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Blackpool Gazette
  • 3 years ago
In this episode we are joined by Seasiders striker Kylian Kouassi, who made the move to Bloomfield Road from Sutton United during the summer.

The striker discusses his current spell on the sidelines, the Ivory Coast legend he idolises, and his original position before becoming a forward.

Photo credit: CameraSport/Dave Howarth

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Sports
Transcript
00:00 Hello, welcome to the Football First podcast,
00:02 which are all about memories of a beautiful game.
00:04 In this episode, I'm joined by Kieran Karate.
00:07 How are you doing, mate?
00:08 - Doing very well, how are you doing?
00:09 - I'm not too bad at all.
00:11 Now, we're recording this at halftime of the FA Cup game
00:13 between Forest Green and the Seasiders.
00:15 Of course, you're not involved because of injury at the moment.
00:17 How are you doing? How's the recovery going?
00:20 - Recovery's going well at the moment.
00:22 I just feel like I'm finding it at ease, you know,
00:26 my first injury.
00:27 So, you know, the boys are making it easy for me.
00:30 So, just taking it step by step and just enjoying the process of it.
00:35 - I guess it's frustrating for you, obviously,
00:36 you're someone who loves being out there,
00:38 just having to sit on the sidelines for a little bit
00:40 and missing out on training and all that stuff as well.
00:43 - Yeah, I have to say it's really hard to actually not, you know,
00:48 not try and focus to get back on the pitch.
00:50 But, you know, just got to take it step by step.
00:53 And, you know, once I overcome this,
00:56 hopefully be back shortly.
00:58 - Well, we'll get into your football first now.
01:00 And best place to start is, what is your first memory of the game?
01:03 Is there anything that stands out?
01:04 - I'll say...
01:07 Very well, but to be fair, I'll say around the age of, I'll say six, seven.
01:13 I remember playing in the park with my dad, you know,
01:15 just kicking the ball as every football fan would be doing at a young age.
01:19 And I think that's when I fell in love with the game.
01:24 Yeah.
01:25 - Which had a big influence for you.
01:26 Was he pushing football down your throat a little bit,
01:28 saying, "Go on, get into it, kick this ball up"?
01:30 - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:31 He was pushing me, especially from a very, very young age.
01:35 I'll say he always wanted the best, kept pushing me.
01:37 And, you know, to this day, he's still pushing me.
01:40 But, you know, he's always there to give me advice,
01:44 not just from my dad, but from family, from, you know,
01:47 mum, sisters, you know, friends.
01:49 They've always been there to give me advice.
01:51 And, you know, it's been a pleasure to keep on doing it.
01:56 - When did you start playing in a team?
01:57 And did you sort of realise straight away, "I'm all right at this,
02:01 I could maybe go, I could go far"?
02:03 - I'll say it started around school, school times,
02:07 when I used to, you know, be in school at a young age,
02:10 I used to play for the school football team.
02:13 And, yeah, I was a midfielder then, actually, to be fair.
02:17 I enjoyed going box to box, you know,
02:19 just getting into tackles.
02:21 And, yeah, I enjoyed it from there.
02:24 Started from school and, you know, until now, I'm still playing.
02:28 - What happened there?
02:29 Because usually footballers maybe play striker at school
02:31 and then work their way back.
02:32 So what happened there? You went from midfielder to up front?
02:34 - Yeah.
02:36 I'll say there was a coach in particular that, you know,
02:41 told me I'm just too far much better at playing at midfield,
02:45 I should play up top.
02:47 I think he recognised my power, you know, he recognised my strengths
02:50 and what I was really good at.
02:53 I remember playing my first time at a striker, it wasn't easy.
02:56 But, you know, as a big guy, it was just, you know,
02:59 just adapting to how to play up there.
03:01 And then from then I just started.
03:03 - Yeah, you've always been physically powerful then, always in and amongst it.
03:06 - Yeah, literally, you know, just playing to your strengths.
03:10 Yeah, literally.
03:11 And now I'm just here, just trying to, you know, get better at it,
03:16 you know, I know my weaknesses, I know my strengths,
03:18 but it's just getting better at it and just keep going.
03:22 - So, as a young player, everyone enjoys a boot.
03:25 Getting that first pair of boots, do you remember what you got?
03:29 - My first pair of boots?
03:33 My first pair of boots, I think, to my knowledge,
03:37 I think it was the Mercurio Superfly, or Vapour Superfly, I think.
03:41 I think it was Monte Carlo, Cristiano Ronaldo, I just thought they were boots.
03:44 Yeah, I think that's my first ever boot.
03:47 - Are you a Monte Carlo fan, or do you prefer simple, either black or white?
03:51 - Oh, now I've changed, I'm a simple black and white knee.
03:55 I don't really like too much colours, but black and white would do me.
