How Socceroo Nestory Irankunda got his start with Adelaide’s Northern Wolves

It has been years since Nestory Irankunda played at the Northern Wolves, but it is the club where Australia’s latest soccer star first got his start.

Bright lights illuminate the pitches as groups of girls and boys play scratch matches and kick the ball back and forth on a Tuesday night.

Agostino Bivone coached the now 20-year-old when he played at the club, and remembers a cheeky but respectful and talented kid.

Bivone, like many at grassroots sports clubs, wore a lot of hats when Irankunda — who many at the club call Nesta or Nes — played there as a junior.

In the 27th minute of Australia’s game against Türkiye, Bivone had a smile and a tear of joy seeing Irankunda’s history-making goal.

Irankunda did not just score at the World Cup, but he became the youngest Socceroo to do it at that competition.

Bivone plays down his role in Irankunda’s early days.

But Susana Hamenyimana, Irankunda’s sister, tells a different story.

She speaks of a man who helped the family drive to games when they did not have transport, and someone who checked in on them, playing a big role in their soccer involvement.

For Irankunda’s family, Susana says the Northern Wolves Soccer Club will forever have a place in their hearts.

“That’s the club that was close, they welcomed us,” she says.

“They also helped us with our soccer fees when our parents couldn’t afford it, and that’s why we’re so thankful for them.”

She describes it as where they started to realise her brother’s talent.

“I watched him play once, and was like, ‘Woah, what the hell, he’s so good’,” she recalls, remembering seeing him when he was about eight at the club.

‘Become like him one day’

On a mild winter’s night, as young boys and girls play on grass still wet from the day’s rain, which has cleared in perfect time for training despite a dreary forecast, the buzz in the air is palpable.

Irankunda only played there for a season in 2015, before moving to Parafield Gardens and onto the Adelaide Croatia Raiders Soccer Club, but these kids still look up to him.

“It seems like we have a future here, we can build up, and become like him one day,” says Joshua, a member of the under-14 boys team at the Northern Wolves.

Irankunda was born in a refugee camp in Tanzania in 2006 to his Burundian parents who fled their home country, before coming to Western Australia and eventually Adelaide.

Another young soccer player, Bennie, also has parents who moved to Australia from Burundi.

“It felt really nice seeing him representing us in a very good way,” he says.

While Irankunda is recognised on the global stage now, he still gets back to his northern suburbs roots.

When he is in Adelaide, he meets up with other Burundian boys every Wednesday night to train.

Several of the kids have met the star, with Joshua describing the moment he walked out into the hallway of his house to see Irankunda there.

“I was just cleaning up the room, because [Mum] said that she had guests over. I ask who it was, and she said, ‘You’ll see when they come’,” the 14-year-old laughs, as he is huddled with his teammates.

“After I finish cleaning, I walk through the hallway, and I looked up, and he’s just right there.”

Joshua was too shocked to speak, or to tell him where he played, as the young Socceroo visited his house to buy clothes for his mother for Mother’s Day this year.

He is just one of many kids kicking around a soccer ball who is inspired by Irankunda, and is hopeful he might follow in his footsteps.

The next Irankunda?

When asked who the next Irankunda might be, a lot of kids at the club put their hands up.

The club suggests Fares Alboasi is one to keep an eye on.

The 14-year-old has kicked 50 goals this season — so far.

“I feel really proud, to know that someone as big as Nestory Irankunda used to play here,” Fares says.

Fares is hoping to one day represent Australia and play for his favourite club, Liverpool.

Seeing what Irankunda has achieved makes him feel like he has a chance to do exactly that.

Family ties

Many people at the club are related to Irankunda.

Herman Itangakubuntu is married to a cousin of his and was with the family watching the match against Türkiye.

“[His mother] was jumping, crying, just full of emotions,” he says.

“We were just speechless.”

Herman’s son, Ishmael Itangakubuntu, wants to follow in Irankunda’s footsteps playing for Adelaide United, and then beyond, too.

“I’ll start with … Adelaide United, and then I’ll get higher and higher and higher,” the 10-year-old says.

But for some others, they were not so aware of Irankunda’s start at the club — even including one family member, Ella Freeman.

“I didn’t know he played here! I found out just today,” she says.

And while Ella has grand plans to be a soccer player too, she is looking a bit deeper than that.

“Maybe as a side job, though,” she says.

“I want to discover things in the ocean.”

At the Northern Wolves Soccer Club one thing is clear; players like Irankunda have paved the way for future generations and these kids have a lot of hope about what they can achieve.

“Australia is one of those countries in the world where you have that opportunity,” Bivone says.

ABC Sport will be live blogging all the action from Australia’s clash with the US on Saturday morning. Join the team at abc.net.au/news/sport