Best player of CAN 2024, Jean Ninou Diatta returns, in this interview with Record, to this 5th consecutive continental title won with the national team. The member of Ngor Almadies Beach Soccer emphasizes that the only thing missing from their list of achievements is the World Cup. He did not forget to inform that he will leave the DUC for another Ligue 2 club, ASC Cambérène which guided his first steps in eleven-a-side football.
You have just won your 8th CAN, the 5th for your personal account…
I give thanks to my parents (one is alive, the other is no more, editor’s note) and to my family. I am on my 5th CAN won, Alhamdoulilah. I have won all 5 CANs I have participated in since I joined the team in 2016.
What was decisive in your triumph after missing your debut in Egypt?
We were touched in our pride after this opening defeat against Mauritania. This first lost match boosted us with the coach who re-mobilized the group with the speech of a great coach. He motivated us and reminded us of our values. This is what made the rest easier for us.
Young people put pressure on certain executives to send them into retirement…
We executives feel good with the new ones. Beach soccer is a family. We let new people who join us know this. There’s no problem, we’re all brothers and friends. Especially since we know each other because we pass each other daily on the sand football fields.
The national team had won the CAN 7 times. What was your motivation to get this 8th grade?
We said to ourselves that the first World Cup on our continent (the Seychelles organizing country, editor’s note), we must not miss it. We couldn’t imagine a World Cup on our continent without us. For us, it was impossible. This is the reason why we worked hard to qualify for the final. Now, as we usually say, a final doesn’t matter, it has to be won.
So your next goal is probably the World Cup?
Our goal, my partners and I, is the World Cup, just that. That’s our concern. We no longer have anything to prove in Africa. Senegal has done a lot for us. So all we want to do is give him the World Cup.
You are the current best footballer at national and continental level. What does this inspire you?
I left Golf to come and establish myself in Ngor with an exceptional season. My best season since I started playing beach soccer. We played 15 matches in all competitions, championship and cup, all of which we won. I was the best player in the championship and the African Cup thanks to my club and national team partners. I take this opportunity to give a nod to my club partners and my friends, my buddies, for advice.
We know that you are also active in eleven-a-side football. Which club do you play in?
In eleven-a-side football, I played at DUC but this year I will return to square one, ASC Cambérène where I started as a junior. They are the first to trust me, especially since the coach, the president and the players are all my friends. I won’t be disappointed. When I left it was still amateurism, there was no motivation. Now, with the new leaders, it’s good.
What is the difference between eleven-a-side football and beach soccer?
The difference between beach soccer and grass football, which we call eleven-a-side football, is the regulations and also the fact that in five-a-side football or sand football, there is no respite, we run during the whole match, non-stop. Any stoppage costs dearly. On the other hand, in eleven-a-side football, the player is free to hide to rest or walk while others play.
How do you manage to combine eleven-a-side football and sand football?
It all depends on the period, the issues and many things. If there is no international competition or regrouping with the national team, we make arrangements with our coaches, depending on the importance of the match, whether in eleven-a-side football or sand football. It’s not very complicated, it’s just an organizational problem.