03:59 - I know, like, ten years ago, you were all in pink and oranges,
04:01 then you're always in junk, you're wearing pink,
04:03 then you're always in yellow, you're wearing...
04:05 - Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've seen it, I've got a couple,
04:07 no, there's a couple of lads that wear colourful boots,
04:09 and, you know, when you're wearing coloured boots,
04:12 to the outside world, it just looks like you're out there trying to make a statement,
04:17 but, you know, for me, I don't mind what type of boots I have on,
04:20 you know, when I'm on the pitch, I'm just there to do my bits,
04:24 and that's what I do.
04:26 - So that's your first boots. What about your first kit?
04:29 Do you remember what that was?
04:31 - My first kit? Yes, I do.
04:33 It was a Chelsea kit, to be fair.
04:37 I had Samson in the middle of my chest,
04:42 yeah, it was a green one, I remember, yeah, it was a Chelsea kit.
04:46 - Yeah, really bright, one of those bright, luminous ones.
04:50 - Yeah, I still remember, I think I still have it to this day, to be fair.
04:54 You know, it means a lot.
04:56 - Did you have anyone on the back, or did you just have your own name,
04:58 or something like that?
04:59 - I don't think I had anything on the back, to be fair.
05:02 There was no name, there was no number,
05:03 it was just a plain Chelsea green kit.
05:07 - Which player stood out to you when you were younger,
05:08 anyone in particular?
05:10 - Didier Drogba.
05:12 Didier Drogba was one that I looked up to.
05:16 Just the position, just the way he...
05:19 Just the aura that he had on the pitch.
05:22 I just liked how he played, and I'll just, you know,
05:24 try and be similar to it, and just go out there
05:28 and try and be better, hopefully.
05:31 - Yeah, he was one of those strikers, he was always a threat,
05:33 even if he weren't always scoring,
05:35 he was just in and around the right areas,
05:37 making teams nervy at all times.
05:39 - Yeah, as I said, because of his aura, his presence.
05:44 You know, when I used to watch him, especially at Chelsea,
05:46 and the way he used to score goals was just,
05:50 was just, you know, a beautiful thing to see.
05:55 I remember I always just wanted to try and be like him,
05:59 especially from, you know, he's from the country
06:00 from where I'm from, you know, he's a big, big name
06:05 in our country, so yeah, he's just a player,
06:09 to be fair, that I looked up to.
06:10 - How big a thing is that heritage for you?
06:12 Obviously, that background, and obviously seeing players
06:15 like Drogba thrive, and just inspirational
06:17 for you as a youngster.
06:18 - Yeah, as far as everyone from those countries,
06:23 you know, back in Africa, you know,
06:28 when you hear big names, when you hear big people,
06:32 you just feel like you want to be like them.
06:35 And Drogba was one of them, and he was one for me,
06:37 and I think that's one of the things that keeps me going,
06:41 you know, just idolising my, you know,
06:45 I like to say a star that he was to me.
06:48 You know, that's, yeah, I'll just look up to him.
06:53 - Do you remember the first match you went watching?
06:54 Would it have been Chelsea?
06:56 - Oh, my first match, no, it wasn't Chelsea,
06:58 it was a game against Italy, it was Ivory Coast
07:03 against Italy, it was at West Ham Stadium,
07:06 I remember, yeah, I feel it was a friendly,
07:09 I remember, but yeah, that was my first game.
07:11 - Was it like stepping into a football ground
07:13 for the first time, were you just amazed by it,
07:16 sort of all the noises, all the fans?
07:17 - Yeah, yeah, it was a very, very surreal experience
07:22 for me, you know, the atmosphere,
07:26 the players I've seen on the pitch, you know,
07:29 it was just a joy to watch, and, you know,
07:32 I haven't been on many games, but I'll, you know,
07:37 remember this one.
07:39 - The international element to that also made it
07:41 even more special, that connection, though.
07:44 - Yeah, international level, you know,
07:46 especially, as I said, from the background I'm from,
07:49 you know, it's a joy to always try and represent
07:52 your country, and, you know, all the players that do,
07:56 and I know there's always a meaning for it,
08:00 so, you know, it was a pleasure, it was an honour
08:03 to go down and, you know, watch my first game
08:06 against Italy there.
08:08 - As you get older, is it ambition for you to,
08:10 sort of, maybe break into international ranks
08:12 at some point?
08:13 - Yeah, I'd say, hopefully, as every football player
08:17 that, you know, plays football, they want to play
08:19 for their country, you know, they want to represent
08:21 the country, and they want to do well.
08:24 So, of course, it's always a player's ambition
08:27 to not just play for the club, but to play
08:29 for a national team.
08:32 - Obviously, you as a player, you started your career
08:33 at Sutton, so what was it like coming through there?
08:35 How did you, sort of, develop your game at that time?
