The making of Michael Olise: The quiet, humble boy who comes alive on the pitch

“It was like watching an ice-skater play football — the way he used to glide around the pitch. It was effortless, everything taken in his stride.”Michael Richards is reminiscing with The Athletic about coaching a young Michael Olise when he was starting out at his local club, Hayes ^ Yeading.“He was an unbelievable little footballer, even at the age of six,” Richards says. “His football IQ at that age was probably three, four, five years ahead of other children. The way he used to play football — he still does, funnily enough — was like he was playing in the street.”Advertisement