Q&A: Getting to know Mukwelle Akale

Mukwelle Akale is having a great season in his first year with Villarreal B, the Yellow Submarine’s U23 side. We caught up with the Minnesota native to find out a bit more about him.

Tell us your footballing background

Well my dad is from Cameroon and soccer is big there, so ever since I was young I was touching the ball, playing football and watching European soccer, or as you say over here, ‘football’. I just played a lot, played all the time, that’s all I like to do.

What sort of player are you?

What sort of player am I? I would say I’m a full attacking player that likes to create chances and score. Simple.

Who are your footballing influences?

Who do I look up to? When I was younger it was Ronaldinho at first, I remember him, and Steven Gerrard, I don’t know why but I remember him, and now it’s Lionel Messi of course.

Who do you look up to in the Villarreal first team?

Right now, Karl Toko Ekambi and before he left Samu Castillejo, those are who I look up to.

How did your move to Villarreal come about?

So I was playing with the US U18 national team, I think it was, and we played in a tournament against Spain, Argentina, and the Canary Islands I believe. I did well in that tournament and won best player and a lot of clubs in Spain were contacting me and I choose Villarreal.

What was the deciding factor in choosing Villarreal?

They didn’t want to do a trial, they just liked what they saw right away, so I appreciated that.

Was moving to Spain a hard decision?

No it wasn’t that hard for me because I’m from Minnesota and I already was living two years in Florida at the residency program we do for the U17 national team so I was already living away from home for two years so just learning the language was the only difference.

How did you feel when you arrived in Vila-real?

When I first got here I was excited just to start playing. I couldn’t start playing right away because when I got here I was 17; I had to wait until 18, but I was training, learning the language, and just enjoying the food: the paella, everything.

How is life in Spain different from the US?

Different…it’s basically the same. Get up. Train. Study. Eat. Not much difference for me.

What’s the best thing about playing football in Spain?

The best thing is the experience just to grow as a footballer and a person off the field. I came here at 17/18, and now I feel like in those three years I learned so much more than if I was just three years going to college or university in the US, much better experience.

How is Spanish ‘fútbol’ different from American soccer?

American soccer is very physical, very tactical, not much freedom of movement, not much skill. Here, it is controlling the ball, intelligent play, everything is just a little bit higher. The rhythm, everything.

How has your play evolved since you arrived?

For my attacking style I have stayed the same my whole life. On the defence side of my game, I have gotten better and I’ve learned how to fight for the ball, air balls, all that stuff, learning how to position myself in defence. That’s what I have adapted best to here.

How have you found stepping up to Villarreal B this season?

To be honest,, I like playing for Villarreal B a little bit more because for Villarreal C, in Tercera, the fields when you play away are so hard to play on. In Segunda B the fields are nice when you play away so you can actually play and the level is higher, the training is higher, everything is a lot better.

What has your highlight of your time with Villarreal been so far?

My highlight…well, my favourite part of Villarreal, being here, was when we played Real Madrid here in the semi-finals of the Juvenil Copa del Rey and I scored… I think I chipped the goalie. I think that was my favourite moment.

What has been your best achievement of your career?

My best achievement is just moving through the ranks for me, through Villarreal, and staying here, improving every year. There is not really one point that I have gotten, that I have marked yet, but hopefully one will come soon.

What is your next goal?

This year my goal has just been , since it’s my first year in Segunda B, try and get as many minutes as I can. When I have those minutes, I’ve tried to take advantage, learn as much as I can and we’ll see what happens from there.

What are your motivations for being an athlete?

Well I just always liked all sports, obviously my favourite is football, but I really looked up to Lebron James and how carried himself and that is like a complete athlete to me. Off the field, on the field, I wanted to be like that. That is one of my motivations right there.

How do you deal with high-pressure games?

The high pressure…when you are playing and in the game, and you are just feeling it, you don’t feel the pressure. That is when you play best, and if you start to feel the pressure, that means you’re starting to loose focus. That’s for me personally, I don’t know.

How do you deal with the situation when things aren’t going so well?

When things aren’t going so well, I mean there are going to be ups and downs and I just treat them the same. If you have a great game, enjoy the moment but then the next day you are training again and it starts over. If you have a bad game, the next day training starts over. You just keep going. It’s the same.

What advice would you give to young players?

To the young players, just keep doing what you’re doing. Look up to a player, find a player who plays like you, and if you want try and copy what they do. For me, I tried to copy Messi, tried to copy a couple of players I watched and do training by myself with the ball, trying to improve everything I can. Just believe in yourself, that is all you can do.