Aston Villa: Ex-teacher knew Nathan Delfouneso would be a star

Nov 14 2010 by Mat Kendrick, Sunday Mercury

NATHAN Delfouneso has shown incredible maturity in his bid to fill the big boots left by giant forwards John Carew and Emile Heskey.

The Villa duo have missed recent games through injury leaving the teenaged striker the mammoth task of leading the line on his own.

But one man who never doubted the youngster’s abilty was his former PE teacher, Steve Lilwall.

The former West Brom full back watched ‘The Fonz’ terrorise defences as the prolific goalscorer helped his Ninestiles School team to a string of league and cup successes.

Lilwall has seen an incredible rise to fame for the 19-year-old, who is now a regular England Under-21 international, and admits he has come a long way since his days of banging in goals for the Acocks Green-based school.

“You really started to see the difference in Nathan when he was about 12 or 13-years-old,” said Lilwall.

“He stood out from the other kids and I knew we had a special player in the team.

“He just seemed to get bigger, quicker and stronger than everyone else – he really excelled.

“We all watch him at the school and we’re very proud of him whether he’s playing for Villa or representing the country.

“There is no doubting the ability he has and he’s gone on to prove it by playing for Villa and England under-21’s.

“In football I think a lot of players need to be told that they’re good.

“But Nathan knew he was good enough, and he knew exactly what he wanted.

“If he’s not in the team, he wants to know why and he’ll be determined to prove any doubters wrong.”

Gabby Agbonlahor returned to the Villa fold this week after a long lay off with a groin injury making the Brummie pair the only two recognised strikers available to manager Gerard Houllier.

The Frenchman has already shown enough faith in Delfouneso to throw him into the big games when needed and he is rapidly catching up with the senior trio of Agbonlahor, Carew and Heskey.

On Wednesday he scored a vital goal in Villa’s 3-2 win over Blackpool, and he could have had another had the referee not ruled it out for an infringement on an opposing defender.

Despite his rapid rise into the Villa first team, Delfouneso remains fully grounded and intent on improving rather than living the lavish lifestlye of a professional footballer.

He has strong family links and still lives at home with his parents and 16-year-old brother, Emmitt, who is on the books of local rivals Birmingham City.

One trait that Lilwall admires beyond the Bodymoor Heath graduate’s un-doubted ability, is his polite and friendly nature.