08:38 - Um, at Sutton, yeah, I started, I came through
08:43 in a college programme, so, I wasn't around
08:48 the academy type of football.
08:51 I came through a college programme, and I just had
08:54 to adapt quickly to, into the games, you know?
08:58 The competition, especially at that level,
09:02 wasn't, I wouldn't say around the academy type
09:04 of competition, so it was just a matter of time
09:09 where, you know, I had to tell myself when to click,
09:11 and when to actually take it serious, and, you know,
09:14 make this as a job, and, you know, especially at Sutton,
09:18 I've learned a lot, you know, from all the players there,
09:22 all the fans there, all the managers there,
09:23 all the coaches there, I've learned a lot,
09:26 and, you know, it'll always be a special club.
09:30 - Going through that sort of college type system,
09:32 does that give you a bit of an advantage,
09:33 a bit of a different viewpoint to other players,
09:35 especially when you come Blackpool, and everyone,
09:36 a lot of players would have been through academy systems,
09:38 so you've got a different perspective on football.
09:40 - Yeah, you know, especially where you,
09:43 you know what you get from an academy, you know,
09:44 there's a different type of, you know,
09:47 there's a different type of treatment
09:48 that you get at an academy, you know?
09:49 When you come through on a college programme,
09:51 you've got education, you've got other things,
09:55 it's not always, you know,
09:56 something that you have to try and concentrate on,
09:58 whereas, you know, in an academy,
10:00 you're, maybe like, you're getting treated well.
10:04 It comes with a lot of dedication, to be fair,
10:08 and it comes with a lot of hard work,
10:10 but it's just, you know, matter of fact,
10:11 you know, you've just got to work hard,
10:12 and, you know, just do your job, to be fair.
10:16 - And you also had the non-league element
10:18 in the, getting games on loan,
10:20 so that must have been a step up for you,
10:22 you must have felt sort of the intenseness of that.
10:24 - Yeah, non-league, I learned a lot from non-league.
10:26 Non-league was a,
10:27 I'd say it was a stepping stone for me.
10:32 It was hard, 'cause it was a very physical type of league.
10:38 You have to learn a lot from non-league,
10:40 it's not, you know, the type of beautiful football
10:43 that you see on a day-to-day.
10:45 It's more scrappy, it's more grafted,
10:48 it's more ugly type of football.
10:50 So, you know, you just have to learn,
10:52 you know, you've got to be mentally strong,
10:53 physically strong, and, yeah,
10:56 you've just got to grow up through non-league, I'll say.
11:00 - And in summer, you made a big decision,
11:03 you decided to come to Blackpool,
11:05 so what was your first impressions of the club,
11:06 first impressions of Neil Critcher,
11:08 and what influenced you to sort of pick this as your club?
11:11 - Matter of fact, when I met,
11:18 when I met the guy for, in the summertime,
11:22 he told me exactly what he wanted,
11:24 and I feel that made me feel like
11:27 there was no other type of, you know, club for me.
11:33 You know, it made me seem like he knew what he wanted,
11:35 where he can see me going in the future,
11:38 and it just put my trust in him,
11:41 and especially the club with this history that they have,
11:45 intrigued me more into joining this club,
11:47 so, you know, Blackpool was day one for me,
11:50 as soon as I met the guy for,
11:52 and I made my choice from day one.
11:56 - And have you enjoyed your time so far?
11:57 Obviously, you've been in a couple of games
11:59 when you've played as well,
12:00 you broke in your AFL trophy,
12:01 and then you got chances in the league,
12:03 so it's all good, ain't it, so far?
12:05 - Yeah, I'm enjoying it so far, yeah.
12:07 Everyone's making it easier, I'd say,
12:10 but, yeah, no, I'm enjoying it so far,
12:12 I'm enjoying my time here.
12:14 You know, it's easy when you've got supportive fans,
12:17 you've got fans that enjoy the game,
12:20 that love watching the game,
12:21 and just love supporting you,
12:23 and it's also easy when you've got players,
12:25 you've got everyone just behind you,
12:28 you know, the coaches,
12:29 the Blackpool and the whole just behind you,
12:32 supporting you, so, yeah,
12:35 it's been a good journey so far.
12:39 - And just to finish your podcast,
12:41 ask us at the end of every episode,
12:43 if you could change any of your football firsts,
12:45 anything we've spoken about from your career,
12:47 whether that's your boots or your shit,
12:49 what would you change?
12:50 - I wouldn't change anything.
12:53 No, I've just been happy with my journey,
12:54 and I'm happy to carry on going,
12:57 so, yeah, I wouldn't change anything.
12:58 - It's got you so far, ain't it, so far at all?
13:00 - Yeah, all good.
13:02 - Thank you very much for joining, man.
13:03 - Thank you.
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