Isaac Babadi: ”I feel a deep responsibility to go far in my career”
Laughter is never far away with Isaac Bababi, the 19-year-old PSV player eagerly hoping for his big breakthrough. Real Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger serves as an inspiration, while his recent visit to Sierra Leone, the country of his parents, has left him longing for more.
”I’m the youngest in the family, and my older brother, who’s 28, has always looked out for me. He’s someone I really look up to. He used to play football too and followed the same path as me—from our amateur club to the NEC youth academy. I used to watch all his matches. He was a defender, and even though I’m more attack-minded, I’ve learned so much from him.”
”Samuel always encouraged me to work on becoming as two-footed as possible. I took that advice seriously, and now it’s one of my strengths. I’ve always been self-driven, so he never had to push me to improve daily. At one point, he decided to become my agent, giving up his own football career for me. You could say he sacrificed himself for my future.”
”When I was younger, it gave me a lot of confidence to see him on the sidelines, watching my games. That family bond is unbreakable. Now, I feel a deep responsibility to go far in my career—not just for myself, but for my family. From the moment football became more serious for me, I’ve always known I wanted to be the one who could take care of them.”
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