Former Juventus midfielder Momo Sissoko reveals he wanted to play for the club from an early age and leaving for Paris Saint-Germain was a mistake.
Speaking to Il Posticipo, Sissoko recounted his lengthy career around Europe and in particular, a period spent in the black and white of Juventus.
Was playing in Italy a dream of yours?
“Yes, I have always dreamed of playing at Juventus. When I was young I liked Alessandro Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane so much: in France all young people like me were fans of Zizou. When the opportunity to play for Juve came, I immediately said yes. I am happy to have done it, I am proud to have played with great players like Pavel Nedved, Mauro Camoranesi, David Trezeguet, Fabio Cannavaro, Fabio Grosso and Vincenzo Iaquinta. I recently stopped playing, but if I look back and think back on what I did, I tell myself that it was really fantastic. I had a beautiful career, today I’m happy.”
What did Ranieri say to you when you met in Turin?
“He greeted me and told me that I was welcome at Juve. In Turin, Mr. Ranieri treated me as in Valencia: always very well.”
In the March 2009 derby you injured your foot: did that injury affect your career?
“Yes, absolutely: it was a very hard injury, it was really difficult to recover. At that moment it was a difficult thing to accept: I was playing well, that injury destroyed me and conditioned me. Then I went to PSG, but I wasn’t 100% fit.”
Do you have any regrets about how things went at Juve? Would you have liked to stay in Turin?
“I have regrets. I regret having left: at Juve I was very well, I was becoming a very important player. With Delneri, however, I played very little, so I chose to leave. If I could go back I would never leave Juve to go to the PSG: this is the truth.”
