Ajaccio professional in an interview
It’s not always the stories of titles and triumphs that make football so interesting. Sometimes it’s the real losers who fight their way up from the ground and can thus be an example for other people. Such a role model is the Swiss Kevin Spadanuda. A few years ago he was declared a sports invalid by doctors, now he plays for the French first division club AC Ajaccio. The 26-year-old tells Transfermarkt about his story and his path.
There are many reasons why people get tattoos. Some just want to decorate their skin with works of art, while others have special messages behind the tattoos. Kevin Spadanuda belongs to the latter genus. It would probably take several people for his entire story, but the 26-year-old has immortalized certain phases of his life on his skin. The most important one began in the youth of FC Aarau when he felt pain in his back during an away game and collapsed motionless.
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“I wanted to take the shot. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my back and felt myself collapse. I couldn’t move for minutes. In such situations you are afraid, you panic, the worst thoughts go through your head,” Spadanuda remembers clearly. He was given a full check-up in hospital, but no specific diagnosis could be made, despite the midfielder suffering from severe back pain that could only be alleviated with painkillers. Even visits by specialists abroad did not remedy the situation and he had to give up his dream of playing professional football.
If you dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player all your youth and that dream shatters within minutes, you’re just done.
“My family and I saw an incredible number of doctors at that time. We were in Germany, in Spain, in Turkey, no one could give us an answer. I still remember a well-known doctor that we went to see just before Christmas. We had to go to Valais (canton in Switzerland; ed.) and the road conditions were catastrophic. When he couldn’t find anything either, made it clear to me that I should forget professional football and focus on a plan B, I couldn’t hold back my tears. If you dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player all your youth and this dream bursts within minutes, you’re just done,” emphasizes the Bülach native.
Spadanuda on the time after the accident: “I didn’t know how to proceed”
But the pain also affected Spadanuda’s personal life. He had to give up his training as a building technician due to back pain and fell into a deep mental hole, because even playing football as a hobby was out of the question. “For me it was an absolute crisis of meaning. I didn’t know how to proceed. If I hadn’t had my family, who always supported me, I would have broken in the situation because I would have liked the footing. There are many people who become broken people because of something like that. That’s why I have a lot of respect for anyone who fights their way out of a valley like this,” emphasizes Spadanuda.
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But how do you manage to fight your way out of this lack of perspective? Coincidence helped with the left winger when an acquaintance of the family took him to the gym one day. “I knew I couldn’t hole up all day, so I went to the gym with her. First I did light exercises, also to keep my head busy, to exhibit my thoughts. Over time, I noticed that the pain in my back was easing, so I went to the gym more often. At some point I really looked like a little bodybuilder, but the back pain was almost gone,” says the current soccer player with a laugh.
A turning point in his life that gave him renewed courage and hope that his future could take a turn for the better. As a result, Spadanuda also found an apprenticeship and began training as a logistician. At this point in time, the desire to return to the football field again, albeit only in amateur football, grew stronger in him. After years he celebrated his comeback at FC Schinznach-Bad in the Swiss 8th league: “To this day no one has been able to tell me what the cause or trigger for the back pain was. When I felt the ball on my foot again, it was such a great feeling that is indescribable. The time at Schinznach-Bad was awesome. I’ve played with a lot of friends and it’s like you imagine village football. Some guys came straight out of the discotheque before the game, others ate three or four beers after the game. It was like a family, it was lived togetherness.”
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The return to the pitch paid off, because after just six months they made the leap to fifth division SC Schöftland. While such a move would be an easy decision for many other players given the chance, Spadanuda took a few days. “When the request came, brooding thoughts suddenly arose. Does the change bring anything at all? Isn’t that causing me unnecessary stress? And does the back hold up? In the end I said to myself there’s a reason I got this request and I’m trying this step with no specific goal in mind. The fear is still there today. But I have learned to live with fear in order to have a clear mind. The most important lesson over the past few years was not to hold on to the fear or, as a result, to cramp it, but simply to let it go,” said the right-footed man.
The station at SC Schöftland was also crowned with success and so it led him to the fourth division club FC Baden, where he rose to a top performer with eleven goals in 22 games. Suddenly, the dream of professional football, which he had already dreamed of, seemed within reach when FC Aarau invited him to a trial and he was able to convince. A little later he actually signed Spadanuda the professional contract and crowned the story on his first appearance when he scored the consolation goal seven minutes after his substitution to 1: 4 against FC Lausanne-Sport. “That goal was incredibly beautiful, but the call from the Aarauer sporting director at the time, who told me I was getting a professional contract, was more important to me. Suddenly I had goosebumps and I immediately called my mother full of joy. I remember my mom crying with happiness on the phone and saying, ‘Kevin, you see, it was worth fighting for his dream.’”
On his way to becoming a professional soccer player, Spadanuda drew a lot of energy from music and especially from two songs. ‘Everything will be fine’ by Bushido and ‘One Touch’ by Dú Maroc. “I listened to both songs on a continuous loop because they gave me so much strength. In general, I listen to a lot of German rap because some of the songs contain very motivating lines. In the end, it’s about not giving up, but going on fighting, even when times are tough,” says the 26-year-old, who appreciates the privilege of being a professional footballer, especially because of the injury. “Of course I could buy branded or designer clothes every day, but does that fulfill me? No. I’m more satisfied when I go out to eat with my wife or the whole family. When I see how happy our daughter is about a new toy or cuddly toy – that fills me. When you have nothing, when you come from nothing, then you appreciate luxury much more. You don’t take anything for granted and that’s why you’re motivated,” he emphasizes.
After his debut at FC Aarau, Spadanuda developed into an absolute top performer, in 90 second division games he scored 30 goals and 16 assists and even occasionally led his clubs into the second division promotion battle. The dream story experienced its peak in the summer of last year. After Aarau missed promotion to the Super League, it quickly became clear that the three-time Swiss national champions could not keep their best player. There was interest from a large number of Super League clubs. In the end, however, the offensive player opted for the French first division club AC Ajaccio, also because they offered him planning security with a three-year contract.
After 24 match days, Spadanunda has made 12 appearances and is still without a goal – he has a clear goal for the second half of the season: “The move to Ligue 1 was also a test of my own sporting limits. I came to France with the attitude that I can only win, not fail or lose. I still remember my first week of training in France, I was so exhausted because I really tried to win every sprint, didn’t shy away from a duel and consciously tried to make it 1-1. I wanted to show who I am and what I can do. In the meantime, I’ve also found a better balance and so my goal in the second half of the season is to fight for a regular place. And maybe people will say I’m crazy, but for the future my big dream is to be able to wear the jersey of the Swiss national team.” He has already planned an appointment for the next visit to the tattoo studio.
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