Ismaël Koné does not hide it, his biggest dream has always been to play in Europe. He will achieve it at the beginning of 2023, but before that, he wanted to give thanks to the city that propelled him to the top.
It all happened at once for the 20-year-old prodigy. Participation in the World Cup with the Canadian team and the simultaneous announcement of his transfer to the Watford club, in the English second division.
“A lot has happened in a year and a half,” the midfielder revealed during his last press conference as a member of CF Montreal on Thursday afternoon.
Koné was a real revelation for Montrealers and they adopted him from the start in the blue, white and black uniform.
He stressed that Watford’s offer had been on the table for a long time, but like his team-mate Djordje Mihailovic, he wanted to finish what he started with CFM.
I had blocked everything, because I was involved with Montreal and I wanted to finish the season here.
Ismael Kone
Koné was a free spirit before joining the club. He never made it to the Academy, but he still worked his way into the starting lineup and even into the national team that traveled to Qatar to play in the World Cup.
The Ivory Coast-born wanted to give a lot of credit to his former coach Wilfried Nancy, who also left the club in the last few days in the direction of Columbus. He describes his influence as “enormous”.
“He was tough, but I needed to see things, whether tactically on the pitch or off. »
Koné is proud to have been able to help give hope for a first championship in Montreal.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Ismaël Koné (with the black jersey)
He recalls that it had been complicated for the team at the start of the season. In search of rhythm, she accumulated defeats, but something clicked. Then everything changed. “We always believed in what we wanted to do and especially in what we were capable of doing,” he said, leaning his back against his chair, as if out of satisfaction. Developing and winning game after game, especially with style. […] We showed people that we were a great team and that there is[vait] football in Montreal. »
The right project
Koné was all smiles when commenting on his transfer to the Old Continent. He said he always wanted to play in Europe, because that’s where you find the biggest leagues and the Champions League.
“I’m extremely proud of myself,” he said. Joining Watford was for him “the right project”: “I wanted to go to a club that really wanted me, with my faults and my qualities. »
Koné is one of the few Quebecers to be able to boast of evolving in such a strong division and of having aroused so much interest internationally. Now, anything is possible for him, at just 20 years old. “It’s a huge responsibility and I’m happy to have it,” he says of the young people here who will take him as a role model from now on. I hope that young people who watch me can live their dream through me. »
PHOTO THAIER AL-SUDANI, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Ismaël Koné with the Canadian team
The other dream
The Notre-Dame-de-Grâce athlete realized another dream in November. That of treading the field with the Canadian jersey at the World Cup.
The result was not as expected, he concedes, but “it was fantastic”. Although Canada lost in each of its three games, he believes that “we should be proud of what we did. We showed character and what we were capable of. This bodes well for 2026.”
After all, he says, “we all experienced something that no one had experienced”.
For now, Koné will take a few days off to recover from his emotions before flying to the land of the Beatles, where he can write his own story.