Departed from youth Ajax and PSV, now back in the Netherlands: ‘I feel the love’

He has a resume that you say to yourself, played in the youth at Ajax, PSV, Liverpool and Barcelona, ​​but Bobby Adekanye is really in his place at Go Ahead Eagles. After wandering around at clubs such as Lazio, Crotone and Cádiz, the winger is happy to be back in the Netherlands. Football zone went to Vetkampstraat for a closer acquaintance with a very frank Adekanye. A monologue about peaks and valleys, (a lack of) love and the pure family feeling at Go Ahead.

By Mart Oude Nijeweeme

“I think I can play for ninety minutes, but not completely free yet. I often feel aches and cramps coming on in the last ten minutes. Earlier that was in the sixtieth minute, so there is improvement. I have almost nothing for two years I had an operation on my meniscus at Lazio. When I came back I was kicked out of the squad. I didn’t get the opportunity to play any minutes. If you don’t play football for two years, your body will naturally struggle. Since I joined Go Ahead, I feel I’m making progress. That’s something I wanted and it’s working out very well.”

“When I came here I had a good conversation with Paul (Bosvelt, ed.) And René (Hake, ed.). My gut told me to do it. What I liked is that they had been following me for some time. They didn’t need to know what type of player I was, they already knew that. The conversation went so well that I quickly made the decision to come here. This is the first time I feel that a club is behind me “I appreciate that very much. I am a player who needs a lot of love. If I get that, I want to pay it back.”

Hard time
“Whether I missed that love? Certainly. I left the Netherlands very young. I was in a team with many big names at Lazio. Many star players. But I was not really appreciated. Well, by the fans, by the way. The fans were always behind me, I am grateful to this day for that, but the club had no plan for me and showed little love, I went to Barcelona after my injury to recover and I didn’t get one phone call how I was doing. That last year at Lazio was the toughest year of my career so far.”

“I returned from Barcelona and suddenly I was no longer part of the selection. I was also given no reason why I should not be part of the group. Nor why they did not want to build anything with me. Other players were brought in for a lot of money. at that moment I thought: do I still want to play football? This is my dream. I want to play at the highest level. Now I’m there and I’m not appreciated. Then you start doubting yourself. That does a lot to you, you know. When you’re a footballer and you’re abroad alone.”

Adekanye felt lonely and sad in Rome.

“At one point I thought: am i still a footballer? Do they see my talent? I know that I have it, but do they see it too? The most important thing is that they see it as you want to make progress in your career. But they never asked how I was. They weren’t interested in when I returned. I had to call to say I did ready was to play again. When I came back it seemed like they didn’t know what to do with me. When you are young, live alone and have no family around you, you crash at such a moment.”

Immobile
“In hindsight, I should have listened a little more to experienced guys like Lucas Leiva and Ciro Immobile. I don’t know if it would change anything, but maybe it would have had a positive impact on my career. At the time I was stubborn. I thought that I knew everything better. But of course that wasn’t the case. I made stupid mistakes and got into arguments with trainers. While I hadn’t achieved anything at all in the football world. I certainly learned from it. I now know how to deal with trainers and defeats I owe that to players like that.”

“They said the football world isn’t always fair. You can be so good, you get trainers who don’t think like you. Then you have to play along and show little emotion. If they say something, you have to do it. But I didn’t. I did what I wanted and what I thought was best for me. Sometimes you have to listen to people who have more experience and have been in the same situation. They often have your best interests at heart. “

“There have been a lot of times when I was down. I’ve had a lot of conversations with my parents and my agent. I’ve said a few times that I want to quit. No one saw what I’ve got in me. It seems like I’m the only person am who sees it. I might as well stop, no one saw my talent anyway. My parents have always supported me. Also my agent, who I have had since I was twelve. He said that one day I would end up somewhere where I love. I’m very glad I listened to them, otherwise it could have gone completely wrong.”

Back to the Netherlands
“I wanted to go back to the Netherlands. The country where I feel at home and where I can speak my own language. That’s why I’m glad I had the guts to take a step back. You talk about a large amount of money that you leave behind, but I prefer to invest in myself. Success will come later. The football world is a strange world, but at the same time very beautiful. It is not only negative. At the moment I experience the positive side. It may happen that in the future I I’m going to encounter negative things again, but now I know how to deal with it.”

Bobby Adekanye maintains a warm relationship with trainer René Hake.

“Before I went to Go Ahead Eagles I looked up information about the club. I watched four matches in the stadium. Especially the last match I was amazed at how beautiful the atmosphere was. Then I thought: this may suit me. If I do the right things, I can experience something beautiful here. When the opportunity came to sign here, I didn’t think twice. Now I’ve been there for six months and everything is falling into place. I am very happy with the choice I made. I feel the love of the coach and the club. I notice in everything that they have the best for me and that makes me feel good.”

“I was amazed by the people. It is one big family. Everyone is close to each other, no one thinks that he is more than someone else. That is how I was brought up. I see that in the people who come here. After the match, people in the BusinessClub always give you confidence. They always have our back. If I need anything, even outside football, they are always there for you. They are very generous, I have never experienced that. very much with me. I have always learned from my parents that you have to show respect. Then you will get it back.”

“Teammates have also never made me feel like they’ve looked at my resume and expect a lot from me. They’ve made me feel like they know where I come from. They know what I’ve been through and have welcomed me with open arms. They have said that I should be myself and build it up quietly. I think it’s nice that guys come to me during the game to ask how I’m doing. If I can keep it up. It’s a close family. I can I think I’m really good with these guys. Hopefully there will be many more great years together. I know I can do much better.”