Gambian international and former Wallidan player, Yankuba Ceesay, commonly known as Mal, is enjoying his trade in Peru after a difficult start in the South American nation. Mal has now adapted to the lifestyle in Peru after what he described as a ‘horrible start’.

His First Division club, Alianza Atletico, are continuing their good run in the Peruvian league as the 2007 season draws to an end.  Alianza Atletico currently lie at the sixth position on the 12-team league table and need only two points to berth a place in next year’s Copa Sudamericana championship.

In a brief interview with Observer Sports  over the weekend, the former Wallidan ace, said his club’s form of late has been magnificent.

“We won our last league match on Saturday, and we currently lie at the sixth position with three league matches left to the end of the season,” he said.
Ceesay’s purported move to the Cyprus club, AEK Larnaka, during the start of the season failed to bear fruit but the ambitious midfielder is determined to prove his worth wherever he finds himself.

“I was in Cyprus last year, where I signed for AEK Larnaka. But I could not play because the two clubs did not agree on terms. So I had to go to the United Kingdom where I trained with a Birmingham-based club, Woodbourn FC, before heading to Peru in January 2007.”
“I thank God I have adapted to the system in Peru. Right now I’m happy. I play in almost every match, after cementing my first-team place in the squad.”

“Lifestyle in Peru is normal but a bit different. It was very difficult for me during my first two  months, and this was due to the language barrier, weather, environment, as well as the strange diet.”
“But I've been learning Spanish for the past year and I am getting better. During my first two months, I had to buy a Spanish-English dictionary to enable me communicate with people.

“But I have slowly but surely adapted to the system now and I’m also improving my Spanish. I have a teacher who gives me lessons every day, and when time permits I read books and study the dictionary,” explained Ceesay.