The Gambia will face Cameroon in the quarter-finals of the African Nations Cup today, Saturday, in a special match for the player Ibrima Darboe, who went through a perilous journey years ago in search of a dream that came true today.
Darboy, 20, who plays in the Italian club Roma, led by veteran Jose Mourinho, describes his life today as a dream that came true quickly when he recalls what he went through in the past years.
A six-month asylum journey ended with a perilous crossing of the Mediterranean before reaching a refugee camp in Italy.
Darboy's journey recounted some of its details in an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI), and said that the most difficult stage in it was when people smugglers detained him in Libya for more than a week, amid harsh conditions and inhumane treatment.
CAN 2022: le Gambien Darboe raconte son histoire, de migrant à joueur entraîné par Mourinho https://t.co/M2GfQpF2wI pic.twitter.com/dt5mO1Ef4r
— RFI (@RFI) January 27, 2022
The young player, who refused to think of returning after all the months he spent on his journey, was convinced that he would succeed in making a professional experience in the world of football.
In his dialogue, he confirms that his arrival to the European side of the Mediterranean represented the best moments of his life, and he remembers with gratitude the treatment he received in a refugee camp in which he resumed his studies, before he caught the attention of those interested in discovering talents in the world of football, who took him to a training center before arriving to sign a contract Professional with the Club of Rome.
Darboy admits that he did not believe at first that his coach would be Jose Mourinho, and said, “I was trembling and saying to myself: Is it true Mourinho, whom I watched years ago on television leading Real Madrid in the Clasico matches, I expected everything in my life except to be under the leadership of Mourinho.
The young player has played 11 matches in all competitions this season, and is preparing to participate in his seventh match with the Gambia team, which is looking to continue to shine against Cameroon, the host of the current African Nations Championship.