Lamin Conteh

Lamin Conteh (born 20 June 1976 in Freetown), widely known by his nickname Junior Tumbu, is a Sierra Leonean international footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Perlis FA.
He is widely considered the most talented and most popular Sierra Leonean footballer in the 1990s; and one of the most talented Sierra Leonean footballers of all time. As a footballer, Junior Tumbu had a talent for dribbling.

Early life

Conteh was born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone to muslim parents from the limba ethnic group. A Muslim himself, Conteh grew up in poverty. As a teenager, he was frequently seen playing street football across Freetown with boys much older than he was. As a teenager, he was considered the best secondary school footballer in Sierra Leone. He dropped out of the Ahmmadiyya Muslim Secondary School in Freetown in 1992 to become a professional footballer.

Conteh made his international debut for Sierra Leone in 1994, at the age of seventeen.

Though a muslim, Lamin was highly involved in the rastafarian movement and was a big fan of reggae star Bob Marley.

Career

At the age of 18, Conteh was selected to play for Sierra Leone in the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations held in Tunisia. He was also picked in the squad for the following tournament in South Africa two years later. After a match against Nigeria in 2000, Conteh claimed that the Sierra Leone Football Association owed him $2,000, and refused to play for his country until the money was paid to him. The matter was later resolved, and in 2002, he took over the captaincy of the national team from Mohamed Kallon.