Left RB Leipzig in 2023
©IMAGO
Last year, German U19 international Noel Atom decided against extending his contract with RB Leipzig and instead moved to Brighton & Hove Albion. There, the talented defender is waiting for his chance with the pros. Now he speaks to Transfermarkt about his path so far and his goals.
“The move to Brighton was a well-considered decision. The club tried very hard to get me, and the conditions are absolutely top-notch. The decision also had a perspective background: I asked myself which of the interested clubs would be relatively likely to enable me to make the jump to the pros. In the end, everything spoke in favor of Brighton,” explains the 19-year-old, whose football career began at Hertha 03 Zehlendorf in Berlin and later continued at Hertha BSC before moving to Leipzig at the age of 13.
RB is said to have offered him a professional contract in the summer of 2023, but negotiations for an extension failed. Atom was without a club for more than a month before moving to Brighton. He could have signed with even bigger clubs: “Of course, it wasn’t always easy for me to keep a clear head when you find out that clubs like Tottenham, Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund are specifically interested in you. But these rumors have confirmed to me that the path I’m taking is the right one.”
It all started on the football pitch in Berlin. Every day after school he went to play there with his little brother. “I don’t come from such an easy background. My parents had several jobs at times to enable us to live a carefree life. While other children played with Nike, Adidas or Puma shoes, we had shoes from Deichmann. But we didn’t care because we just wanted to play. This football pitch mentality shaped me. It made me very humble and I appreciate the value of certain things more,” emphasizes the Brandenburg native.
“When you grow up in Neukölln, you learn very quickly what assertiveness means. But you also learn very quickly that there are good and bad sides. There is of course a risk of slipping. For me, however, there was only ever one choice – and that was football,” he says. Three players in particular were his sporting role models at the time: “Jérôme Boateng inspired me in a sporting way. This included the way he defended, his diagonal passes and his tackling. In fact, I also really enjoyed watching videos of Paolo Maldini on YouTube and tried to adopt a lot of things from him. Due to my Cameroonian roots, Rigobert Song was also a role model for me.”
Noel Atom is like Hulk on the pitch: “Become a loud monster”
He says with a smile about his position as a defender: “For me, the most important quality is strength in tackles. When it comes down to it, it’s all about taking the ball away from your opponent in the decisive second – and if necessary, with a tough tackle.” He also considers responsibility for building up play and the ability to read the game to be among the tasks of a defender.
In England, he had to step up his game, especially in terms of physicality: “I had to get used to it first. In my first game, I only played for 15 minutes, but afterwards I still had pain all over my body and sore muscles that lasted for a few days.” Things are much tougher on the island than in Germany – and Atom noticed another thing: trash talk. “It’s not just about blunt insults, but rather about throwing the opponent off track with targeted comments and getting into the head of the striker,” he reports.
Atom describes himself as someone “who is very open-minded about the world of football and tries to absorb as much new knowledge as possible in order to develop his own style of play. In general, I’m rather shy, reserved and don’t like being the center of attention.” On the pitch, however, that quickly changes. “I’m basically like the Hulk and become a loud leader,” he says, laughing.
He says of his early days with the Seagulls: “Because of my roots, I speak fluent English, but the English in Brighton is very different to what I was used to. Training was also tough in the first few weeks. While in Germany you have a few seconds to think in game situations, an English opponent doesn’t give you any time to catch your breath. Everything happens in quick succession.”
Brighton: Noel Atom hopes for chance under Fabian Hürzeler
The youngster names Pascal Groß, who has since moved to Borussia Dortmund, Danny Welbeck and Adam Lallana as important people for his personal development. From day one, they all tried to help him settle in. He tells a story about Lallana: “I remember one of my first sessions: In a training game, I first dribbled past two players and then ran towards the goalkeeper. Lallana was free at that moment and I only had to pass to him, but I really wanted to score. In the end, I shot into our goalkeeper’s arms and the echo from Adam was very, very loud afterwards.”
Atom played in the U21s last season, but was allowed to train with the pros several times – and was part of the squad for the only time so far on matchday 34 against Chelsea FC (1:2). So far, it hasn’t been enough to play. “Every training session that I’m allowed to do with the pros is an opportunity to grow. At my age, it’s about absorbing as much knowledge as possible from the experienced players. That’s why I’m glad that Roberto de Zerbi gave me the chance last season. Now my goal is to keep it under Fabian Hürzeler,” says Atom. His big goal is to arrive in professional football and establish himself. But there’s still a long way to go.
Interview and text by Henrik Stadnischenko
