The sudden emergence of Assane Diao, a 'box to box' at Villamarín

The CP website. Flecha Negra de Badajoz is not yet updated. In the “Professional Players” section there are Fernando Pacheco, goalkeeper of RCD Espanyol, or Javi Galán, left-back of Atlético de Madrid, but no sign of Assane Diao, the new star of Real Betis Balompié.

Searching their photo galleries, with the recognizable white shirt of the Extremaduran club, we found an image of the Spaniard born in Senegal. Alevín C. 2015/2016 season. And a smile identical to the one he showed the other day very close to there, at the Villanovense Municipal Stadium, when his team defeated the locals in the Copa del Rey with two goals in the last minutes.. That night the Betis fans were embraced with relief and anger.

Assane Diao Diaoune (Ndongane, Senegal; 2005) became the second youngest footballer in history to score two goals in his first two games in the First Division on the eighth day of the League. In only two appearances, with the number 38, against Granada and Valencia, the winger earned a place in Manuel Pellegrini's schemes. Since September, 590 minutes in the League, 181 in the Europa League and four games with the Spanish under-21 team. Conclusive data for just a beginner.

“What do you feed them?”

“He hasn't gotten anywhere yet,” his mother said when the media asked her about Assane.. “Sometimes going up suddenly is not good, it is better to be patient,” replied his father, Mossa, a Senegalese who arrived in Spain by jumping the Ceuta fence in 1996 after passing through Libya, Tunisia and Morocco.

“What do you feed them?” they asked Mossa when he took his children to training. They always stood out on their teams for their play and strength. But at home they always contained the euphoria. They are a working family where the soccer routine was contingent on good academic performance. In fact, Assane is enrolled at the University and is studying Teaching in parallel with his professionalization in the green and white team.

Assane Diao stands out for his physique, his speed and his punch. 1.85 tall. Verticality and self-confidence. «He started as a center back in 7-a-side football, but he rose a lot. He liked to go to the opposite goal. So the coach started trying him as a midfielder and he stood out there. Box to box type. In fact, Betis signed him for midfield, but upon seeing his stride and shot, they brought him closer to the area. And he stayed up there,” says one of his training technicians.

“a slump is normal”

«He is polite, he is receptive, he is a very intelligent boy. “He has always been far ahead of what he was supposed to offer at his age,” they say from Betis. «He has a twin brother, who plays for the Cádiz youth team. But he is separated, because he does not want to renew,” they add. Perhaps we will soon be able to see Usse Diao in the youth ranks of the Heliopolitan club, as we already saw Yassin Fekir, Nabil's brother. In Seville there is already talk of the interest of English football in the player, and even of Real Madrid, who will visit Benito Villamarín today. «Assane had a lot of impact and a drop in performance is normal. “What he is doing is very good,” said his coach, after a few games with less presence in his team's game.

But at the club they know that their football will have a long way to go and Assane, the son of a Senegalese tinker with his feet on the ground who only wants his children to study, will be important for the shield of the thirteen bars.