New York Daily News writer Wayne Coffey wrote an outstanding piece on former NFL running back and West Virginia star running back Amos Zereoue.

A native of the Ivory Coast, Zereoue is now able to follow his lifelong passions- cooking and soccer- in Manhattan.
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As a bracing wind blows beneath the Williamsburg Bridge, a black man in a white jersey barrels toward goal, a big-biceped blur on the banks of the East River. He is the size of a small tractor, with the speed of a Porsche, the same combination that drove his seven-year career as an NFL running back.

Amos Zereoue was born in the west African nation of the Ivory Coast, and raised in the Long Island town of Hempstead. His previous teams were the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots. His current team is the Central Park Rangers of the Cosmopolitan Soccer League, one of the premier amateur leagues in the country.

The 5-8, 212-pound Zereoue doesn't take on outsized linemen and run into end zones for big paychecks anymore. He takes on regular-sized defenders and scores goals, and not only does he do it for free; he has to pay the club's $320 annual fee in order to play.

Soccer is Zereoue's first sporting love, the game he grew up with in Africa. After a 20-year intermission, he's come full athletic circle, and is relishing it with a born-again fervor.

"I get more excited when I score a goal now than I did when I scored a touchdown playing football," Zereoue says. He pauses and smiles. "I've gone from playing in front of 100,000 people to playing in front of 10 people, and I probably get more nervous before games now."