BEAVERTON, Ore. – Not long after putting the finishing touches on a phenomenal 2015 season—one in which he scored 18 goals across all competitions—Portland Timbers forward Fanendo Adi traveled home to Nigeria for a few weeks of relaxation during the short offseason.
But despite always trying to keep his travel plans a secret, Adi has never been able to arrive completely unannounced at his home in Benué, Nigeria.
“Everyone [is] expecting me, especially when December is around,” the forward said after training last week. “Everyone this time [was] making calls: 'When is he coming in?' Even though I try not to disclose my arrival date, no matter how quiet I want to keep it, it's going to get out there and people are going to know the exact day I'm coming in.”
That's not for a lack of trying, either.
“Sometimes I try to come in with my car [or] I try to come in with a taxi or something, but still people notice because you have people working at the border, so every car passing through they look to see who's coming in,” he explained.
“I pass through the border and before I get to my house, I get people waiting to receive me.”
The attention, Adi says, is only natural for someone who rose from life in a small Nigerian village to one of a globe-trotting professional soccer player. But far from trying to act the recluse, Adi looks at all of the attention as a positive.
“It's good to know that people care for you, that people want to speak to you, people want to meet you,” he said.
As much as Adi says that he would like to travel to new places for vacation, the Timbers goalscorer understands how important it is to return to his roots and give back to the community that nurtured him into the man that he's now become.
“I try to do a lot of charity work,” he said about his time in Nigeria. “I try to visit orphanage homes and see kids without parents. That's one thing I think is important for me.”
Having grown up in a small village to a family of humble means, Adi understands the difficulties and circumstances that often surround the lives of young Nigerians. He knows the importance of family and mentors, especially for children who have neither.
Adi even documented one of his orphanage visits on his Instagram page. In one of the photos, the 6'4” Adi bends over a circle of children, all between the ages of four and 10, as they clamber to hug the local soccer legend.
Now back in Portland, though, Adi is preparing himself for another long MLS season that comes with the challenge of winning another MLS Cup. For a big target forward like Adi, that can also mean more physical play up top.
“I'm preparing very hard for it and working really hard,” he said of what he suspects will be a very successful 2016 season. “Of course, I always try to use my body and try to win for the team. That's very important.
“I just need to focus on the things I can do and that's just to use my body well, play well, do what I have to do to help the team win.”
Adi had five multi-goal games in 2015—all braces—but when pressed about how many goals he thinks he might score this year, though, the Timbers forward just chuckles.
“I don't have targets,” he admitted. “Hopefully, I can beat the [numbers] I had last year. I'm going to work hard...I'm just going to try and score and win for the team.”
The Timbers host Columbus Crew SC Sunday at Providence Park in the 2016 MLS regular season home opener (1:30pm PT, ESPN).
