Diadie Samassékou

The Mali international at German Bundesliga side Hoffenheim has been tipped to be the next N’golo Kante. He speaks to KICK OFF.

KICK OFF: You went straight from Real Bamako in Mali to RB Salzburg, via their feeder team Liefering. You were still a teenager then, so what was the adjustment like for you? Diadie Samassekou:

It was not so easy in the beginning, but when you start playing football you plan to come to Europe and be a professional football player. I had the chance to start in a good environment in Salzburg, where they have a lot of young players. I started in the academy, because I think to have started in the first team it was too early. There I developed a lot and they gave me my time. I had to change a few things, like the food I eat, but this is not a big deal, when you want to achieve something you have to make sacrifices. Moving to Hoffenheim, everybody knows the team here, it is a good team with a lot of foundation. People are really nice to me, I feel at home here. I am here for nine months, but I feel like I have always been here. I am here to give my best and the fans always give back to me when I give my best.

Who were some of your role-models growing up?

I should start with the ones from my country, and some of the best African to play in Europe, Mahamadou Diarra and Seydou Keita. They did so much for the country, but also the African image in Europe. But I also really enjoyed good midfielders like Michael Essien, who showed the spirit of what a midfielder should be. It is a mix of a lot of players and a lot of idols from my teenage years until now. I am trying to follow in their steps!

You have been compared to a young N’Golo Kante, who is also of Malian descent, although a France international. Does it inspire you to be compared to the Chelsea midfielder?

His style of play is not so far from mine, or I should say my style of play is not so far from his, because he is N’Golo Kante! He comes from my country, but he got known a bit late, by the time he came through at Leicester City I was already in Europe. Of course, when I see what he is doing it is also an inspiration for me.

What has it been like for the players to play with no fans in the stadium. Does it take a mental adjustment?

At the beginning it was not the same sensations. But all the players have adapted fast to it. Right now we are used to it. Of course we would like to have the fans in the stadiums, but also I don’t think it matters a lot because you always want to win and give your best. Every time you get the ball and have the chance to make a difference, you just do it, with or without fans. We hope they are soon here to enjoy the moment with us, but even if they are watching on TV we are trying to give them the same emotions as if they were watching in the stadium. It was a joy, because playing football is our job and we are happy to do our job again. I think even for the fans it [playing] makes it easier for them to stay at home and not have the idea to go out.

Has it been more or less challenging than you imagined?

Of course, it is not the perfect situation for everybody, but if they cannot come to the stadium they can still at least watch on TV. A fan of Hoffenheim will still be a fan of Hoffenheim, we should just take what we have now and hope it is better in the future. When you play, you know people are still watching you, so you still have this pressure to do well and do your best. This has shown us we need each other. The fans need to see us giving our best, and for us it is important to see that people are pushing you. It can sometimes go wrong, but when you have the fans behind you it is a big help. After this I hope football will be more than just a fight. We are there to give pleasure and I hope that will continue. because they think I am not a good player! But we see it in a lot of stadiums [around the world] and it should be stopped. This is something the people learn at home and we need to change the mentality. Parents should do better with their kids. But when it happens at the stadium, we don’t have to stop the game. I think the fans have to help us to find the people who are doing this and send them out of the stadium. This is my idea, you cannot also punish 60,000 people because of two or three idiots. This is one of the most important things that is happening in football. Everybody is looking in the same direction and we are all in it together. We all want to get rid of it [racism]

country, you are excited to play. But when the game starts you don’t think like that anymore, you just want to do good and show that you deserve your place on the pitch, especially for an African like me. When I was young I used to watch these teams, so to play against them is amazing. Now I have the chance to play against players like Thomas Mueller. But when you are doing it, you don’t just stand there and look at him, you want to show him that, yeah, ‘you were one of my favourite players and I was dreaming of playing against you, now I want to show you that I am here also!’.

What are your short-term career goals?

I am already playing in a good team in a good league. I am not is young anymore, I am 24. I am happy to give my best here, but when you start playing you obviously dream of playing for the biggest teams in the world.

But I am here and I am enjoying myself and in football things can go fast. While I am here, I will fight to play Champions League. Obviously not next season, but it is a goal.

You finished third at the 2015 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Is this a generation of Mali players that could finally lift the Africa Cup of Nations title after so many near misses in the past?

I want one day to win the African Cup. We have enough good players for this, we have a young team and a talented team. We did well in the youth competitions and now with a big of trust, we can achieve this. But we have to work, the Africa Cup, everybody knows it is difficult. You never know who is going to win, it is competitive. You just have to do what you can do and hope you get the chance to get the trophy.

That Under-20 World Cup was where you really came to prominence for many people and ultimately won your move to Austria …

It is the easiest way for an African player to come to Europe. It is realty important for us to represent the country. If you look at the Mali national team, most of the players are in Europe and played in these [age-group] competitions. People follow you there, you can show them your quality. Most players do not get to Europe unless they have had the chance to play for their country and show how good they are.

And what about the World Cup, on the face of it you have a decent qualification group with Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda …

African football is totally different than playing in Europe, you have to be ready for every game because every team has its own style and way of playing that is different. You have to be ambitious, you have to really want to win every game. But I am hopeful we can finish top of the group.