On Tuesday, the new player of Vojvodina, Yves Baraye, joined his new teammates in the preparations in Slovenia, and practically only two hours after he arrived, he ran onto the field for the first time in the equipment of the Old Lady. In the beginning, he worked separately from the team and under the supervision of Voša’s fitness coaches, but already today he trained together with other teammates, so it is certain that he will soon compete equally for the Red and Whites.
According to him, everything is going well for now, and he can’t wait to get a chance to play.
– Preparations for me are going well for now. The coaching staff is working with me slowly, because my condition is not at its maximum at the moment. After the end of last season, I was in Senegal for two or three weeks, where I didn’t train, so I need some time to get back in top form. At the moment, I can’t say when it will be, but I know that I will definitely need two or three games to catch the rhythm. I would like it to be as soon as possible and I hope that I will get the opportunity to play at least a little against Koper, but we will see what the coach’s ideas will be – says Baraye.
For now, he has only words of praise for Milan Rastavac and his new teammates.
– It seems to me that our coach is very good and I see that he is calm, which I like, because then I know that he is someone who is confident in himself and knows what he is doing. I also like the ideas in the game that we practice in training, and everyone from the coaching staff is very kind to me and tries to help me. The players also accepted me very well, although we have a little problem in communication, because I don’t speak English well, only Italian and French. Fortunately, Đorđević and Veljko Simić speak Italian, so that helps me. I will work on improving my English and I believe that in two or three months there will be no problems – Baraye points out.
The new player from Vojvodina comes from Senegal and is very attached to his homeland.
– Since I am from Senegal, for me Senegal is the best country in the world. But even so, I think it’s a very special country. People are generally very cordial and smiling, although they may not live as well as in some European countries. Simply, whenever I’m there, I can’t be sad – says Baraye.
He left his country very early, when he moved to the younger categories of Olympique de Marseille, although that period was not easy for him at all.
– I started playing football on the street, like everyone in Senegal. Only later, a football school opened in my place, where I enrolled and from which I later, when I was 15, went to Marseille. Honestly, when I went there, it was very difficult for me and I was sad, because I missed my parents, family, friends… I was in Marseille for a year and we even won the title in the younger categories, but I was still sad, because during that time, my family literally never had the opportunity to visit me, and that was all I wanted then. Later, I moved from Marseille to Udinese and it was easier for me there, because then they could come to visit me. I stayed there for the next three years – Baraye emphasizes.
He stayed in Italy for a long time, because, after Udinese, he played for Lumezzane, Chievo, Juve Stabia, Torres, and then in 2015 he moved to Parma, whose player he remained until 2020.
– The period spent in Parma was really the best in my career so far. In the first four years, we came from Serie D to Serie A, and during that time I played over 90 games and scored 30 goals. It was really nice and everything went great, and the fans adored me. However, after that first season in Serie A, I wanted to return to France and I had very good offers, but the club did not want to let me go, which is why I was not satisfied. That is why they sent me on loan, first to Padova, and then to Gil Vicente, with whom I later signed a contract – Baraye points out.
When it was announced in the Serbian public that he would become the new player of Vojvodina, a photo of him in a Parma jersey, but with a phantom on his head, appeared in many media.
– One evening we went to dinner with the fans, at their invitation, and on that occasion the fans gave me a phantom. As a sign of my gratitude to them, I dressed that phantom in the first next game in which I scored a goal, which they did not expect at all, but they were thrilled by the move – says Baraye.
Although he has not yet made his debut for the Old Lady, the fans of Vojvodina were also very happy with his arrival, who are looking forward to seeing him on the field.
– I am a player who always gives the maximum, and I help the team with my dribbles, speed, assists, goals… I want to help the team win and play well, that is, for Vojvodina to achieve its goals. I think that we should not be satisfied with the second or third place in advance, but that we should go to the first place, so let it be as it is. In any case, the fans can expect that I will always do my best – said Baraye.
