Kwasi Sibo: "I'm here to grow professionally with the family that is Ibiza"

Spending two weeks with "family of Ibiza" were enough for Kwasi Sibo (Ghana, 24 June 1998) to pick up some first words of Spanish. The chemistry between himself and his teammates is undeniable and his delightful character is as easy to take note of as is his physical presence when he roams the midfield, with or without the ball at his feet. During training sessions he picks up words on the go and, as if he were a sponge, absorbs these and saves these on his hard drive.  Naranja (orange), amarillo (yellow), tiempo (time) or cambio (change/switch) are already part of Sibo's vocabulary that, today, during his official presentation as an Ibiza player was on display as he began his discourse with the words "buenas tardes a todos".

The OD Talamanca hotel, official sponsor of Unión Deportiva Ibiza, was the venue to present the Ghanaian midfielder, who, switching to English, described his new team as a hard-working and unified group, and pointing out that he was "welcomed as another member of the family", making him "feel at home".

Kwasi Sibo's European adventure has seen him play in exotic competitions such as the Armenian and Albanian leagues. He is a contracted Watford player and it was with the hornets of the Premier League that he spent last year's preseason. Two years ago he spent the summer training with Udinese, which, as Watford, is part of the Pozzo family ownership. Amadeo Salvo, Ibiza's president, took the opportunity to thank the Italian owners for their "interest in collaborating and supporting" the Sky Blue project with the loan agreement of Sibo.

"The facilities, the professionalism of the coaching staff, the way the club operates... All these things made me choose Ibiza", said Sibo, who will be on loan at Can Misses for one season. At just 21 years of age, the African midfielder believes that being on the island will allow him to "grow professionally", and, "by working hard", reach ambitious goals.

Kwasi Sibo's contribution to Ibiza's squad was summed up perfectly by Fernando Soriano, the club's sporting director: "He is of the class of 98, which means that he takes up an under 23 spot, and will be hugely important for us due to his physical presence. In addition, he is very versatile because he can play both as a central midfielder or defensive pivot, as an '8' and, even, as a '10'". Plenty of things, then, for the Ibiza fans to look forward to as they will see a player's whose enthusiasm for working hard, improving and developing as a footballer is sure to bring a smile to many supporters' faces.