Moussa Dembélé: ‘Football has taught me to be a better human being’
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
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Moussa Dembélé returns to the city where he learnt to play football as Celtic FC prepare to play Paris Saint-Germain FC.
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Football has been "a pleasure" for Celtic FC striker Moussa Dembélé ever since he first played with the other kids on the housing estate where he was raised. "I love everything about football," he said. "I learned almost everything I know through football. It taught me a lot of things in terms of being a man and a human being, as well as a footballer. It really means a lot to me."
Having grown up in a disadvantaged Paris suburb idolising the likes of Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho, the 21-year-old has become one of the most exciting young forwards on the continent, and says it was Nicolas Anelka who he always wanted to emulate.
"I saw myself in him as a player – a young man from the banlieue who did everything to succeed," he said. "He is a man and a player who I really admire. All the young people here in the banlieue wanted to have a career like his, even though it's not an easy path."
Dembélé's path has been a circuitous one. A trainee at Paris Saint-Germain FC, he took a brave step in moving to London as a teenager to join Fulham FC.
"I was 15, going on 16, and yes, it was an important decision for me and especially for my family," he remembered. "For my mother and father, having their child leave home at 16 is not easy. It was a difficult decision to take but I took it. I knew it was good for me, for my future, and I was proved to be right many times."
Adapting to a new life in London was tough, but Dembélé was helped by having his brother with him, but it was the universal language of football which helped him to truly feel at home.
"Football gives you something in common which makes people understand each other," he explained. "Football is the reason that I moved from Paris in the first place and it's thanks to football and myself that I am where I am now."
Since leaving Fulham to join the Scottish giants, Dembélé's career has gone from strength to strength. Injuries hampered his progress this season, but he finally managed to get an extended run on the pitch in the UEFA Champions League against FC Bayern München.
Next up for the 21-year-old will be a trip to the French capital, where he will lock horns with the club where he started out his career – Paris Saint-Germain.
"It's a game like any other, against an important team, where I have to be focused," Dembélé insisted, though he conceded: "It would be good for me and my family to go back to the stadium and club where I grew up as a player and where I learned everything and…. It will be a pleasure to see the old Parc [des Princes] again."
The Frenchman experienced the notable high of scoring two goals against Manchester City FC in the UEFA Champions League in September 2016, which he described as "a magic moment", but it was one of the club’s biggest lows – the 7-0 loss against FC Barcelona two weeks earlier – where Dembélé learned the most.
"I learned a lot," he admitted. "We experienced Barca, their game, their quality. For the players, for us, it was rough to have seven goals against us, but that gave us an incentive for future games, and for me, as a player, I saw what it took to be the best."
Dembélé's talents have drawn praise from numerous circles. French legend Zinédine Zidane is one admirer and believes his fellow countryman has the talent to be as good as Ronaldo or Raúl González, saying: "I have played with the greatest strikers, Ronaldo, Henry, Raúl, and you knew on the biggest occasions they would win you games – and Dembélé is already showing that. I do understand now that the biggest clubs in Europe are being linked with him and that will be his destination eventually – but my advice now is ignore it all."
The 21-year-old was flattered by the Real Madrid CF coach's comments and they are a perfect motivation to keep on improving.
"It means a lot to me when a legend - because Zidane is a legend - praises and makes positive comments about me," Dembélé admitted. "It's good. I was pleased but at first I was shocked to hear that. The fact that my work is not something that goes unnoticed, and the fact that a legend like Zidane speaks like that of me, my football ability and especially my future, gives you an incentive to wake up in the morning and do a better job than others, and get where I want to be."
Dembélé has a glittering career ahead of him and has already played in a number of memorable matches in Scotland and England, but none have entirely eclipsed the memory of a match from back in his childhood.
"It was my street corner against another street corner," he remembered excitedly. "We won 10-9, and I think I ended up scoring ten goals. Ten goals! Ten goals! When you're young and playing against another neighbourhood, that's important. It's important to win such games. It's a great memory from when I was young. A great memory of street football."