Promise kept
For cheering with brother: Lifelong stadium ban!
Wolfsberg's Thierno Ballo is allowed to prove himself in the big team squad, which is why he also made it into the big EURO series of the "Krone". Supporter and foster father Peter Huemerlehner integrated the African-born player into his family as a child and tells us how Ballo's sister got into a fight on the pitch...
Sponsor. Manager. Or as Thierno Ballo puts it: "My second father - I owe him so much!" We are talking about Peter Huemerlehner. The Upper Austrian once helped little Thierno and his family into a settled life - and has not left their side since.
Thierno and his family came to Austria from the Ivory Coast when he was eight years old. With very little in hand - and no knowledge of German. As a result, his childhood was not easy. "I was a youth coach at Chemie Linz - and I snatched Thierno up with my partner Jasna, gave him a good education, created a stable social environment and encouraged his talent. Thierno already had movements in his blood that nobody else could do," says Huemerlehner.
Together to Cologne
The now 42-year-old helped him to LASK and then took him (along with Ballo's mother Oumou) to Cologne. "I had to go out with my family for work. The two of them lived with us, Thierno was allowed to prove his talent at Leverkusen," explains the entrepreneur, who has three children with Jasna: Elina, Pepe and Emelie. "They are like siblings to Thierno, we are like a family." The family also stood by Ballo's side when his biological father Mohammed (who lived in Linz) died in an accident.
"She had promised him"
Emelie proved just how much love she has in May at the Austria Vienna v WAC match. Where she dashed onto the pitch - just to hug her "brother". "She had promised Thierno that she would cheer with him if he scored a goal. And suddenly she's running over the barriers," laughs Huemerlehner. The result? A lifetime ban from the Austria stadium and a fine! "She'll pay it from her pocket money," says Huemerlehner.
Of course, foster dad Peter and co. are now cheering Ballo on: After being called up to the big squad, they want him to make it to the European Championships. "Thierno has so much creativity and is an intelligent, instinctive footballer - you don't often see that these days. But he can still improve physically!"
Will he stay at the WAC? "He's attracted interest from Belgium, Germany and Austria. But he also feels totally at home in Wolfsberg!"
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