Adelaide United’s Nestory Irankunda’s remarkable power has caught the attention of the Socceroos and European clubs

He has wowed teammates, dazzled coaches and sent them into a rage.

At just 17, he looks like Australian football’s next big thing.

Which is the worry, and the hope, all at once.

Irankunda has yet to make an A League start, same as Garang Kuol before the World Cup. And, like Kuol, the hype can’t be bottled, thanks to four goals in his last six games.

His recent one against Melbourne Victory, a missile strike from 25 metres, had his coach, Carl Veart, shaking his head on the sidelines wondering, “How does he do that?”

By the end of the month, Irankunda could be a Socceroo. He’s been called up by Graham Arnold into camp for the Ecuador games. Nominally, he is there as a train-on player. Arnold, though, isn’t ruling out game time.

Why would he? No one knows Irankunda’s ceiling.

“I don’t think I’m the complete player yet,” Irankunda tells CODE Sports. “Nobody has really seen what I can do. It’s up to me to go as far as I can.”

Irankunda’s dream destination is FC Barcelona. That might on the surface seem far-fetched but, such is Irankunda’s raw talent, nothing can be ruled in or out.

Fans, agents, coaches and teammates are eager to help him get there, but Irankunda’s ears are most open to his dad, Gideon.

When you consider what the family has been through, that’s understandable.

Nestory was born in Tanzania, the central African country never far from trouble, namely in neighbouring war-torn Burundi, where Nestory’s mum, Dafroza, is from.

With Nestory just a few months old, the family fled as refugees, landing in Perth.

Gideon noticed Nestory and his two older brothers loved football so he would take them to the local park.

“He taught us how to play,” Nestory says. “None of us knew how to play, but we loved watching it.”

The family later moved to Adelaide’s northern suburbs, where Nestory finally joined a local team at the age of eight.

“I started off as a centre back,” Nestory continues. “Then by under 13s, because I was too fast or something, they tried me as a striker. I started studying players, and it’s worked out so far.”

It certainly has. Irankunda’s shot packs ridiculous power. Playing under 15s for Adelaide Croatia Raiders, he broke an opposing goalkeeper’s arm. He joined Adelaide United and soon after ‘keeper Ethan Cox copped a concussion in training.

“Felt bad, I like him a lot,” Irankunda says of his teammate.

Natural talent accelerated Irankunda’s path into the A League squad and he made his debut last January as a 15 year-old. A few months later, his winner against Central Coast broke the net.

“My finishing is not too bad, it’s decent,” he says. “I can improve.”

Adelaide’s coach Carl Veart, a former striker himself, says the natural strength isn’t just limited to Irankunda’s shot, but is featured across his entire game.

“His power is frightening,” Veart says.

“He can do things on a pitch that I haven’t seen other players do. So explosive. In training games, he’ll have three four-minute spells when no-one wants to go near him.”

Earlier this season, Ben Warland, a defender, went into a challenge with Irankunda. He got an MCL injury and a few weeks on the sidelines for his trouble.

Again, Nestory felt bad.

The power. The shot. The fearlessness. It’s all wonderful but, before Irankunda goes off to Europe and seeks worldwide acclaim, there are a million and one things that need to go right for him.

There have been issues: most notably earlier in the season when Irankunda’s continued tardiness to team meetings resulted in exclusion from the squad for a big game against Melbourne Victory.

Nothing sinister, but Veart felt it had to be jumped on.

Rock up to a meeting late in Europe and one week off will feel light.

“That hurt him, and it showed, but he’s had a good reaction from that,” Veart says. “That’s part of coaching, putting an arm around him, getting him to understand.

“He has to keep learning what it takes to be a professional. Not long ago he’d go down the park to play with his mates for two hours before or after training.

“The body can’t cope with that.”

Adelaide assistant Mark Milligan, an 80-cap Socceroo, has seen it all and lived it too, having made Guus Hiddink’s 2006 World Cup squad from nowhere after one good season in the A League.

“I see a lot of raw talent,” Milligan says. “He has attributes to be a wonderful player down the line. He has things that can’t be taught.

“It’s really up to him how to harness them and use them most effectively.

“He’s still very, very young, and has a lot of habits that all kids have. Those lessons can only come with time. It’s very easy when you have this attention to buy into the hype. It’s something we as a country can get better at. We just need to enjoy Nestory for what he’s doing now.”

Irankunda’s mind is wide open to what his coaches want from him.

“I can see that, and hear it. They try to help me a lot. Sometimes I get carried away with a lot of things,” he says.

Existing on a football pitch with men is part of his current curriculum.

“Give him the ball to his feet, he’s as good as anyone in the world,” Veart says. “But it’s about him giving himself the best chances to get into positions, understanding the moments in games when he can have a rest, maintain possession, or take players on”

Irankunda is enjoying learning the subtle arts of football nous.

“People see football as easy to play. It’s not, it’s really hard,” he says. “I’m just dedicated to the sport, have a passion for it, it all comes down to the passion and hard work you put into it.

“My dribbling is not 100% in my opinion. My finishing is not the best. People may see it as good, but it’s not that great.

“And my all-round game, I need to get that sorted.”

Next week, Irankunda will enter Socceroos camp a confident young man.

Not just off his current form, but previous experiences.

Irankunda is a leading player for Australia’s under 17s side that will attempt to qualify for the World Cup in May and he has also had the experience of the All Stars game against Barcelona last year, where he came on as a substitute at the same time as Garang Kuol.

Of course, Kuol stole the show, nearly scoring twice. He could have passed to Irankunda both times.

“Everybody’s gonna try and get a goal against Barcelona, so I don’t blame him!” Irankunda quips.

The performance set Kuol on a path to the World Cup and a deal with Newcastle United.

Currently, though, Kuol is going through a tougher period on loan at Hearts where fans are on his back. The Socceroos environment, which everyone from the Qatar World Cup rates as the best they’ve been involved with, will help Kuol. Irankunda, too.

Still, Irankunda is in no rush to bail overseas. Adelaide and the player himself will field offers from European clubs before the end of the season. How long he stays, and where he goes, is open for question, but Milligan believes the importance of the next year will be critical.

“Whatever happens in the next 12 months, he needs to be in a nurturing environment,” Milligan says. “The longer you are able to manage Nestory with his match minutes, and the longer he can have that time before the real expectation falls onto his shoulders, the better end product he’ll be.”

Critically, Irankunda is thinking along similar lines.

He knows those million steps are ahead of him.