Against Rangers last weekend, the man of the match was Belgian… but it was not Nicolas Raskin. Rocky Bushiri has become a pillar of Hibernian and has a benchmark match; Walfoot.be was able to speak with him.
Rocky Bushiri had to show patience in his career, he who started very young, at 18, at KV Ostend. It was already in 2017 and subsequently, the former Belgian international in age teams (up to U21) signed in England, at Norwich City, after breaking through at AS Eupen.
From loan to loan, without having been able to play for Yellows in team A, Bushiri sets down his bags in Scotland, discreetly, in 2022. There, he convinces after a loan and is transferred permanently: 86 matches later, at 25 years old, Rocky Bushiri is an executive of Hibernian, club of Edinburgh which has just put the future of Philippe Clément at Rangers in great danger by snatching the share (3-3).
Hello Rocky. Your goal and assist against Rangers allowed Hibernian to take a point. I imagine this is your reference match since your arrival in Scotland?
Everyone knows the gap between the two Glasgow clubs and the rest of the championship, so it’s great to achieve that, that’s for sure. Now, I don’t know if we’ll talk about a reference match, just a good match, but it’s true that the statistics followed and highlighted it, so that’s nice.
A match which puts even more pressure on Philippe Clément and the Rangers…
For several years, Celtic have dominated the championship, that’s how it is… Rangers are trying to reduce the gap but they are cycles. The Old Firm victory calmed things down because it’s like us with Hearts of Midlothian: all that matters is beating them. But it’s true that Sunday’s match put the club back in trouble.
Do you know Clément and Nicolas Raskin a little?
Yes, I know Nicolas, we talk quite regularly, and I know coach Clément too, but there, after such a match, I was caught up in the celebrations, by the media, so I wasn’t really able to talk to them .
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Are you telling me that Hearts is your big rival?
Oh yes! These are the two Edinburgh clubs. All that matters is to beat them, if possible to finish ahead of them. It seems that even the year Hibernian went down, it wasn’t that bad because they beat Hearts of Midlothian (laughs). This year we won there, which hasn’t happened since 2019. The home game is on March 1st and if we can beat them, the season will almost be considered successful!
Hibernian is having a very good run, 6 games without defeat. That roughly corresponds to your return to the team…
One defeat in nine games, and the only defeat was at Celtic, whose level we know. But it remains very close, we certainly cannot believe we have arrived despite such a series. That said, it’s nice because we also won 4 victories in a row and the last time that happened was a long time ago. As for my personal case, I had to be patient. I can say it today, it was difficult to be put on the bench like that after having been considered an executive, but I worked, because everything moves very quickly in football. The proof…
I was told I had a Scottish accent!
Why were you placed on the bench? Is there a particular reason?
Let’s say that last season Hibernian underperformed and in these cases there is always a desire for change. There were a lot of transfers last summer, some players including me had a taste of the bench… But it didn’t work out, and so I rejoined the team.
Especially since as you say, you have become a Hibernian executive since 2022. After having a series of loans, I imagine that it feels good!
Stability has always been the objective, it was in spite of myself that I was unable to settle down somewhere. But when you are young and a central defender, you have to try, you have to learn, progress… Finally being calm is nice. Finally stop moving, too (smile).
So you have become a real Scotsman?
(laughs) I was recently told in an interview that I had a Scottish accent! At least some intonations. And when I go to the selection and I talk to the English speakers, they tell me that I use words and expressions that we only use in Scotland. I don’t realize it, of course!
What would be the level of Hibernian in Belgium? The Scottish level in general, where do you place it, you who played in the Pro League?
I never know how to answer this question… It’s really difficult to assess. There are several aspects. On a physical level, the impact, I believe it is not inferior to Belgium. It is rather at the tactical level that the difference is made. In Belgium, it is unthinkable for a coach to ask for kick & rush and long balls too systematically, a very direct game; we often try to build from behind. Here, it’s commonplace.
In terms of infrastructure, some clubs – the two in Glasgow, but also Hibernian – are very good, but we also see that when we go to more “modest” clubs (and I say this with all respect in the world) , it’s different. There, the infrastructure is less good, the pitch too, etc… Afterwards, to conclude, when the Scottish clubs meet the Belgian clubs, they are never ridiculous, like Kilmarnock or Hearts against Cercle recently.
A rumor sent you to Standard de Liège last summer… Was there any truth behind it?
(laughs) Every transfer window, there are rumors. I don’t pay attention to it. One thing is certain, it is that this rumor made my family happy, because my cousin plays at SL 16. Rabby Mateta, the captain of SL 16, is my aunt’s son. Concerning my future, I am at the end of my contract at the end of the season but I feel good here. The last few months have been the busiest of the season and Hibernian wanted to put that behind us before discussing a new contract; I expect we’ll talk about it soon.
Finally, a sadder subject: KV Ostend will disappear in 2024. I imagine that came as a shock to you.
A huge shock. I didn’t expect it at all. Ostend is “my” club, it’s where I trained, where I made my debut… I still had friends there. I still remember those European matches against Marseille, the Cup final not so long ago… As I said: things go very quickly in football and that’s still proof. It’s very sad.
