When you first take a look at Michee Ngalina on the pitch you see many things. A crafty first touch, of course, and speed has put many a USL defender – and a Eintracht Frankfurt defenders – on the back foot. If you watch enough you’ll probably see a goal and then a signature celebration.
And you may not notice it simply by watching the skills and the attention-grabbing smile, but spend any time with the 19-year-old Ngaline and it becomes clear that the joy he finds in soccer is fueled by the love of his family.
Born in the Democratic of the Congo’s capital city of Kinshasa, Ngalina began playing soccer at home with his brother and it soon became his dream and passion.
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“I play soccer because I love it, I burn with that talent so that’s the reason I play soccer,” Ngalina told PhiladelphiaUnion.com recently. That desire to play – and some breathtaking ball skills – quickly caught the attention of local coaches. Within a matter of years, Ngalina was in the national team system. The young man’s precipitous rise led to a key decision point in life: While Ngalina was showcasing his soccer talent, his mother was persistent in her focus on his education. After leading his U-17 National Team in scoring at the Central African Football Federation’ Union, Ngalina was forced to choose whether to pause his education and chase his athletic dreams in America or stay in school.
In the end, he made a difficult choice based on what he thought was best for his family.
“It was hard for my family because my mom doesn’t want to play soccer,” Ngalina said softly. “She was forcing me to go to school and when she heard that I need to go to United States she said ‘oh I don’t want my son to go.’ I was trying to explain to her how life works and told her that it was a big opportunity for me so let me go and I can make money and one day I can bring you to United States.”
The language of soccer is universal, but off the field Ngalina’s off-the-charts talent could not help him understand some of the concepts his coaches were trying to get across to him.
“Coming to the United States as a big challenge for me to get here to the United States and when I came here my English was so bad so I had learn English first. I was going crazy because I couldn’t understand what they were saying but I just kept trying and kept working hard.”
The idea that hard work can suffice when life becomes difficult is a gift Ngalina received from his mother.
“She told me ‘Michee, I don’t have something that I can give you because you are too far from us but I will always tell you to work hard’ and I keep that in my head and that’s why I train and play the way I do.
That hard work impressed the Philadelphia Union organization. And last year the budding winger was handed an opportunity to showcase his talents in a preseason match. On the field for less than 10 minutes, Ngalina ran onto a through pass and into the box and fired a strike into the back of the net before giving the Union its first sight of his signature backflip celebration. As with everything in his life, it came from family.
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“One day I was talking to my brother and I told him that I have to make a celebration for myself, something that will be special for me. He pulled me over and said he’d teach me something and he taught me the backflip. He said it would be something good for me to do when I scored so I tried to do it and that’s why now when I score I do the backflip every time.”
A few weeks after his goal and backflip he was a trialist with Bethlehem Steel FC and once again he impressed and earned his first professional deal. As Ngalina broke out with four goals to start his career and picked up USL honors as a top 20 under 20 player, his momentum was stopped with news from home.
“Last year I lost my father and that moment was so hard for me and the [Steel] sent me back home to be with my family and it was really hard for me,” Ngalina said quietly. “I was getting ready to come back to the United States and my mom pulled me aside and said ‘Michee, we just lost your father so now you are father of this family so just go keep working and do the best that you can’ and that’s why I came back last season playing extra hard.”
Ngalina returned in September and scored in the season finale that cemented an appearance in the USL Championship postseason. The next week, the grieving but motivated teenager once again played beyond his age, finding an equalizer with Steel FC trailing Pittsburgh and sending the match, which the club eventually won, to overtime.
While life off the pitch has been difficult for the now 19-year-old, kicking a soccer ball has become a relief and he knows that things aren’t as bad as they could be in his native country.
“Sometimes I feel some pressure on me but it’s that life,” Ngalina reflects. “I think of some kids that are younger than me that have this responsibility at home. Sometimes I feel like I’m young and I have all my family looking at me and that creates some pressure but I can’t put it here so I have to forget about that and work hard on the field.”
Now Ngalina takes the next step in his career and looks to once again make not only himself but his entire family proud. With a passion for the sport, a strong attacking mind, a determined work ethic and a family not only supporting him but being supported by him, Philadelphia will not be able to help itself. The city will root for Michee Ngalina, and he will repay its faith with a currency far greater than money: Backflips.
