ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (July 11, 2018) — A little more than one month ago, Dom Oduro was playing for the FC Golden State Force in the amateur USL PDL in California.
After logging what turned out to be his final appearance for the Force on June 9 against the Southern California Seahorses, Oduro made a cross-country trek to St. Petersburg for a trial with the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
In the month since then, Oduro has signed a professional contract, earned his first start, scored a game-tying goal in stoppage, featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10, and became a key cog in the Rowdies’ midfield. In other words, it’s been a good month for the 23-year old Ghanaian.
Since being named in the starting lineup for his Rowdies debut on June 27 against the Charlotte Independence, Oduro has played all 270 available minutes for the Rowdies in the all-important defensive midfield role. Despite being small of frame at just 5-foot-5, Oduro has proven more than a handful for the opposition.
“I’m starting to improve my game,” he said after training Wednesday. “The USL, compared to the PDL, is very different. I have to be much quicker with my decision making now and how I read opponents. It’s been good so far and I’m improving.”
If he’s struggled at all with the jump to the USL, his teammates haven’t noticed. Rowdies center back Tamika Mkandawire praised Oduro’s impact on the team through his first three appearances.
“We saw him a little bit in training before he signed and you could see what his strengths are and what he could potentially bring to the team, but I think he’s surpassed probably everyone’s expectations and that’s fantastic,” Mkandawire said. “He’s such a down-to-earth guy and I couldn’t be happier that he’s come in and done so well. Because he’s not a ‘flashy’ player, maybe it’s taken him a little more time to get noticed. He does a lot of work in front of the back four that maybe goes unnoticed by the average fan. He’s a real big part of this team already.”
Oduro said he has two primary objectives every time he steps onto the field. He wants to win tackles for his team and then he wants to connect passes. If those are his criteria for success, he gets full marks for his performances so far.
According to USL stats partner Opta, Oduro is yet to lose a tackle and he has completed more than 90 percent of his passes.
Oduro said he bases his game on that of Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets, but Mkandawire compares Oduro’s game to legendary midfielders Claude Makélélé and Michael Essien.
As luck would have it, Oduro knows Essien, a fellow Ghanaian and one of the best players to ever represent their country.
“I like the Michael Essien comparison,” Oduro said. “When I played my first game and scored, I texted him the video and he said, ‘Congrats. You’ve done really well.’ He’s not my close friend, but I’ve texted him to get advice throughout my career. He’s always there for me. When I sent him the video of my goal I told him, ‘I’m trying to compete with you and your goals for Chelsea.’ He said. ‘Yeah, yours was better!’”
