Keïta speaks from Bremen limbo: "I have a few more years to give to football."
| Photo: SV Werder Bremen |
After deliberately turning down his last chance to leave the German club at which he has no sporting prospects, SV Werder Bremen flop Naby Keïta has been training with Bremen's U23s since mid-September. The Guinean international doesn't presently feature with Bremen II in the fourth-tier northern Regionalliga, but - like many footballers who find themselves in limbo - received permission to keep fit with the reserves until his footballing situation can be sorted out.
Now, for the first time this season, Keïta conducted an interview about his current situation. Speaking to Britain's "The Guardian" newspaper, the 29-year-old revealed that he apologized to his teammates following the high-profile incident last season that saw him abandon the professionals in the middle of a top flight fixture. Even prior to that, the captain of West Africa's "Syli National" maintained little hope of featuring for his German club team. Zero hope of a comeback exists now.
“We can have to talk about the incident, but everyone who knows me knows that I am a professional and not undisciplined,” Keïta told the British paper, ”Despite everything, I apologized to the group before last season ended, because we are all human and no one is perfect. Wherever I played - Salzburg Leipzig, Liverpool, I always tried to behave in an exemplary manner.“
"I chose Bremen because I already know Germany and could get playing time," Keïta said when it came time to look back at his surprise decision to move to the Hanseaten in the summer of 2023, "Besides, the coach and the management convinced me. If I had wanted the money, I would have signed somewhere other than Bremen.”
“It's out of my hands,” the Guinean skipper said of his current situation, ”I train with them [the Bremen U23s] and help the young players while I wait for things to change for the better. I feel great. The day I feel my body can't keep up, I'll stop. But right now I feel good. I have a few more years to give to football.”