Sonny Pike

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Sonny Pike
Personal information
Full name Sonny Pike
Date of birth 1983/1984[1]
Place of birth    England
Youth clubs
Ajax
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
Waltham Forest
Dryburgh Saints
   

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Sonny Pike was an English footballer who became famous at a young age for his tremendous talent, which saw him being compared to other famous stars such as Diego Maradona and George Best.[2] It also led to his signature for Ajax in the Netherlands at the age of only seven.[3]

However, the pressure on Pike led to both his personal mental breakdown in 2000 and the collapse of his parents' marriage.[2][3] Pike's collapse has been used as a warning to other young athletes, such as Cherno Samba and Rhain Davis.[4]

Pike is the nephew of former Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers striker Mark Falco.[3]

[edit] After football

After retiring from the professional game in 2003, he attended the University of Dundee.[3] He has played for a number of clubs, including Dryburgh Saints and Waltham Forest, now going by the name Luke Pike.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ First Person Plural. radiolistings.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-02-05. “Twelve year old Sonny Pike is a footballing genius.....Recorded on 1996-01-14”
  2. ^ a b "Too much too young?", BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-12-05. 
  3. ^ a b c d Whatever happened to Sonny Pike?. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  4. ^ Man Utd video star faces tough task. BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  5. ^ "When Saturday Comes" (July 2004).