‘He would probably have left if Van Nistelrooij had stayed at PSV’
Monday, October 16, 2023 at 2:30 PM
If Ruud van Nistelrooy had not left PSV at the end of last season, Isaac Babadi would probably have left. This is what his brother and agent Samuel said in conversation with ELF Voetbal. Van Nistelrooij did not consider the eighteen-year-old attacking midfielder of the Eindhoven team to be reliable enough to be considered for the first team.
Peter Bosz made Babadi debut in the PSV main squad this season. The right-hander scored the opening goal after four minutes in the preliminary round of the Champions League against Sturm Graz (4-1 win) and thus took off in the Philips Stadium.
After that game, Babadi could still count on two starting places and four substitute appearances. He has been struggling with an injury since the end of September, which means Bosz cannot call on him. If it had been up to Babadi himself, he would have already been transferred to the PSV first team last season. However, Van Nistelrooij believed that he was not ready for that yet.
“He took it too personally,” says his brother Samuel. “He belonged to the world top of his generation and wanted to join the first team. He was ready, but the trainer still thought he was too unreliable.” Babadi ‘couldn’t place’ Van Nistelrooy’s choice.
“He had a rebuttal, after which I had to come to the club. It wasn’t a big deal or anything. But I had just completed a long journey and then I said: ‘Isaac, I understand you, but you have to deal with the situation as it is. Do what is asked of you and everything will work out.'”
Pablo Botermans, PSV’s mental coach, helped Babadi with this. “It was a wake-up call,” says Samuel. “We set new goals and prepared him for the Premier League International Cup at the end of the season.” The PSV player made a big impression there, after which Tottenham Hotspur contacted Samuel.
“They loved it,” he laughs. “At the beginning of this season, Bosz could not ignore Isaac. I will be honest: if Van Nistelrooij had stayed, Isaac would probably have left. It is no problem if a trainer does not see it in him, but Isaac was simply ready for the next step. And he must continue to be challenged. If he continues to take the right steps, he will one day end up at the top of Europe. I am one hundred percent convinced of that.”
2023-10-16 12:30:00
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