While the Ismaël Koné rocket was taking off in 2022, the 20-year-old young man returned to sleep with his mother every evening in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
“I’m very lucky compared to the other children,” said the Quebecer during an interview with The Pressin mid-October.
“Not everyone has a very good relationship with their parents. I am lucky to have a very open and very mature relationship with my mother. We talk about everything and nothing. And beyond being my mother, we are able to connect on several levels. »
Koné is sitting in front of the representative of your daily newspaper in one of the rooms of the Center Nutrilait, after training at CF Montreal. His club was preparing for its first playoff game against Orlando City at the time. Confrontation during which Koné will score the winning goal in the 68e minute.
One more accomplishment in a season of all successes. There were his first professional minutes. His two goals and five assists. His 18 tenures. His participation in Canada’s qualifying matches. Rumors of transfer to Europe. The MLS playoffs.
Then, his flight to Qatar, he who is in the process of playing the World Cup with the maple leaf. Not bad for a player who played for an amateur club in Montreal just two years ago.
The midfielder claims to be able to “keep his feet on the ground”, despite everything. And this, even if he has the ambition to take the path of Europe sooner rather than later.
What does his mother, Suzanne Diomande, who experienced the dizzying rise of her Ishmael up close?
“She lives it well, says Koné. […] I had already done a period when I was away from home, six months in Belgium. She had already prepared for my departure and all that. She knows that in the end, it’s my job now.
“She is preparing herself mentally. But like all mothers, it’s hard to see your child leave her. »
“I play for my mother, after all”
The young man was born in Côte d’Ivoire in 2002. He and his mother arrived in Canada when he was 7 years old, fleeing the civil war.
Koné is aware of his mother’s sacrifices. More than the “personal trophies” or the “team competitions”, it is her that he wants to “make proud”.
“I always said I was playing for my mum, after all. »
PHOTO FROM ISMAËL KONÉ’S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
Little Ismaël Koné with his mother
If a possible transfer allows him to hit the jackpot, the son thinks of offering a “big gift” to his mother. “Me, it’s my dream,” he said.
To keep the surprise complete, we will keep silent about the nature of covetousness.
Moreover, Koné believes that the last few months have changed nothing in his relationship with the one he considers “a great friend”.
“If I’m not real with my mother, I don’t know who I would be with. I am still the same. »
“Heartbreaker”
Suzanne Diomande is the only member of Koné’s family who made the trip to Canada. The others are still in Côte d’Ivoire.
Will they watch, and encourage, Canada at the World Cup, knowing that the Ivorians are not there?
“Of course they will watch, believes Koné. But it sure is a bit heartbreaking for them. They would have wanted my choice [de sélection] focuses more on Africa and the Ivory Coast. But in the end, maybe it’s the choice that’s best for me. »
Koné played his first Canadian minutes during his very first recall with the selection, last March. He made the trip to Costa Rica, then to Toronto, with CFM regulars Samuel Piette, Kamal Miller and Alistair Johnston.
PHOTO ARCHIVES AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Ismaël Koné (13) in action with the Canadian team
Did their presence at the Canadian camps facilitate his adaptation to his arrival in John Herdman’s group?
“Yes and no,” he replies. No, “because the guys on the team are so cool”.
And yes, too, because “Kamal knows these players more. He was able to tell me about them and how things are going.
Especially since in both teams, he can trust the leader Samuel Piette.
“It’s good to have him. He is able to read situations, he can help us with his intelligence on the pitch. It sure is good for me, on both sides. »
Canada fell into a strong group at this World Cup, along with Belgium, Croatia and Morocco. But the Reds are “ready” for this “good challenge”, believes Koné.
“We play against the best in the world, but it must be said that we too are capable of doing it. We have quality players. We will have to prove it, but for sure my prediction would be to say that people can expect us to give everything. »
Fabrizio Romano: “What are you talking about? »
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Ismaël Koné (center) with CF Montreal
Fabrizio Romano is probably the most famous informant on the planet when it comes to international transfers in the world of football. And last summer, through his tweets announcing the movement of the greatest players in the world, Romano sent two about Ismaël Koné. The first, on July 25, signaling the interest of Norwich, in the second division. Then on 1er September, he sends a second, notifying the planet that Sheffield United were about to make their acquisition. Transfer which finally fell through when the transfer window deadline had passed. Both times, Koné was taken by surprise. “Every time he talks about me, I get a text message, I’m told that Fabrizio has spoken,” says the Quebecer. Already, the first, I tell myself that it is not possible. What are you telling ? The guy, he brings news of [Erling] Haaland and all that. He says he finds this interest “flattering”. “It means that there are people of this caliber who look at my work. So it’s still up to me to push and go further. But yeah, sure it was a bit surprising and shocking. »