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After close to 100 appearances for Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Moussa Diaby was once again selected for the France senior squad in the most recent international break. Diaby believes the opportunity to play with the current World Champions has come from his hard work in the German top-flight.
Diaby discusses how he felt when he got the call to join the France senior squad, playing against FC Bayern München, and his journey to playing Bundesliga football, from humble beginnings on the streets of Paris.
How did your coach and your teammates react when you received your first call up to the French national team?
“Everyone was very happy for me. It was my first call up so I was obviously very happy. It was the coach who first informed me, then I saw it on TV and my teammates congratulated me at training. The president, the Sporting Director – everyone was happy, the whole club. I was happy too. It is my hard work paying off.”
After Peter Bosz and Hannes Wolf, you now have a new coach in Gerardo Seoane. What is he like as a coach?
“He is a coach who likes to be close to the players. He appreciates hard work at training. He gives a lot of advice and is always smiling. He is someone you can approach about issues on and off the pitch. He is a very good coach and I am sure he will give us a lot. He already has given us a lot – we had a good start to the season and that’s thanks to the coach and his staff.”
How is he different from his predecessors?
“The main difference is that he is a bit closer to the players. And is a bit more jovial. Though it was the same with Peter Bosz. Hannes Wolf was a little bit different – he came straight from coaching Germany U18s. But all three are good coaches and we are very happy to have had them. We are happy to have Gerardo today.”
Where can you still improve as a player?
“I think all players have to aim to improve – every single day in order to get stronger. For me, I need to work on my defensive game and on being more decisive for my team upfront. Being more precise in the final moment.”
You are now the quickest player at the club after Leon Bailey’s departure. How does that feel?
“Yes, I am now the quickest player I think. But there is good competition with Jeremie Frimpong and Mitchel Bakker. I am happy – that is one of my qualities so I try to use that to the advantage of the team.”
On Matchday 8, you face FC Bayern at home. You won in Munich back in November 2019. So anything is possible, right?
“We are playing against Bayern, they are just like any other team. Though they are used to playing in the Champions League every season. They are a good team, with good players. But we are also a good team with good players. We will approach the game like any other. We will play to win, we won’t go in hoping for a 0-0 or hoping to avoid defeat – we will go into the game to win. It will be a great game.”
Can Bayer Leverkusen challenge for the title this season?
“Anything is possible. We are working hard every day to improve. So of course winning the league this season is a possibility – why not? We have to be ambitious.”
What can you achieve in the Europa League this year?
“If you ask me, anything is possible. Our first objective is to qualify from our group, to win our group. And then we’ll take things match by match. This team has the potential to go far in the competition. We will give 100% and we hope to be successful.”
Do you prefer to score or to assist?
“Both. If one of my teammates is in a better position, I’ll pass them the ball. If I am in the best position, I’ll shoot. But I enjoy both – providing the assist and scoring the goal. The important thing is that the team are successful and that we win matches. If the attacking players have this mentality, I think we’ll go far.”
What has been your favourite moment in the Bundesliga so far?
“Like you said, it was the 2-1 win away to Bayern. It was a great game, though it was difficult. But we won the match and that was my highlight so far at Leverkusen.”
What would you have done had it not worked out with football?
“To be honest, I don’t know. I have always played football since I was a little boy. It was football or nothing. I was 100% focused on football in my head. So thank you – I am in a good place and I hope to have a long career.”
What has been the worst moment in your life?
“I haven’t had any bad moments in my life. Perhaps but I don’t remember them.”
What has been the best moment in your life?
“The best moment in my life? It was when my first child was born. He turns one this month. That was the best moment of my life. I was extremely happy. I always wanted a child and now my child has grown up. It is a pleasure being there for him every day. He makes me smile every day.”
Who are the most important people in your life?
“My family, my friends. Those are the most important people for me and they are the people who have helped me develop. It is much harder without a family. But there are people without families so those who have them have to make the most of it.”
Where did you start playing football?
“A club in the 19th arrondissement. A club in Paris called Esperance – that’s where I started playing football.”
How did you first become interested in football? And when did you start playing?
“I have played since I was little, perhaps seven or eight years old. I played at Esperance for four or five years before joining the PSG academy. I played there for six or seven years and then I came to Leverkusen.”
What are your memories of joining PSG?
“The best moments with my friends there? We were like a second family to each other. We had some good moments and some bad moments. But the good memories have stuck with me.”
What was it like playing in the PSG academy?
“It was the period in which I discovered the world of professional football. I was there to learn. I was part of a very good group of players at PSG. I was very happy, I learned a lot, and it allowed me to make the step to Leverkusen. Had I not gone through the PSG academy, I wouldn’t be here at Leverkusen today.”
Do you look back at this period fondly?
“I have positive memories. Like I said, it was a period of my life where I had to learn. In order to become a good professional player. So I look back on it only positively.”
To what extent did the high degree of competition at PSG shape you as a player?
“The championship was very interesting and PSG played in the Champions League too. So I was able to experience the Champions League as well. Like I said, I was there to learn. From the very start, I was learning at the highest level. You only have important matches when you are at PSG.”
What role did your family play in your journey to becoming a professional footballer?
“Family comes before everything. They are there in the good and in the bad moments. They will always be there for you. When things go well for you, they are there and happy, and when things go badly, your family are who you turn to. It is thanks to them that I became a professional footballer.”
Are there any specific coaches or friends who helped you in your journey?
“I think all the coaches I had while at the PSG academy – they were the ones who pushed me to become professional. The coaches are who form us and teach us the basics of football. So if professional footballers have anyone to thank, I think it’s the coaches they had while they were youth players.”
Can you give us their names?
“François Rodrigues, Cedric Cattenoy, David Bechkoura, and lots of others. These are the names I remember. They were my coaches while I was at the PSG academy.”
And are you still in contact with them?
“Always.”
