Interview with Patson
https://zambianfootball.co.zm/full-interview-it-felt-like-the-entire-country-didnt-want-me-near-a-stadium-reveals-patson-daka/
Interviewer: Well you certainly did turn it around, your hard work you to have the chance to leave Zambia and go to Salzburg in Austria, at just 19 years old tell us how that came about and how easy was that decision for you to go?
Patson Daka: Before going to Austria I had a couple of trials in Europe at different clubs [Lille], it didn’t work and again criticism coming in, like the people managing this boy just want money they are rushing him and what not, but they really didn’t have the knowledge behind what we were doing.
Bringing me to Europe and trying get me an exposure of how things work out here so that I have an idea so that when I am ready to come here I know what to expect.
During that time I would come and go back to Zambia and people would talk and because it was clear to me, I knew what we were doing so I didn’t let those moments confuse me or bring me down.
I just concentrated on important things which was working on my craft and when the opportunity came to go to Austria it was the time when I was in Zimbabwe [2016] with the national team preparing for the African Cup Qualifying games.
So the night before flying out we were playing Cameroon the next day, we were going to Cameroon, I was told you are not going with the team you are heading the other direction and that’s how I had to go to Austria.
it was kind of crazy you know, I was in camp, in Africa its kind of like hot, I didn’t carry anything warm, I was in shorts and it was winter of 2016, I arrived and it was snowing and it was so damn cold and was my first time experiencing snow, lucky enough the person who came to pick me had an extra coat so he gave it to me atleast I had something to keep me warm and to survive cold.
Interviewer: Did have any idea it’be so cold? You were just in your flip flop of shorts
Patson Daka: Yeah! But I didn’t that I would come to Europe, it was never in the picture you know, so when I was coming I had no idea of how Austria was so I had to go to the internet and search. It was really crazy for me when I arrived there.
Interviewer: So new culture, new everything, tell us of those first few weeks, how hard was it Paston was there, home sickness, else you have to adapt to a new team tell us about that
Patson Daka: When I arrived I met the coach, liefering Coach – Thomas Liche, he welcomed me and asked me if I was ready to train that same day, I told him yes I will train.
I met up with some African guys most of them were Ghanaians and Malians, they kind of gave me tips because they were there for a long time.
They told me what the coach expects and what he likes and all that so when I was going into training I had a picture of what the coach is expecting from me. It was not about playing my game, but about how the coach wanted me to play.
I went there with the mindset, doing what my friends told me. I had 2 weeks trials and when I finished the coach told me he was happy with and would like me to stay like another week more so that he could observe me more.
I stayed another week and after that he was very open, he told me he likes me and would want me to come back but he would let the club and the my agents decided what next