Aberdeen midfielder Dante Polvara has revealed he was informed “several times” he could leave the club during his first year at Pittodrie.
American Polvara admits his confidence crashed when he was frozen out of the first team under former boss Jim Goodwin, and the 23-year-old feared he would never play for Aberdeen again.
Polvara insists there was no relationship breakdown with Goodwin, now boss at Dundee United, as they always got on.
He accepts Goodwin needed confident players – and at the time he wasn’t.
However, the midfielder was determined to fight to save his Pittodrie career.
And it paid off after a strong 2023-24 season where he made 40 appearances (26 starts), scoring four times.
Polvara said: “I was told several times that I could leave, but I didn’t have a single club I could have gone to because I hadn’t been playing.
“When you’re not getting games, who is going to take you on?
“It was my first year out of college and I didn’t have a resume behind me, so I didn’t have any options.
“Stephen (Glass, former Aberdeen manager) had brought me here (in January 2022) then left, so Jim came in.
“There was nothing wrong with our relationship, not everyone will be a manager’s cup of tea.
“We always got on – that wasn’t an issue.
“At the time, he (Goodwin) needed confident players, but I wasn’t.
“Even if I look back a year, I was probably more immature and less aggressive in parts of my game.
“That wasn’t what the team needed at the time, so I understood it. ”
‘I didn’t struggle and suffer to not come out the other side’
Aberdeen beat off competition from Premiership rivals Hibs to sign Polvara in January 2022.
A host of MLS clubs, as well as outfits in Italy and Germany, were also interested in landing the midfielder.
Polvara moved to Aberdeen from Georgetown University, with the Dons his first taste of senior football.
However, Glass, the manager who signed him, was sacked just two months later.
Polvara the made just six appearances (two starts) in the subsequent 2022-23 season.
He said: “I was always looking to find a way to make it work.
“I didn’t struggle and suffer to not come out the other side.
“It was a tough few months and there were many times I joked with people that I’d never play again for Aberdeen.
“Although I was joking, I kind of meant it as well, because I felt so far out of it.
“It wasn’t great because I’m not someone who gives up easily on something and I’d made a commitment to come here.
“I struggled with my confidence a lot when I first moved here – especially after how the first year went.
“That is gone now.
“It probably would have been easier to struggle in New York City, instead of Aberdeen in the wind and rain – but that’s all part of the process.
“Going through what I have has made me improve as a person and that’s what I wanted when I moved from the US.”
‘I finally broke through this season’
The appointment of Barry Robson as manager at the start of last year following Goodwin’s exit offered light at the end of the tunnel for Polvara.
Robson believed in the midfielder, and sent him on a five-month loan at Charleston Battery in the USL Championship.
Polvara made 18 starts in all competitions for Charleston before returning for pre-season with Aberdeen last summer.
In September last year, Robson signed Polvara on a new contract to extend his stay at Pittodrie until 2026.
Robson also started Polvara in big games, with the midfielder scoring against Eintracht Frankfurt and PAOK in the Europa Conference League group stages.
He said: “I just needed to be playing again and enjoying it, because I’d be lying if I said I was happy here during the first spell.
“Barry believed in me. He gave me games, gave me a new contract and got me going again as an Aberdeen player.
“You know the meme of the guy digging and he gives up just before he gets the pot of gold? That’s how it was for me.
“Thankfully I finally broke through this season, but I’m not satisfied – I want more now.”
‘It made me stronger as a person’
Interim manager Peter Leven also believed in Polvara and started him regularly during the 10-game unbeaten league run at the end of the season.
Polvara will now bid to make an impact under new manager Jimmy Thelin, who arrives from Swedish club Elfsborg.
Polvara said: “I don’t regret a thing about how it went in that first year because it made me stronger as a person.
“Every player suffers from tough times at some stage of their career and hopefully that’s me got it out of the way now.
“Even if it’s not, I have learned how to cope with things and handle it now.
“I look back now and smile, thinking about where I was and where I’ve got to now.
“It’s all part of the struggle.
“I wanted to experience something different, and while I got more on my plate than I probably asked for, that’s alright.”
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