7 March 2011
Former world youth best player Dominic Adiyiah is attempting to revive his career after securing a loan deal with Serbian giants Partizan Belgrade.
The striker was hailed as the next big thing to hit African football after helping Ghana to win the U20 World Cup in 2009.
He finished as the top scorer of the tournament held in Egypt and his performance earned him the world best youth player award.
His sterling showing that helped to give Africa its first U20 World Cup title attracted the star-studded AC Milan who signed him.
Adiyiah arrived at the Italian Serie A giants where his career was expected to truly take off but a combinations of factors hindered his progress.
His quest for regular playing time took him to Serie B side Reggina on loan but there too opportunities were few and far between.
He recently opted to join Partizan on loan to gain playing time and the initial signs are promising for a youngster whose career showed true promise.
Adiyiah has scored four goals in six friendly appearances for the Belgrade side and with the league set to resume this week, expectations are high.
MTNFootball.com caught up with Adiyiah in Serbia to seek some answers to some of the burning questions in his young football career.
MTN: How are you settling down at your new club Partizan Belgrade?
DA: Everything is going on well and smooth. Since I came here when the winter transfer window shut, things have been going on smoothly for me.
The clubs management, coaches, team officials, team-mates and fans have been very welcoming to me. Crucially, I have my senior brother here Prince Tagoe with who I play with in the Ghana national team to share ideas and take advice when I need it both on the pitch and off the pitch.
So this has made me settle down well, I am enjoying my training sessions at this great club with a great tradition and I hope I can achieve things here.
MTN: Some people have said that taking a move from a top league like the Serie A and Serie B to play in Serbia is a backward move. What do you think?
DA: I think they are utterly wrong. The Italian Serie A is a bigger league in profile than the Serbian league but the quality of the Serbian league is also huge.
Some of the great players in the world today have played in this very competitive league before going on to play for great clubs. A perfect example is Vidic of Manchester United. If he used to play here with many other players with good quality like him it must tell you that there is something special happening in the Serbian league.
The Serbian league has provided some of the hottest challenges in the Uefa Champions League so to berate the league like that is unfair. Apart from this I came here to play for Partizan for regular football so that I can keep and nurture the talent that God has given me rather than sitting on the bench in a big Serie A club like AC Milan with no regular action.
In doing that my talent and potential will never be fulfilled thats why I decided to come. The more I play matches, the more I continue to develop to realize my potential and main my match fitness.
MTN: If you say you want regular playing time then your decision of joining AC Milan in 2009 was a mistake when other teams were chasing you too as well.
DA: With hindsight someone would be tempted to this conclusion but I disagree. How many players in this world would not jump at the opportunity of playing for AC Milan?
You would have been singing a different story now if I had played regularly at AC Milan and banging in the goals. I did not have any playing time there for my potential to be seen and that was the problem.
MTN: But when you were signing for AC Milan you knew there were experienced players there like Ronaldinho, Inzhagi and the rest who would be preferred ahead of you, yet you signed for them.
DA: I dont take a defeatist attitude in my life therefore I wanted to go in there and fight for place even though I knew the other experienced and top senior players were there.
I wanted to go there to fight and in life it is only when you take on big challenges that you can become great. Thats why I went there to fight for a place and show the coaches what I am capable of doing.
MTN: Why didnt you succeed in that quest to take on the Inzaghis and the Ronaldinhos to seize a first team place at AC Milan?
DA: There were many factors that conspired against me and the first one was the number of foreign players at the club. AC Milan were allowed to use only three foreign players in a game and with most of the established players foreigners my opportunities were severely affected.
Also as this went on coach Leonardo continued to build my confidence by insisting my time would come.
When David Beckham arrived it worsened by plight because as an experienced senior player it was extremely difficult for them to drop him for me. It was then that I realized that I must move on loan to get playing time so that I can stay in top shape. I was always with the first team called for camp but the sticking point was the foreign-player rule.
MTN: You were sent on loan to Serie B side Reggina and you had little playing time there too. What was the problem?
DA: I think for this question the coach there can offer the best answer because I did my best in training but when it came to matches I was ignored.
The only time I had the chance to start, I scored and I was expecting that I would be given more opportunities in subsequent matches but surprisingly in the next game I was not even part of the team called to camp. That was when I started talks with AC Milan about playing regularly and I think this is why I have been brought here to Partizan.
MTN: What do you hope to achieve here at Partizan?
DA: I want to help the club to win the Serbian league title by the end of the season so that we can play in Champions League next season.
Secondly I was to continue to build on my form by playing regular competitive football.
MTN: Recently we saw you in fantastic form for Ghana when you played Togo in a friendly. You scored, set up another and ruffled the Togolese defenders. What accounts for this?
DA: I think getting some playing time from Partizan even though friendlies has helped me a lot to rediscover my sharpness and aggressiveness.
Also it was the first opportunity I have had in playing most parts of the game with the Black Stars because under previous coach Mr. Rajevac opportunities were limited because we played with only one striker and with Asamoah Gyan in good form it was difficult.
But our new coach Mr. Stevanovic has shown that he wants to play with two or more strikers and that means there will be more opportunities for the other strikers in the Black Stars to serve their country and show what they can do.
MTN: What do you make of the new Black Stars coach Goran Stevanovic after meeting him for the first time?
DA: In one word fantastic. I think he is the perfect man to replace Mr. Rajevac after some much success was achieved under the previous coach.
His training methods are positively different from Mr Rajevac and I hope from what me and my colleagues have seen it continues this way for Ghana to continue with success.
MTN: How different is Stevanovic from Rajevac?
DA: Clearly it is the tactics. Stevanovic is more attacking minded but also talks strongly about defending wisely. I think that under our new coach we will see more goals and more entertainment from the Black Stars like we did when beating Togo 4-1.
MTN: Do you think Rajevacs tactics was negative?
DA: Nope. The tactics was right to bring us the desired results and thats what matters in football.
MTN: Your next Ghana game is against Congo in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. What would be the best outcome for the Black Stars?
DA: We have only one option and that is we must win. I emphasize that we must because if we want to qualify for the Nations Cup we must win that game so that we can be in a good position for the rest of the matches.
MTN: Ghana will play England there days after the Congo game. What do you think of that historic game?
DA: First with the Congo game which is an important qualifier, we must concentrate on the Congolese rather than the England game. We need the points and thats what our supporters must focus on.
I am happy to say that all the Black Stars players know that Congo is first top priority. We will take care of England after Congo.
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