Raheem Sterling's grassroots football coach has spoken about the drive that he saw in the youngster from an early age.
The Manchester City star is one of the favourites to pick up the Player of the Tournament award at the European Championship after inspiring England's progress to the final against Italy. Having grown up in the shadow of Wembley stadium, the 26-year-old will hope that he shines as brightly on the pitch on Sunday as he has done all summer.
At the very beginning of his journey into football, Sterling came across Clive Ellington, who runs Alpha & Omega FC. Ellington saw something in Sterling's character that made him want to work with the youngster, and is immensely proud of how he has developed both as a footballer and a person.
"What drew me to Raheem and made me want to work a lot with him was his potential. Not just as a player, but there was something more behind those eyes. When you looked at him, there was an urge and a need to become someone," he said.
"He just didn't recognise how good of a player he was. I've always said to him, the only way you can pay me back is by being a good person, just be a good man, that's it and he's doing that today.
"I've been running Alpha now for 26 years. It's not just about football when it comes to our club. It's bigger than that. It's our family."
