Sonny Pike
 Pike in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1983 (age 42–43)[1][2] | ||
| Place of birth | Enfield, England | ||
| Playing position | Forward, Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1989-1993 | Enfield Colts | ||
| 1993-1994 | Enfield | ||
| 1994-1995 | Charlden | ||
| 1996 | Leyton Orient | ||
| Stevenage Borough | |||
| Dryburgh Saints | |||
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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][4] Despite his early promise, Pike left the game at the age of 18 without ever having played professionally.[5]
Early life
Pike 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] His idol was Paul Gascoigne.
Career
After he registered with Enfield club’s junior team in 1993, he scored 45 goals in his first season in 1993-94. He then finished the 1994-95 season with 120 goals playing for Charlden Youth in north London. Soon, scouts started to notice him.
In June 1995, Pike was part of a regional youth selection to represent East Anglia at a “Mini World Cup” tournament in Denmark, playing alongside Ashley Young and David Bentley. His fathe, Mickey signed with famous agent Eric Hall who immediately arranged trials for the youngster.
Pike soon received great publicity when he went on trial with reigning European champions then, Dutch club Ajax in 1995 in an attempt to join it's famous academy;[2][6][7] 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]
In 1999 Pike was training with a college academy in north London and then he was playing for London Colney F.C. reserves. He had a trial at Grimsby Town,[6] before quitting football at the age of 18.[2]
There were reports in the media that after his brief spell with Stevenage he had a non-league career at clubs such as Barnet and Enfield F.C. and then with Waltham Forest in the Ryman league, Division One North, in some part of the 2003-04 season, under an assumed name (as Luke Pike) ,[7] or that he was playing in Dundee. However, Pike has denied those reports.[6]
Later career
In 2003 Pike decided to study sports psychology at Dundee University in Dundee and was reportedly playing in the Scottish Sunday league for Dryburgh Saints in the 2005-06 season. At the same time he was also training for a Scottish FA coaching certificate, and as part of this, he was coaching two primary school teams in the area of Dundee.[8]
In February 2020 he opened a football academy in London.[9] 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.[10]
Controversy
Pike once said that he would score “about 150 goals a season, 300 if you count the other competitions I played in,” and he was tipped to be England's next no 10.
However, according to a former coach “Pike had a lot of skill, could pass it and was a nice player, but he lacked pace, he was a yard too slow”. A former class-mate also said that he was not even the best player in the school team.[11]
Personal life
Pike is the nephew of the former Tottenham forward Mark Falco. He is married with two children.[2]
In 2016 Pike was working as a taxi driver in London.[6]
References
- ↑ "First Person Plural". radiolistings.co.uk. 14 January 1996. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
Twelve year old Sonny Pike is a footballing genius
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "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.
- ↑ "The story of English Maradona". irishmirror. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ↑ "Lost soccer talents: teen players who sparkled too early". 90soccer.com. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 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.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Sonny Pike". When Saturday Comes. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012.
- ↑ What happened to Sonny Pike? - The Guardian
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Sonny Pike". WSC News.
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