Through the columns of La Gazzetta dello Sport Cedric GondoIvorian striker of Reggianatalked about his experience in the world of football. Started on the streets of Ivory Coast. “I was born and raised in Ivory Coast – he says -, we had nothing, yet we were happy. I played in the street with my brothers. We used stones to draw the goals and rejoiced at every goal. I decided that I would become a player by watching Drogba’s speech on TV. In those years there was civil war in our country, he dragged the Ivory Coast to their first historic qualification for the World Cup. Then from the locker room he made an appeal to stop the clashes. He was listened to. That episode enlightened me.”
Then the arrival in Italy: “It wasn’t easy. At 14 you dream of becoming a player, then you find yourself on television and people stop you to ask for photos. Psychologically I wasn’t ready. If I went back I wouldn’t do it again. But that situation helped me manage the daily pressures. It wasn’t easy, they welcomed me very well. I always say that this country was a salvation, faith helped me.”
Space for a thought on the moment of training today in the hands of William Avenues: “Against Bari we picked it up at the end. In the match against Catanzaro we came back from 2-0 to 2-2. We told ourselves that we shouldn’t give up. The season is still long, we want salvation. We attackers have to create more chances and help the rest of the group defend when not in possession. We need more concreteness up front, we create a lot but we can’t finish. We need to suffer together and start again. Vido scored a brace against Frosinone and then stopped, Okwonkwo missed the last three. Now Captain Rozzio is also out. It’s not an alibi, we are still a team that can give everyone a hard time.”