Ousman Manneh fled his home country of Gambia in 2014 and arrived in Germany, where he started playing football at a refugee centre.
There, his talent was discovered and he ended up being spotted and given a chance to play football at fifth-tier side Blumenthaler. According to BBC Sport, after scoring 15 goals in 11 games there, it wasn't hard for the scouts to tell that he might be decent enough to play at a higher level, and Werder Bremen decided that they would bring him into the fold.
He was clearly grabbing enough attention in the reserves there to catch the eye of manager Alexander Nouri, who called him into the first-team squad.
He rewarded the manager's faith this past weekend by scoring the winner against Bayer Leverkusen, a historic moment as he became the first player from his native Gambia to score in the Bundesliga.
Having netted his first goal and an important winner, Manneh couldn't believe just how much had changed for him in the past few years, and described it as the "greatest moment" in his life.
"I can't believe this," Manneh said. "Is this real or am I dreaming? This is the greatest moment of my life. It's hard to describe my feelings."
"I've been so proud to be the first Gambian to play four Bundesliga games, and now I'm proud to be the first one to score."
He arrived in 🇩🇪 two years ago as a refugee - yesterday he scored a game-winning âš½ï¸ for @werderbremen_en! #SVWB04 https://t.co/2BNA82S62n
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) October 16, 2016
The goal was even more important in the context of Bremen's slow start to the season, as it gave them just their second win from seven games.
Via BBC Sport
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
