2024-02-28 14:55:00
You have already scored 11 goals in 25 matches since the start of the season. Have you ever been this prolific since you started playing football?
It’s the first time with the pros! But with the Lorient reserve, I did even better by scoring 13 in 11 matches in National 2.
Can you tell us regarding your journey, starting with your childhood in Senegal?
I started with the Maillot Sport football school in Tambacounda, where I grew up, then that of Joe Stars before joining the Youth Élite Foot training center in Dakar. I only stayed a year because Pau FC came directly to recruit me. There, I spent a season with the reserves then I went to Châteaubriand in National 2 before being recruited by FC Lorient.
How was your childhood in Tambacounda?
Alright ! My parents were always there for me. As my father loves football, he accompanied me all the time, every day. Whether I played or not, he was there, he watched every game. He was my second coach. Whenever I did something wrong, he would pull my ears when he came home (laughter). He was telling me : ” You must not do this, you must not do that. » The coaches also gave body and soul so that we might become someone one day. Everything went really well during my years at football school.
Did your parents’ support help you a lot?
A lot ! Even though we didn’t have a lot of resources, they did everything to make me happy and have fun. When my father brought me home following games, my mother would prepare hot water and shea butter to massage me. It made me so happy. I was a little pampered because I’m the only boy, I only have big sisters and a little sister. My father also challenged me.
“I was lucky enough to be staying with the president”
That’s to say ?
I remember a match where we played a team who hadn’t conceded a goal yet and he kept telling me that. I ended up answering him: “ Today, she’s going to take it! » My mother had joined the conversation and told my father that I was going to do it. Result: I scored a double! When I came home, my father said to me: “ I’m proud of you ! » I liked it when he challenged me like that.
How did you then join the Youth Elite Foot Academy in Dakar?
The president of the Academy came to Tambacounda and saw several of my matches. I caught his eye and he asked me to join his training center. I went there because I was already 17, I mightn’t miss this opportunity. Dakar being more developed than Tamba, I knew that it would allow me to further showcase my talent. I found myself 6-7 hours away from my loved ones but I didn’t have a bad experience. I thought : ” I’m the only boy, I have to succeed to keep my parents safe. »
But you might no longer benefit from your father’s debriefs…
No, he didn’t see me playing anymore. I no longer had the harsh feedback from my father. Oh dear, he was really demanding (laughter). At least, if I got a yellow card, I no longer needed to look for arguments to justify myself (laughter).
What was your daily life like at the Academy?
I only played football! I was also lucky enough to be staying with the president of the club, Abdoulaye Niang. I was the only player in this case because I had nowhere to sleep, while everyone else lived in Dakar and might go home. The Academy had only just opened and there weren’t many players yet.
“I thought I deserved better”
You were once once more closely watched!
Yes, he wasn’t kidding either. If he had something to tell me, he didn’t hesitate to do so. Like my father, he was demanding, and he still is today because he became my agent. He gives me debriefs following each of my matches. He never gave up on me. The season I lived with him really helped me progress. It allowed me to be well supervised from the start.
For your first experience outside your country, you joined France and more precisely Pau FC in 2019. How did you get this opportunity?
Pau FC often came to Senegal to organize detections in collaboration with Abdoulaye Niang. I took part in several of them and they ended up taking me to play with the reserves in National 3. I adapted very quickly and I was the team’s top scorer. I even happened to play with the first team in training and I was lucky enough to make it into the National.
You only play one season at the club. What did you miss to stay?
The club wanted to keep me but wanted me to alternate between the reserve team and the first team. I was once morest this idea, it didn’t interest me at all and I didn’t understand it because I had just finished top scorer for the reserve team… For my progress, I didn’t want to repeat a season in National 3. I thought I deserved better than what I had shown and decided to find another project.
And you take the direction of the Voltigeurs de Châteaubriant…
My agent put me in touch with Christian Sagna, the sporting director of the club, and I accepted the offer in order to be able to play in National 2. I played the first part of the season then the championship ended with the Covid. But, at the same time, we were still qualified for the Coupe de France and we played a match once morest the Lorient reserve to prepare for our round of 16 once morest Montpellier. I had apparently been good and Lorient continued to follow me before recruiting me at the end of the season.
“There was no point in staying because I had come to have playing time”
What project does FC Lorient propose to you?
A first professional contract! I arrived to strengthen the reserve team but with the status of a professional player. I immediately accepted because, in addition to the contract, it is a club where young people have opportunities to play. And there was no shortage of it! I hadn’t even been there a month and I had already integrated daily training with the pros while continuing to play with the reserves on certain weekends to get playing time.
You then discover Ligue 1 Uber Eats…
Yes, I enter 17 times and I am lucky to start four times. They weren’t easy matches but I managed to score three goals. My first was once morest Lille, the second once morest Nantes, and the third once morest Lens. I had managed to score in three consecutive matches. For a player who normally came to strengthen the reserve, it was a nice surprise to see things happen this way and to be able to play so much with the pros.
You then go on loan to Eupen in Belgium but you only stay six months. What happened ?
It didn’t go as planned. The coach didn’t speak French at all, I had difficulty understanding the sessions and I mightn’t have a dialogue with him. So, I called the leaders of Lorient to tell them that things were not going well, that my playing time was decreasing and that I wanted to end my loan. When you don’t have a good relationship with the coach, it’s better to go elsewhere, especially when you’re on loan. There was no point in staying because I had come to have playing time and progress. Finally, I had the opportunity to join Rodez in January and I was able to discover Ligue 2 BKT during the second part of the season.
So you’ve been on loan for two seasons between Eupen, Rodez and now QRM. How do you experience it?
There are good and bad sides. On the one hand, you get time and you progress, and on the other hand, you have to move all the time, discover new teammates, a new coach, a new city… But, for me, I prefer to go to Ligue 2 BKT and play than staying in Ligue 1 Uber Eats and not having any playing time. If I stay in Ligue 1 Uber Eats to be on the bench all the time, there’s no point. I don’t mind being on the bench, all the players can be there, but it’s important to have playing time. Especially at my age!
“Lorient tells me to continue on this path”
How are you experiencing your experience at QRM this season?
I live it very well, day by day. I had a very good relationship with Olivier Echouafni, it was he who contacted me to come and it is thanks to him that I am here. He directly believed in me. He gave me a chance and I took it. Today, I also get along very well with Jean-Louis Garcia. I do everything to show him that I deserve to be on the field. He also trusts me and that allows me to maintain continuity. But Ligue 2 BKT is a difficult championship.
That’s to say ?
It’s completely different from Ligue 1 Uber Eats. The intensity, the technique, the transitions are not comparable, but it is a much closer championship. There are a lot fewer spaces and I find it more difficult to create opportunities individually.
Does FC Lorient follow your performances?
Yes ! I sometimes have discussions with Aziz Mady Mogne (FCL sports coordinator) or one of Régis Le Bris’ assistant coaches. They tell me that they are satisfied with my performance and that I must continue on this path. I still have two years of contract there but I don’t know what the future holds for me. In the meantime, I continue to work and I will try to score as many goals as possible until the end of the season. I haven’t set myself a goal objective, because if I don’t achieve it, it’s going to be a bit frustrating.
What are your father’s words today?
He watches all the games with my mother. He tells me to stay focused on my football and finds that I am improving in playing with my back to goal. He tells me that I am strong, that I move less and less in duels and that I must continue to be effective at the finish. I do everything to continue to make them proud and to show them that I think of them. I sometimes make dedications to them when I score, like once morest Annecy, since I put a photo of them on my shin guards so that they protect me.
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