya taimaka wa mutum ɗaya kawai," ya ƙara, "zan zama ɗan farin ciki ne sosai."