TOWARDS THE end of last season, Festy Ebosele had a big decision to make.
He had impressed while swiftly establishing himself as a regular playing in the Championship with Derby County.
But the Rams were in trouble — they were deducted 21 points owing to their financial issues, meaning relegation was likely.
There was uncertainty surrounding the future of virtually everyone at the club.
In the end, the Wexford-born player chose a route that is still somewhat unusual for an Irish footballer — he moved to Italy.
The decision was not popular with some. There appeared to be a conflict with manager Wayne Rooney. At one point, the former Manchester United man dropped Ebosele from the squad, suggesting his attitude wasn’t right.
Rooney also claimed Ebosele had made a mistake in his eventual choice of clubs, moving to Serie A side Udinese.
“If you are asking me do I think it is the right move for him, then no I don’t,” Rooney told reporters. “I think he should stay in England. Whether it is a move where he goes there to go back to England, obviously we know Udinese are a sister club to Watford, we don’t know.
“I think he should have stayed in England, kept learning to play the game here then he really has a chance. It is always difficult for a young player to go abroad.”
Speaking almost a year to the day since Rooney’s less-than-complimentary remarks, Ebosele feels the Italy move has been beneficial and plays down any suggestion of lingering tension between himself and the former Derby manager.
“I think he wanted me to stay in England, he wanted me to go to the Prem,” says Ebosele. “But listen, everyone has their opinions, I respect his opinion and yeah, we definitely made up, we never fell out over it or anything.
“Because Italy is one of the hardest leagues to play in, especially being as young as I am. And they say if you play in Italy, you can play everywhere, so I think obviously I’m a lot more mature now.
“Maybe last year he thought I just wouldn’t be ready for it. I think maybe a lot of people thought I wouldn’t be ready for it.”
Nevertheless, Ebosele is enjoying his stay at Udinese thus far. He has Italian lessons “a couple of times” a week. A translator accompanies him everywhere at the club, but he is gradually getting to grips with the basics of the language.
He lives with his girlfriend and two dogs, while he is friendly with the other Irish player at the club — James Abankwah, who signed from St Patrick’s Athletic and moved over around the same time as Ebosele.
“I was always open to going anywhere, to be honest,” he says. “Mainly Italy, Germany, or staying in England. They were probably in my top three of what I wanted to do. Looking over the teams and all the scenarios, I felt like Italy was the best move and I’m happy with it.”
While Ebosele feels settled off the field, he is still adapting to the nuances of the Italian style on it.
Asked about standout moments in his 10 appearances so far — eight of which have been off the bench — he says: “Probably just my tackles. Smashing people and getting booked. But now, every time I come on, I feel like if I make an impact, I feel like I’m improving each time, every game as well. Getting more accustomed to Serie A and hopefully, it just continues.”
On the significant contrast with playing in England, he adds: “It’s definitely a lot more tactical. In the Championship it’s more physical and tackling-wise as well, you have to be smart because players will just go down. I’ve done some strong tackles, good tackles, but then I’ve been booked afterwards, so that’s the main difference.
“So [against Milan last weekend] first one-on-one, [my opponent] tried to take me on, and then I tackled him and the referee has given me a yellow card. It was a good tackle.
“I’ve always been a strong tackler. That’s always been one of my main strengths. And now I kind of have to reserve that part of me.
“Every other aspect like running with the ball and all is the same.”
Andrea Sottil’s side, who are currently eighth in the table, ultimately beat Milan 3-1 in a game that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic become Serie A’s oldest goalscorer at 41. Ebosele recalls seeing the Swedish international play as a child.
“I remember watching him when he scored that bicycle kick against England. Obviously, it’s not normal for players still to be playing at his age. I never thought I’d actually play against him. And he’s very big, bigger in person.
“It is a great moment because obviously growing up, these are the players that you hear about.
“These are the players that are scoring loads of goals, going on the pitch, and playing against them, it’s good. You feel good. You feel like you worked hard for moments like this.”
Ebosele’s game time may be much more limited compared to last season, but by playing at a higher level, the Enniscorthy starlet believes he has become a better player.
“I’ve learned a lot since going. I’ve learned different ways of defending, different ways of attacking, just all parts of my game, I’ve learned different ways to do it. So I’m definitely happy with my choice to go.
“Mostly it’s just about managing your strengths. Obviously, I like to run with the ball. But playing wing-back, you can’t do that all the time, or else you just burn out your energy.
“They mostly like when you defend rather than attack. So they’d rather you make five runs and five runs back rather than making 10 runs forward and not coming back.
“Also, the game is like, nothing can be happening and then two seconds later, the cross comes into the back post, you have to make sure you’re there.”
And would he recommend playing in Italy to other Irish players?
“I think it depends on the individual. If you are going over to play football, not everything’s going to go your way. But if you’re mentally strong, then you can. If you don’t feel like you are mentally strong, then maybe stay where you’re comfortable. But you’re never going to get better unless you come out of your comfort zone.
“I play football as I want to look after my family as best as I can. I felt like coming to Italy, I can do that, and improve. So I was always going to do it, no matter the challenge. So I think if you have the right drive, you can go and play anywhere no matter what.”
Ebosele was speaking while in camp with Ireland U21s, as they prepare for Sunday’s Turner’s Cross friendly against Iceland (kick-off: 4pm, live on LOITV).
Last May, he was called up to the Irish senior squad for the Uefa Nations League games against Armenia, Ukraine, and Scotland.
However, the promising wing-back is not peeved by any means at being back with Jim Crawford’s side.
“I’ve not played. I’ve not had a lot of game time [at Udinese] this season, so I think that’s why I’ve not been called up again.
“Listen, if I go up to the seniors, I go up. If I stay here, I’m still happy. I want to try to play football, and get minutes. I reckon if I stay here, I’ll play rather than go up to the seniors [and not play], but I’m just happy to play here.”