Bafodé Diakité left his club this summer. This purple jersey with which he has known everything: a Gambardella cup final, the descent into Ligue 2, the club’s rise to the top flight… Now in Lille, he is expecting a “special” evening.
How are these first weeks in Lille going?
“Frankly, I feel good. The group welcomed me well. I knew a few people. Isaac Lihadji, Lucas Chevalier and Mohamed Bayo. It’s going very well, it’s a good city as well.”
Did you know at the end of last season that you were going to leave?
“I confirm that as soon as I saw that we were going up, I knew. The supporters wanted us to try to get the club back to where it should be. As soon as we achieved that goal, I knew it was time to go. I knew from the start of the summer that it was my last moments there.”
Is it hard to leave the TFC?
“When you experienced everything there, it’s still special. But in my head, I knew it was going to happen. It was hard but I was prepared for it.”
What are the best memories?
“The course in Gambardella and then, the rise in Ligue 1. It’s something that doesn’t happen often. It’s something extraordinary, especially with people you’ve known for a long time. It’s even better .”
“I think they are making a good start to the season” (Diakité)
You have a Whatsapp group with Pitchouns Moussa Diarra, Amine Adli, Nathan Ngoumou and Manu Koné. Are you constantly in contact?
“When one of them is playing and the others don’t have a match, we film, we watch the match and we comment. We continue to bring the group to life despite the fact that we are far away. We send each other messages to tell each other how our sessions were. We manage to maintain our ties. Every day I speak with Amine, Moussa, Nathan, Manu…”
What do you think of the start of the Tef’ season?
“Football-wise, it’s good because they haven’t changed. I wondered if they were going to change the game and no. No matter who they play opposite, they try. For example against Paris, they tried. I think they are having a good start to the season despite the bad run of three games.”
Facing Moussa Diarra, it’s weird, isn’t it?
“I hope I wouldn’t have it at the marking (laughs). My goal is to stay focused and I know I wouldn’t be focused if I had him on the mark. A month and a half ago I was still with them, seeing them in front of me is going to be weird.”