Lamin Conteh

Lamin Conteh (born 20 June 1976, in Freetown), widely known by his nickname Junior Tumbu,[2] is a retired Sierra Leonean international footballer.

Lamin Conteh Jr.
Personal information
Date of birth (1976-06-20) 20 June 1976
Place of birth Freetown, Sierra Leone
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Perlis FA
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1995 Beerschot VAC 48 (13)
1995–1997 SV Meppen 16 (2)
1997 Boavista 6 (1)
1997–1998 Varzim 14 (4)
1998–2002 Al-Wahda
2002–2003 Fujairah Club
2003–2006 Perlis FA
2007 Pelita Jaya 27 (5)
2008 Negeri Sembilan FA
2010– Chanthaburi F.C.
2012– Perlis FA
National team
1994–2002 Sierra Leone 18 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He is widely considered the most talented and most popular Sierra Leonean footballer in the 1990s and early 2000s. Junior Tumbu had a talent for dribbling and he played as a supporting striker or attacking midfielder. During his playing days for the Leone Stars (Sierra Leone national football team) Conteh was by far the most famous Sierra Leonean footballer within Sierra Leone, and he was loved by Sierra Leonean football fans who knew him by his nickname Junior Tumbu.

Early life

Conteh was born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone to muslim parents from the limba ethnic group. A Muslim himself, Conteh grew up in poverty. As a teenager, he was frequently seen playing street football across Freetown with boys much older than he was. As a teenager, he was considered the best secondary school footballer in Sierra Leone. He dropped out of the Ahmmadiyya Muslim Secondary School in Freetown in 1992 to become a professional footballer.

Conteh made his international debut for Sierra Leone in 1994, at the age of seventeen.

Though a muslim, Lamin was highly involved in the rastafarian movement and was a big fan of reggae star Bob Marley.

Career

At the age of 18, Conteh was selected to play for Sierra Leone in the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations held in Tunisia. He was also picked in the squad for the following tournament in South Africa two years later. After a match against Nigeria in 2000, Conteh claimed that the Sierra Leone Football Association owed him $2,000, and refused to play for his country until the money was paid to him.[2] The matter was later resolved, and in 2002, he took over the captaincy of the national team from Mohamed Kallon.[3]

References
  1. "Conteh, Lamin" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  2. "Italy-based pair lead Leone Stars". BBC Sport. 12 February 2001. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  3. "Kallon gives up captaincy". BBC Sport. 24 June 2002. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
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