Saido Berahino

Saido Berahino (born 4 August 1993) is a Burundian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Cypriot First Division club AEL Limassol and captains the Burundi national team.

Having fled his native Burundi as a child, he received political asylum in Birmingham and credits football with helping him integrate into English society.

Berahino joined West Bromwich Albion at the age of 11 and turned professional seven years later.

He spent time out on loan at Football League clubs Northampton Town, Brentford and Peterborough United.

Born in 1993 in Bujumbura, the then-capital of Burundi, Berahino played football as a child with a ball of plastic bags tied up with laces.

His father died in 1997 during the Burundian Civil War.

He travelled to England alone at the age of 10, fleeing the ongoing war to join his mother, brother and sisters who had already been granted asylum in Newtown, Birmingham.

He could not locate his family on arrival and was put in a care home.

After his mother Liliane was traced, immigration officials had to administer a DNA test to confirm their relationship.

Berahino attended Aston Manor School, where he gained ten GCSE certificates and competed in basketball and athletics in addition to football.

His childhood friends included Ateeq Javid and Recordo Gordon, both of whom went on to play County Championship cricket for Warwickshire.

Initially speaking only French and having played street football in his native Burundi, Berahino attributed his love for the sport with helping him integrate quickly into English society.

Berahino signed for the West Bromwich Albion Centre of Excellence in 2004 at under-12 level, joining from inner-city youth club Phoenix United.

He was part of the England under-17 team that won the 2010 European Championship.

He progressed through the youth system of the Baggies and in summer 2011, he signed a professional contract with them.

On 20 October 2011, Berahino joined League Two club Northampton Town on a one-month loan deal.

He made his professional debut for the Cobblers two days later in 2–1 defeat to Bradford City at Valley Parade, playing the full 90 minutes.

Three days after that, he scored his first senior goal against Hereford United, albeit in a 3–1 home loss at Sixfields.

His loan was extended twice, on 3 November and on 5 January 2012.

Two days after his first extension, Berahino scored twice away to Gillingham, a goal in each half of a 4–3 loss.

He ended his spell with 6 league goals in 14 appearances for Northampton, although they were struggling in League Two.

On 9 February 2012, Berahino went out on loan again, this time at a higher level than before, by joining League One club Brentford through to the end of the season.

He made his debut five days later, replacing Marcus Bean at the end of a 2–1 loss at Colchester United.

In the next match, at Griffin Park on the 20th, he came on for Gary Alexander in the 28th minute and scored in each half of a 4–0 win against Carlisle United.

He also scored both goals in a 2–0 win over Exeter City on 6 March, after which the club's caretaker manager Alan Kernaghan praised him by saying: "Saido got the nod and he did well, but this was win [sic] built on a strong defensive performance as shown by another clean sheet."

Due to arguments with new manager Uwe Rösler, the loan spell with Brentford ended early and he returned to West Bromwich Albion on 3 April, having scored 4 goals in 8 appearances.

Berahino made his debut for West Brom as a substitute against Yeovil Town in a League Cup second round tie on 28 August 2012, replacing Shane Long for the final six minutes of a 4–2 away win.

Berahino made his first starts for West Bromwich Albion in the 2013–14 season, with highlights of that campaign including a hat-trick against Newport County and the winning goal at Old Trafford against Manchester United.

In his second full season, he recorded 20 goals in 45 matches across all competitions.

Following that campaign, Berahino became involved in a lengthy transfer saga involving Tottenham Hotspur, straining his relationships with manager Tony Pulis and chairman Jeremy Peace.

He signed on loan for Championship club Peterborough United on 1 October, in a deal until 2 January 2013.

The following day, he made his debut in a 2–0 win at Barnsley, replacing Emile Sinclair after 65 minutes.

On 27 October, Berahino scored twice in a 3–0 win over Derby County.

He was called up for the first time to the senior team in November 2014 but did not play.

He was criticised for his conduct and fell out of favour, scoring only seven goals in the 2015–16 season; he did not score a competitive goal from 27 February 2016 to 28 August 2018, a goal drought of 913 days.

In January 2017, he joined Stoke City for a fee of £12 million, potentially rising to £15 million.

Stoke were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2017–18 season and after a single season in the EFL Championship, Berahino was released by Stoke with three years left on his contract.

Berahino represented England at all youth levels from under-16 to under-21.

He switched his international allegiance to Burundi in August 2018 and scored on his international debut in September.

He captained the team at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.