The lack of defensive players at Real Valladolid has led Pezzolano to rely on this defender, whom the club’s sporting management scouted in Sierra Leone a few months ago.
Abdulai Juma Bah’s story is like a movie—one of those that shows how football is global and powerful enough to improve an entire family’s life and fulfill dreams that not long ago seemed impossible. A boy who starts by playing football on the streets around Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, helping his family by working at a bakery in Congo Market, and ends up being called up five months later by a historic team in one of the best leagues in the world.
It was Chernor Musa Jalloh, a talent scout in the African country, who realized Juma was not just another of the many young people spending hours playing football as their only source of entertainment. At that time, at just 15 years old, he was playing for the youth team of Giant of Freetown Academy. Jalloh opened the doors for him to join AIK Freetong, a Third Division team in Sierra Leone. In just a year, they noticed something extraordinary about him, and he was loaned to Freetonian SLIFA, a Premier League team in the country, with the goal of physically developing by training and competing with older players. His first trip to Europe came in 2023, when he participated in Italy’s Viareggio Youth Cup with FC Kallon.
With his name now recognized in Sierra Leone football, the national team called him up for a friendly match against Morocco and four other games. However, his debut is still pending.
Real Valladolid Enters His Life
The relationship between Musa Jalloh and Patrick Mork, an agent at Global Soccer Management based in Alicante, paved the way for Juma’s entry into Spanish football. Mork noticed the demand in Spain for physically strong players who could easily adapt to the climate, and he approached several clubs with his proposal. In early 2024, Domingo Catoira and Pachu Martínez welcomed him to their office in Zorrilla, receiving the offer from the Swedish agent to cover part of the expenses for flights and hotels to Gambia and Sierra Leone, convinced that Real Valladolid would like several of the players in his portfolio.
Pachu traveled to Africa in May 2024 to see the players recommended by Mork and Musa Jalloh firsthand. It didn’t take long for Juma Bah to catch the attention of the Real Valladolid technical secretary. His 195 cm height made an impression, and they agreed on a loan with an option to buy. After the challenging journey to Africa, getting Juma the necessary paperwork to travel to Spain was the next hurdle.
With the dream of Europe within reach, complications arose with obtaining the visa. After saying goodbye to his parents and three older siblings in Sierra Leone, the final step was in Guinea, at the Spanish embassy in Conakry, where the process of allowing the player to travel to Spain hit a dead end. However, another stroke of luck changed everything. A person from Valladolid and a “Real Valladolid fan” miraculously eased the situation, and the player was finally able to fly.
Since then, living at Real Valladolid’s Youth Players Residence in Parquesol, he trained with the youth team. However, the sale of Boyomo, injuries, and defensive issues for Pezzolano fast-tracked everything. After playing a match with the reserve team in Langreo, where he started and performed well, just one week later, with the number 35, he was called up to the first team and made his debut in La Liga, making him the first Sierra Leonean to play in the primera.
MARCA
