Nobody survives at Barcelona without learning to trust themselves.
Believing in his own ability and surrendering to instinct was how Dundee United star David Babunski made Camp Nou home over a priceless, 10-year apprenticeship with the Catalan giants.
It might also account for the Macedonian’s willingness to go with his gut when United came calling this summer.
Babunski’s football journey has already taken him around the world, with top flight spells in Japan, Serbia, Romania and Hungary to his name.
So when the 30-year-old heard of the Tangerines’ interest, the question he asked himself was not the obvious ‘why?’.
“I always say: ‘Why not?’,” he explained.
“Who wouldn’t want to come here to the United Kingdom; Scotland with such a massive football culture?
“Football originated here and it is something in recent years I have been dreaming about, to have this kind of opportunity.
“It was very easy to agree to come here.”
Babunski’s decision was simple in spite of interest from elsewhere in Europe.
“I could have stayed in Hungary, maybe gone to Poland, Asia or some other country in Europe,” he revealed.
“But when the opportunity to come here arrived, I couldn’t say no, especially to a club like Dundee United with all its history.
“It was something that I wanted to experience and to be honest, I wasn’t even looking at the financial part, for me it was a no-brainer.”
Babunski is something of an intellectual, with a stated interest in philosophy and spirituality, and the spaces where the two meet.
He sees his career in football very much as a journey, with the game allowing him to experience different cultures around the world.
The 15-times-capped North Macedonian cites the Japanese way of life as totally unique, along with ex-Celtic and current Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, who coached him at Yokohama F. Marinos.
“Japan is something that I loved personally and my family as well. We were there for three years,” Babunski said.
“It is very different and so unique. You cannot compare the Japanese to any other culture as they are so specific in their ways.
“It enriched me football wise and also personally in so many ways.
“The language? To be honest, it was easier than Hungarian.
“I was interested in learning the language and got a teacher there who was coming once or twice a week to teach us some basic Japanese, some greetings or to be able to order something in a restaurant.”
On Postecoglou’s influence, he added: “A fantastic coach, probably one of the best I have had.
“I was in a dressing-room with Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique back in the day.
“But when Ange arrived at Yokohama Marinos, I was really impressed.
“I did an interview from Spain where they called to ask me about him when he signed for Tottenham and I told them if they let him work, he might achieve some success – he is obsessed with that.
“He did a good job when he was in Scotland.”
Barcelona
United fans are hoping Babunski can succeed in similar fashion.
His football upbringing at Barcelona should help him out.
The attacking midfielder describes Pep Guardiola, whom he trained under numerous times as a member of Barca’s B team, as: “A genius. The best of the best.”
But he insists he is not kidding himself about what’s required in Scottish football, which relies much more on raw physicality than many other countries.
“It was like living a dream and I was there for 10 years,” Babunski said of his time in Barcelona.
“It is not easy to stay so long there because every year it is like a test – you have to prove yourself, to be given the green light to move forward.
“I was there from the age of 12 to 22 and I feel privileged to have experienced that at for me the best club in the world.
“Being raised there by those experts is something that I always look back at with great gratitude.
“However, there are some things that you don’t learn there that I had to learn when I went to a different country and different club – things that I wasn’t used to.
“That’s actually the hardest lesson. I found that when I went to Serbia and obviously Japan with the different culture.
“At Barca, you are prepared from a very early young age for a very specific way of playing and understanding the game.
“There is a system and style of play but for Barca players when you go out it is difficult to adapt because we are used to one way of playing.
“When you go to a different country you can see the ball flying over you but you have to adapt otherwise you won’t survive in the world of football.”
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