Dodi Lukebakio

Written by Koen Van Uytvange, Pieter-Jan Calcoen and Yanko Beeckman for Nieuwsblad:

Feel free to call Dodi Lukebakio a late bloomer. At 26, the tall, rapid right winger has never played in a major tournament with the Belgium national team. However, since the arrival of Domenico Tedesco, he has become a permanent fixture. That is no coincidence: as a German, Tedesco closely followed the Bundesliga, where Lukebakio played for years before he joined Sevilla from Hertha Berlin last summer. According to his mother, his first name refers to Dodi Fayed, who died in an accident in Paris at the side of Princess Diana less than a month before Lukebakio's birth. But according to his father, Dodi stands for “Don de Dieu” – gift from god. Lukebakio is very religious himself. “I am against sex before marriage,” he said. “Many people find that difficult, so they don't stick to it. But God helped me to persevere.”