Saïdou Sow, who arrived in Strasbourg last season, begins the 2024-2025 Ligue 1 season in Alsace as a starter, and even a potential captain. At 22, he is already an important part of the Strasbourg locker room, without claiming a managerial role. The defender is in a similar situation with the Guinean national team, for which he has great ambitions. He spoke to RFI.
RFI : You arrived in Ligue 1 in Strasbourg last season from Saint-Etienne, in Ligue 2. What changes when you enter Ligue 1? ?
Saïdou Sow: I had already played in Ligue 1 with Saint-Etienne. But here, it’s completely different. At Saint-Etienne, I was the club’s child, trained at the club. Here, I arrive as a new player, I have to impose myself in Ligue 1, show that I have the level. When I arrive in Strasbourg (in August 2023), I’m all alone. I have to show what I’m capable of. I’m with people who don’t know me, a public that doesn’t know me. I really have to impose myself and give people confidence.
You had to wait a little while to get regular playing time when you arrived in Strasbourg. There, you started three times at the start of the season. Has your status changed?
Yes, a little bit. But I have to assert myself even more and show that I am the player that can be counted on, that I am there. It is different from last year when I had to prove that I had the level, fight to get a place. Now, I started as a starter, it is up to me to show that I can remain a starter.
When the coach arrived (Liam Rosenior, Editor’s note), he was very clear: for him, there is no status, he has just arrived, he will play the best he sees. We all fought. With the speech he had at the start of the season, we all understood that we had a chance. We just had to work hard and apply his advice.
” Now we have pressure from people who say we have invested a lot of money, we don’t listen to that »
In the workforce, the average age is very young. It almost makes you a kind of “ young-old ” in the group. What status do you have in the locker room?
(Laughs) “Young-old”, that’s it. Without being too much either, because we are all young. I think we have the maturity to know what we have to do and to be serious. In this locker room, we all lift each other up. We encourage each other, we give each other advice… Age is a number. There are people with fifty, a hundred matches, it doesn’t mean anything.
I have already worn the armband once in Strasbourg (after Habib Diarra went off on the first day against Montpellier, Editor’s note), it’s an honour. It shows that the coach is counting on me to set an example and be serious. It means that I consider myself a leader, without really being a leader in the locker room. It’s a role that I often had when I was young and in the national team too. It’s a continuity, it gives me the motivation to give even more and meet expectations.
Are there more expectations now that Strasbourg has invested heavily in the transfer market this summer?
I think the demands were already high enough. The demand is still high, we know where we are, there are people who are counting on us, fans, the city… Now we have the pressure of people who say that we have invested a lot of money. We continue to be serious, and we don’t listen to all that. If it worked like that, all the teams that have invested in recent years should have won the Champions League. It’s happening little by little.
Guinea on the jersey and in the heart
You were born in Conakry. What memories do you have of your years in Guinea?
Honestly, only good memories, surrounded by family. I go back often, every vacation. Without the selection, I go there at least once a year. I still have all my family there, so if I don’t go, I don’t see my family.
And wearing the national team jersey, what does that mean to you?
Already, it’s a dream. Growing up in Conakry, when I saw the national team, I had stars in my eyes. Wearing this jersey makes me want to please the Guinean people, show them that we are there for them, let them know that despite the difficulties they may have in their lives, with football, it can be okay, everyone can do it.
Also readCAN 2025 qualifiers: DR Congo dominates Guinea and ideally launches its qualifications
I remember my first selection very well, one September. I had just signed as a pro (at Saint-Etienne). I was like a child, there were great players like Naby Keïta, Amadou Diwara… I watched, I was surprised, all shy, I didn’t speak… It was unforgettable. Over the years, I gained confidence and now, I feel perfectly integrated. Honestly, it’s happiness.
” The next CAN is coming, the objective is to go even further and win it »
What happiness?
Currently, we can’t play at home, we don’t have a pitch (Guinea is one of the countries that doesn’t have a stadium that meets international standards, Editor’s note). That’s something we miss. As Guineans, being able to play there is… different. There is a demand from the public and the players too! Honestly, who wouldn’t like to play in Guinea? With the supporters there, it’s a plus.
Guinea has always had good football players, you mentioned a few. But the selection has difficulty shining in major competitions…
We are not going to talk about the past, but currently, we are a team in transition. At the last CAN, we showed some good things (elimination against the DRC in the quarter-finals). The next one that comes, the goal is to go even further and win it. We have good players now: Serhou GuirassyIlaix Moriba, Abdoulaye Touré… The goal here is to show that with all these players, we can claim the title of African champion.
When you were younger, did you have any role models among the Guinean players who, like you, went through Ligue 1?
When I was younger, it was Fodé Mansaré, because before, I was a striker. I liked him, he was fiery and his haircut, his style… I liked him (laughs).