Cho: “I learned to stay positive, have perseverance and determination.”

tonight, Momo Cho He is out of Nice’s squad due to injury and will therefore not be able to face his former club Real Sociedad.

On the occasion of the meeting between the two teams, L’Equipe spoke to the young French international, who spoke about his experiences with Real and Donostia: “I played two professional seasons at Angers and it went very well. I played there for a few seasons. There were options and projects, but at the time the one from Real Sociedad suited me best.”

He fondly remembers his time in the city, adding, “It’s very beautiful, with the beaches and everything, it’s a small, quiet, peaceful city, it was a nice change compared to Paris or London. The welcome was great. I was very impressed with the presentation they gave me when I arrived. People were not closed off, they were very cooperative and very welcoming to foreigners.”

The winger also stressed the importance of English language skills to quickly integrate: “That was the basics. After that it’s always good to discover new cultures. I love learning new things, like Basque culture and restaurants.” And when asked what food surprised him the most, he answers without hesitation: chilli peppers: “I ate them every day. They were incredibly delicious,” he enthused.

When he recalls his arrival in Zubieta, he does not hesitate to talk about what influenced him the most:David SilvaAbsolutely. He never lost the ball, he amazed me from the first training session. His vision of the game, his technique, everything. He was the oldest and we all respected him a lot. Even though we couldn’t speak much, he was very kind and spoke to us in English, which helped us a lot. “

Cho He explained that he had a good start in the team, “I had time. At the beginning we played 4-4-2 and I took one of the forward positions, like in Angers. Sometimes we played with three and me.” I moved to the left wing. I had more freedom in attack and could swap positions. One of my best games was against Atlético, where I provided an assist. Umar Sadiq“

The beginning of the injury

But injuries began to complicate things. “I hurt my hamstring and after three or four weeks of recovery I hurt it again. It was the first time I’d ever been injured like this. It just happened. There’s not much you can do. I’m back.” After the World Cup, he said: “I managed to score my first goal, but then I hurt my ankle during training. It was a blow and something I couldn’t control. It’s difficult in the moment, but you don’t have time to recover. When you’re down, football moves fast.”

One of the highlights of his return was Real’s historic win at Camp Nou.”Imanol He didn’t say anything special to me before the match. We had a set-piece rehearsal the day before and I was in the starting eleven. The match came and we won. “It was unbelievable.”

Campaign 2

However, the next season did not start so well: “During the preseason everything was fine, I was feeling good, but when the league started the coach made a different decision. It was difficult because I wanted to play, but I tried to be patient. My plan was to play regularly and when. I realized that this was no longer possible, so I looked for a new project that would give me exactly what I was looking for. “

When asked what he learned during his time at Real Madrid, he replied: Cho “Without a doubt, I have grown a lot. I have learned to have perseverance, resilience and the determination to always come back even when injured. I continue to stay positive, you can’t change the negative feelings, the important thing is to move,” the forward said. “In addition, he acknowledged that he has also grown technically, saying: “Because league football is fast-moving, I have made great progress in terms of control and passing and I have become more and more calm with the ball.”

Despite his departure, he has no regrets about his time at Real Sociedad: “I was in no rush to leave there. Coming to Nice was a good decision, but at Donostia I learned a lot, both as a person and on a footballing level. It was interesting when I found out we would be playing against Real in Europe. I still keep in contact with them. Hamari Traore and Umar SadiqHe was a great friend.”

Finally, Cho He does not hesitate to highlight key players from his former team: “Martin Zvimendi“He’s under the radar, but he’s very powerful. He’s been training at Real since he was young, he’s unassuming, but when you see him play live… he’s really impressive.”