Latte Lath's journey from street games and Carrick to new start in Germany

Emmanuel Latte Lath remembers the feeling he experienced as an eight-year-old when his journey from Ivory Coast, his country of birth, to a new life in Italy began.

"I started to realise when I was on the plane and I saw people different than me, I was a bit scared," the ex-Middlesbrough striker tells BBC Sport.

The Ivorian forward, now playing for Union Berlin, was six years old when he discovered he was moving to Europe, finally making the move two years later.

Despite leaving behind many friends and family in the west African country, he would be reunited with his father in Italy, which gave him an opportunity to grow their relationship.

"It was important because when I was born, it wasn't that close," the 27-year-old says.

"He went to Italy to find a better life, so it wasn't that easy talking with him every time by phone. I was missing this part from my father.

"When I saw him, it was kind of a new life, new motivation to stay close to my father, and then everything started again. It looks like I had two lives."

This reconnection with his father helped him settle into his different surroundings, although he still missed parts of the life he had as a young child in Africa, especially the freedom he found playing football.

Latte Lath explains: "Me and my five friends, we just built our team and we would go to play against another city, there was like no pressure, nothing.

"It was just funny moments, enjoying football there, and it was quite competitive because it was almost every time finishing in some fights, so it was street rules. I was one of the most competitive.

"I missed it. Always together, being with my friends. It was really, really fun."

Those early football experiences were extremely important for Latte Lath when he arrived in Italy, settling into his new life and attempting to learn the language.

Before he arrived he would never play in boots, and had never been part of an official team, but that quickly changed once in Europe.

"It was exciting to learn and to show my potential," says the Union Berlin striker.

"It was difficult in the beginning because I didn't know the language, but I had a really good person who helped me.

"It was important for me because I didn't have too many friends there. But I was just there to play football and after go home, I know timing will come."

He continued to develop and joined Atalanta's prestigious academy in 2015. Two years later he was scoring against Juventus in his third appearance for La Dea in the Coppa Italia.

"It's unbelievable, it's unforgettable. The emotion I had there, it's still the same when I'm thinking about it now," he says.

"The week before I was home with my family, we were just laughing and they were saying, 'imagine if I go, imagine,' and one week after that it happened."

That would be the only goal he scored for the club and it would be the last time he wore the shirt competitively.

Instead he would embark on a nomadic five-year journey on loan to eight clubs, a path many young footballers growing up in Italy face as they struggle to break into the top flight.

"I think Italian football has always been one of the difficult football environments because it's a lot of tactics, a lot of rules also," he says.

"So it doesn't let you express yourself because you have to play with too many or a lot of rules.

"So it was difficult also to make a step, but it was also difficult to maybe keep going with the steps I made, but this gave me power to make a different choice."

It was after a prolific loan spell with Swiss club St. Gallen that a move to Middlesbrough in the Championship materialised.

When Latte Lath arrived in the north east of England in 2023, he met Michael Carrick, the head coach at the time, who helped the Ivorian settle and become one of the best strikers in England's second tier.

"I found a good coach and a good person. It gave me straight away confidence," he says.

"He was a calm person, a calm coach, maybe sometimes too much, but it was needed for us. He knew always when and what he should say to you in the difficult moment or in the good moment.

"So for me, I think in that point of my life, it was really important."

That confidence Carrick instilled in him helped Latte Lath score 29 goals in 67 games and earn a move to Major League Soccer side Atlanta United as the most expensive signing in the league's history at the time.

But his time in America did not live up to the expectations and in the summer he moved back to Europe on loan to Union Berlin, where he has got to experience the unique culture of the city and Die Eisernen.

He continues: "I arrived here and I am surprised because the fans' passion is crazy. This is something new for me. It gives me an extra muscle, another power to do well.

"Berlin is huge, I love different cultures, and you can find different cultures and people. I think I can fit in because I grew up with different friends and cultures."