Cyriel Dessers: How Father’s early lesson and mental struggles shaped Nigerian striker

Super Eagles striker Cyriel Dessers is back in form with Panathinaikos, scoring nine goals in 15 games across all competitions, but his career up to that point has been anything but smooth.

In a recent interview with Greek outlet Gazzetta, the 31-year-old reflected on how his father encouraged him to develop his weaker foot, revealing that he spent countless hours practising against a wall in the family garden. He also revisited a difficult period at Feyenoord, when scoring important goals was not enough to make him happy.

The revelations paint a fuller picture of a player whose career has rarely followed a straightforward path. Dessers was not considered an exceptional young talent, made his breakthrough relatively late, dropped out of law school and has had to prove himself in different leagues.

His experiences at Feyenoord and Rangers are glaring examples. While the former introduced him to the importance of psychological support, the latter tested his ability to handle scrutiny, even when his goalscoring numbers were impressive.

The childhood advice that made Cyriel Dessers two-footed

The former Rangers striker revealed that his Father noticed a weakness in his game when he was younger, as he had an excessive reliance on his right foot.

Rather than accepting it as a limitation, his father encouraged him to develop his left foot, explaining that good footballers needed to be comfortable using both.

The advice resulted in hours of practice in the garden, where Dessers constantly struck the ball against a wall with his weaker foot.

“When I was a kid, I used my “good” leg, the right, like all the children. I remember my father saying to me, ‘Go in the garden and do tests, very good footballers need both feet.’

“I spent endless hours doing thousands of shots with the left on the wall. Now I realize how important that was for my career, since I’ve scored quite a few goals like this. This conversation has brought me where I am today.

Looking back, the Belgium-born Nigerian recognises how important that intervention became to his career. He has since scored several goals with his left foot and believes the early encouragement helped bring him to where he is today.

It is a small childhood detail, but it illustrates an important aspect of his development. Dessers’ technical versatility was not entirely a product of natural ability. Instead, it was built through repetition and discipline.

Why scoring goals at Feyenoord did not make Dessers happy

The technical foundation was one part of Dessers’ development. His experience at Feyenoord revealed another challenge that had little to do with his ability to strike a football.

During his first spell at the Dutch club, on loan from Genk in 2021/22, the striker found himself competing for minutes with Bryan Linssen. Despite scoring 20 goals in 41 games, he was not playing as much as he wanted.

As a result, the 11-cap Super Eagles star did not experience the happiness that came with the highs of scoring goals. He eventually decided to consult a psychologist.

“I was having a difficult time at Feyenoord. I had a good performance, but I didn’t play much. There was a lot of competition with excellent teammates,” the ex-Gent man said.

“I scored a lot of decisive goals but I did not feel the expected joy. I decided to go to a psychologist.

“We were talking about everything and we had a nice connection. I felt better and better. Then we got to the Conference League final and scored a lot of goals.

“I am still working with him and a few weeks ago he came to Athens to visit me. It is necessary, even if things go well in my life. In difficult times you have to concentrate on yourself, to be in control,” Dessers said.

In a previous interview with VoetbalPrimeur, Dessers said he felt close to burnout during that difficult period.

The intervention coincided with a remarkable improvement in his Feyenoord career. He scored 10 goals to finish as the top scorer of the Conference League in its inaugural season, one ahead of then Roma striker Tammy Abraham.

Rangers was the next test of his mental strength

Dessers’ experience at Feyenoord offers useful context for understanding how he handled the criticism that followed him to Rangers.

The Nigerian was rarely a unanimous favourite among the Ibrox supporters. His tendency to miss seemingly straightforward chances and score difficult ones put him in a hard place among the Rangers fans. Hard to love, hard to dislike.

Yet, his output was difficult to dismiss. Dessers scored more than 52 goals in 116 appearances for Rangers, providing 17 assists. He also finished as the Scottish Premiership’s top scorer in the 2024/25 season.

Former Gers coach Philippe Clement acknowledged the intensity of the criticism, saying the striker received abuse like few other players at the club. Still, Clement praised the striker’s commitment in training and in games, arguing that Rangers’ failure to win the league influenced how supporters judged individual performances.

Dessers admitted that the criticism initially hurt him. However, he gradually moved beyond it and concentrated on helping the team, a response that coincided with his earlier experience at Feyenoord.

It would be inaccurate to suggest that the criticism no longer affected him or that he had never cared about winning over the supporters. He admitted that he once wanted to change their perception of him. But he also recognised that even established Rangers figures like ex-captain James Tavernier faced persistent criticism.

The striker simply accepted that all he had to do was to do his work on the pitch and other things would fall into place.

At the moment, Cyriel Dessers’ focus is on scoring goals and winning titles with Panathinaikos, the team he hopes to end his football career with when the time comes.