Amadou Diawara is looking for a new challenge. In July he will be 25 years old and, after a season without prominence in Roma, the Guinean wants a team in which to show his talent again. In January he was one step away from Valencia. He still doesn’t know why he couldn’t be…
– Amadou, how did your adventure in football begin?
– Childhood in Guinea was not easy. My father was a teacher and he didn’t want me to play, but I managed to convince him, and the first chance I had, he let me travel to Italy. At the beginning it was especially difficult for me to adapt to such a tactical game.
– His training was different.
– In Africa we used to play in the street, there we have to learn like that, but I appreciate it: it’s the best way. There are no rules, you have to be careful not to hurt yourself, not to fall… It’s what made me stronger.
– In a short time Bologna noticed him.
– While in San Marino I did some tests in the team of director Corvino, I couldn’t sign for Bologna because it was in Serie B and I was from outside the community. As soon as they moved up, he signed me for the Primavera team. Mr. Delio Rossi after the stage In the summer he wanted me with the first team and I was lucky to have space there.
– At that time there was talk of you for the Azzurra…
– I had that possibility, but even though I arrived there when I was 16, I don’t feel Italian. I am Guinean and choosing the selection of my country was natural, the most fair.
– After only one year came the call from Napoli. How was working with Sarri?
– Maurizio is crazy, a teacher. In the first training sessions my head hurt, the ball was going too fast.
– He gained his confidence: he was even a starter at the Bernabéu.
– I didn’t expect it either, but I felt I was fine and I got there with a calmness that I didn’t imagine. I had Cristiano, Benzema, Kroos, Casemiro in front of me… I was blocked thinking that I had only been watching these games on television in Africa, and suddenly it was there.
– That night he ran into Maradona.
– It was a privilege, I met the God of football, as they say in Naples. I remember that in the dressing rooms at the Bernabéu he gave us incredible energy. It was no coincidence that we jumped onto the field so well and managed to score 0-1.
– The Neapolitans remember him for a great goal against Chievo, when the scudetto was close, in 2018.
– It was a corner kick. Normally, I stayed outside the area, but I felt something, and I went inside. Milik combed the corner and I scored with a thread. I started running to celebrate and I didn’t even know where to go… That goal brought us closer to the scudetto, which in the end it couldn’t be despite having scored 91 points. Football is like that, hopefully Napoli get it one day.
– Later, he met Ancelotti.
– Carlo is a gentleman, everyone knows this. In the summer that it arrived, I remember that one afternoon I received several video calls from an unknown number. I didn’t want to answer, and minutes later I got a normal call. There I did answer and he said ‘hey, I’m the coach’. How ridiculous (laughs). Another thing stuck with me. The day I left, he stopped his car to come say goodbye to me and he did it with a love that I will remember all my life.
– He went from Naples to Rome, where this year he barely had space.
– The first two years have gone well, but the knee injuries and the pandemic have stopped my growth. Then Mourinho arrived, working with him was another dream come true. He brought a lot of enthusiasm to the club and to the city. I had a good relationship with him, although he never had space. They are technical decisions, the coach was always clear with me and I accepted it.
– It was not his fault, but in the match with Verona in 2020 his improper line-up cost him the loss in the dispatches.
– It was all very strange. Suddenly I came back home and started receiving dozens of insults and I didn’t know why. I am a footballer, I think about training and doing it well, I don’t understand bureaucracy…
– ¿What was it like to win the Conference?
– A Cup is always a Cup, it has been an incredible experience to experience a title from within. The city had been waiting for a trophy for a long time and, although it has not been the protagonist, I have experienced it happily. I have helped in what I could: training to the fullest.
– What do you expect for your future?
– I would like to find a team where I can have room, but the market depends on many factors, not just me. I believe in my potential and I feel that I can do well.
– In January he was one step away from Valencia.
– I was in the African Cup, they called me to tell me about the interested teams and I chose Valencia. I would have closed it right away, but I waited four, five more days and in the end nothing was done. I still don’t know why.
– Would you like to live an adventure in Spain?
– I love LaLiga. If an opportunity arises, of course.
