It’s amazing what can happen in the space of a year if Iddrisu Baba’s example is anything to go by. Rewind exactly 365 days to the matchweek in which this magazine has been published, and a fresh-faced academy graduate in his first year of senior football at RCD Mallorca replaced Salva Sevilla in the 89th minute of a 1-0 win at Málaga CF in the Segunda División. Little did the midfielder know, this would be one of the last games he would have to watch the majority of from the sidelines.
Since then, Baba has missed just four league fixtures, started all of the 25 appearances he has made in La Liga so far this term and even earned himself a first call-up to the Ghanaian national side. Never one to settle on what he has achieved, an enforced respite to competitive football due to the Covid-19 outbreak has finally given our midfielder pause for reflection.
“I think I’ve improved because it depends on the number of games I’ve played,” he told RCD Magazine. “I think that says a lot. Comparing this season to last season, this season has been great. If I want to be a part of this team all the time, I have to do even more than what I’m doing now. Every season there is new talent, so you have to be there as the competition goes on.
“I’d like to say a big thank you to Vicente Moreno for that credibility and trust he has given me, but I think there’s still room for improvement. It’s my first season really and I’m trying to get used to everything still. I think there’s still room for improvement so I would like to say thanks to him. As for the rest, I have to put in more effort if I want to sustain or go even further than that level of confidence he has given me.”
This interview has been taken from the next edition of the RCDMagazine, while you can read last week's issue written entirely in English here.
