Two years after leaving the United States following a series of unsuccessful MLS tryouts, Yan Diomande is shining at the World Cup for Ivory Coast – and still grieving a family tragedy.
Diomande, 19, made his Ivory Coast debut in October and scored in his first two matches.
On Saturday, the RB Leipzig winger faces his adopted home of Germany in Toronto having grown into one of the Elephants' most dangerous attacking threats.
Diomande's development has come despite having to live with the death last year of his 15-year-old sister, who died after a stranger spiked her drink at a party.
In an emotional post on the Players' Tribune website on Thursday entitled "Dear Roxane", Diomande wrote to her, "The pitch is the only place that I feel at home anymore. It’s the place where I feel calm, and I can speak to you. I just wish you were still here so I could tell you…. We did it. "
He wonders if he could have protected her, the little sister with whom he used to dream of one day moving to France.
"I never got any answers," Diomande laments. "I don’t know if I want to know why. Maybe it was jealousy. Maybe it’s just something that happens in our country. Maybe I could have protected you. I don’t know."
He adds, "So much has happened since I last saw you... You would not even believe it. I don’t know if I believe it. "
What has happened is that Diomande's performances have forced him onto the radar of Europe's elite.
Speaking with AFP and other media in May, he said he was not getting ahead of himself despite being linked with Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain – and talk of a €100 million ($116 million) price tag.
"I'm not the person who likes to be in the future so quickly," Diomande said.
"I'm going step by step because I have a new dream every day...
"I want to be one of the best. But I want to go slowly, slowly, step by step to reach what I can do."
After leaving Africa to attend a sports high school in Florida, Diomande tried out for MLS clubs Charlotte FC and Colorado Rapids, but was unable to strike a deal.
"I don't think it was because of my talent. It's because of the discussions – we just couldn't find a good way."
After moving to Europe, Diomande said he had trials with European clubs including Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Olympiacos before signing with LaLiga outfit Leganes in November 2024.
He moved to Leipzig seven months later.
While football's data explosion means there are fewer and fewer surprises for scouts, the club recognised his potential immediately.
"We were really early. I think he hadn't even played 200 minutes in the league and we were already there," sporting director Marcel Schaefer told AFP.
"It was clear from the first day on."
Schaefer said Leipzig's decision-makers, including former Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp who is global head of football at parent company Red Bull, needed little convincing.
"It was an ideal situation. In touch with Jurgen Klopp... who saw the data and the video clips, and everybody was like 'go, go, go'."
After scoring 12 goals and laying on eight assists in his first Bundesliga season, Diomande credits improved discipline for his uptick in performance.
"In Germany, there's no life. The life here is only work.
"It's work, work and work. I learned a lot about discipline because in Spain, it's a little bit relaxed."
Some have suggested Diomande's big-money move will take place this summer, but the player said his focus is on the World Cup.
Diomande plays alongside Germany left-back David Raum at Leipzig and said he was relishing the chance to face off against his skipper.
"We are teammates and he's my captain, he's a good guy," he said.
"Sometimes we speak, (saying) I'm going to kill you, or I'm going to do something else like this.
"But we're still friends so it's going to be good to play against each other and change jerseys."
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