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It is an amazing, moving life story. At 14 years, Moses Juwara, it came out of Gambia, small country in West Africa, crossed the Mediterranean with a boat and arrived in Italy, thanks to the rescue of a German ship. Last Sunday he marked, at 18, his first goal in Serie A in a match that will be remembered for a long time. Thanks to him his team, Bologna, beat Inter at San Siro for 1-2. It was quickly understood that this smiling young man, full of enthusiasm, turned into the hero of San Siro, a mythical stadium, was not a normal player. Today all of Italy continues talking about its history, which has a 6,000 kilometer journey.
After going throughSenegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Musa Juwara arrived in Libya, leaving behind the poverty of The Gambia, where he had been raised by his grandparents, since his parents had passed away. Without knowing how to swim and thanks to the financial help of a brother for the trip, in Libya he managed to embark, along with 536 immigrants, in a ramshackle ship, sea carts call them in Italy. Crowded like canned sardines, they made the crossing of the Mediterranean. The boat had to be assisted by the German NGO FGS Frankfurt, allowing Juwara and his fellow travelers to disembark in Messina (Sicily). The Gambian teenager was sent to the Ruoti reception center, a municipality of 3,600 souls in the province of Potenza, in the Basilicata region.
Adopted by a coach
While living a provisional situation, the virtuosity of Moses Juwara with the ball in a team of immigrants from the reception center, it did not go unnoticed by the fan club Virtus Avigliano, who participated in the Basilicata regional championship. He coach Vitantonio Suma he saw in the young Musa exceptional human and soccer conditions. He decided, along with his wife, the lawyer Loredana Bruno, become your legal guardian. He was then given custody as an adoptive parent. From the beginning, they took care of him in his own house, like a son, living the same life as the children of the marriage.
Coach Vitantonio and lawyer Loredana changed his personal and professional life. She soon integrated into the new reality, although she had a hard time adapting to the kitchen at the beginning: “She just wanted chicken breast and orange soda,” her friends say today, amused and still incredulous to see her. succeed in Serie A. Loredana confirms her initial difficulty with Italian cuisine: «The first time she came to lunch I prepared spaghetti and fish, but she ate very little. Obviously, I forgave him … ». Loredana integrated it into the Ruoti school: “The first and only request he made to me was to go to school.” This is how Musa Juwara took his first steps in Italy: Between a new family, school, soccer hours and new friendships with the youth of the town. None of these affects has been forgotten.
The British newspaper The Guardian included him in a list among the best footballers born in 2001. Of the striker Musa Juwara, who is inspired as a footballer in the Real Madrid player Hazard, it stands out that he is fast and physically strong, with a good shot and a nose for goal. In the 2016-2017 season, at Virtus Avigliano, he scored 29 goals, being decisive for the team to win the regional championship, rising in category.
From there, various Serie A teams began to notice the young Gambian. After a few brief tests at Inter and Juventus, was signed by Chievo, but when descending in Series B, the doors of the Bologna, debuting in Italy Cup in December and in Series A in February. Its annual record is 40,000 euros. The club will shield it and upload it. The rest is known history: On July 5, his first goal in San Siro. “A day to remember. I thank the places Mihajlovic, for having believed in me », he wrote on Instagram. The tough Mihajlovic takes care of him: «You have to go slowly with Musa, an extraordinary young man. It is a beautiful life story, but it is not yet a football story.
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