Fourteen months ago, Maxi Oyedele was experiencing the lowest moment of a burgeoning career, being substituted after coming off the bench for a team destined for relegation from League Two. Now he is preparing for a European quarter-final with Legia Warsaw against one of the biggest clubs on the continent. Forest Green feels a world away.
When any teenager is loaned by Manchester United to a lower-league club, the aim is for them to gain experience that can help them progress. In theory, this is done through positive performances and playing against senior professionals, allowing a youngster to learn the tricks of the trade. Sometimes, however, a setback is the best learning curve. It has helped the midfielder earn full international honours, the Conference League battle with Chelsea in Warsaw on Thursday and a Polish Cup final next month.
“I would put that down as one of my most valuable experiences, going to Forest Green and it not working out the way I wanted it to,” says Oyedele, who returned to United after four substitute appearances in League Two. “The way I had to come back to the club and be back in the under-21 squad and be training in and out with the first team … that whole period was extremely, extremely tough. Whatever problems I face I know what it’s like to be at the lowest point. It’s only made me stronger.”
A move to eastern Europe may not sound like an obvious move for someone who was brought up in Salford and joined United aged six, but Oyedele has a Polish mother and a Nigerian father. Oyedele regularly visited his mother’s homeland as a child, learning the language to interact with his grandmother, and started representing Poland as a teenager. Legia came calling in the summer, offering a homecoming of sorts when it became clear he was not in Erik ten Hag’s plans.
“It’s just funny for my mum because she left Poland to come to England and make a life; I left England to go to Poland to start my journey,” says Oyedele. “Legia was the biggest opportunity. I don’t even think I realised how big of an opportunity it was when I heard about it. I felt like this was the opportunity to play in Europe, the biggest team in Poland. It’s my nationality, so it’s close to the national team. It’s always a risk to leave it, but it just seemed like the best choice”
The deal was completed in late August and within a couple of months Oyedele had ticked off a top-flight, European and full international debut. The central midfielder won two caps for Poland last year against Portugal, where he swapped shirts with his former club captain Bruno Fernandes, and Croatia.
“I always thought I would love to leave and start a new journey abroad,” he says. “I couldn’t afford to waste another year playing academy football. I could have stayed in England and continued my journey and who knows what would have happened. I might have not been anywhere near and now I’m about to play Chelsea.”
A cacophony of noise and pyrotechnics will be used at Legia’s stadium to create an intimidating atmosphere in the hope of putting Chelsea on the back foot in a tie they are heavy favourites to win. The eclectic nature of the Conference League means Legia, fifth in Poland’s top division, have defeated the Welsh Premier league side Caernarfon and Real Betis on their way to this stage.
“I can’t even begin to describe the Legia fans,” says Oyedele. “It’s one of the best things I’ve seen. I go to the stadium and I’m looking around thinking: ‘Wow. It’s unbelievable. I can’t wait to play, in front of these fans. My debut, the fans were crazy.
“You just rise, it absolutely lifts you up. And then walking out they had the tifo and I was thinking: ‘This is why I play football.’ I’ve never seen anything like it for me.”
Legia went through three playoff rounds starting in July to reach the Conference League group stage. It has been a circuitous route to a first European quarter-final since a defeat by Panathinaikos in the Champions League 29 years ago. Anticipation has been building since they beat Molde in the last round.
“When I first joined, I watched us in the [Conference] League and thought I would love to play Chelsea,” Oyedele says. “This was months ago, in August. For us to get to this point, to have the opportunity to play such a big game … it was this dream. This is everybody wanted and when the game finished [against Molde], we had done it.
“Now all that dream stuff is gone – it’s reality. We know that it’s Chelsea, so it’s going to be tough, but it’s a case of why not? I bet everybody thought we were going to lose to Real Betis and look what we did then.”
