It’s hard to find too many Israeli football fans who remember you Joseph GandaBut the 24-year-old extremist was until recently (2019) one of the most promising youngsters of Hapoel Tel Aviv, and also carried with him a special life story. He was born in Israel to a Congolese immigrant couple, but his parents divorced when he was little and his father left Israel. Only a long time with his mother, who passed away last year. His talent could not be missed from a young age. Everyone who came to the neighborhood where he grew up realized the potential in the first moment.
Today Ganda plays in Admira from the bottom of the Austrian league and collaborates, among others, with former Israel national team coach Andy Herzog and national team player Ilai Almkeys. There are 16 appearances and two goals this season for someone who at a young age was already on his way to Manchester City and only problems with his passport and his mother’s refusal to let him move into this foster family prevented him.
Since his mother’s death last year he has chosen to break away. He has not been interviewed by the Israeli media for years, but has remained in constant contact with close friends Stefan Lagar, Aviv Avraham and Shai Elias, among others. He lives in Vienna with his partner he met a little over a year ago, and unlike actors who would go into black bile and cry over their bitter fate, he is a believing man who knows the good is yet to come.
“I do not like to be interviewed,” he says in an interview with the sports channel, “I wanted to leave Israel for Europe from the moment I started playing football. Even when I was in Augsburg he was asked to be interviewed and I did not want to. “I went through a difficult personal period. I do not look for communication and do not look at it. My head was not here and I thought about a million other things. I do not think to myself and say ‘Oops, do not appreciate me and oops, what a bastard’.”
What is it like to live in Austria?
“The area where I am is similar to the Bavarian area I was in Germany. The change from Augsburg to here was not drastic. There are good and warm people here and I got used to it for a second. Do not forget that from the age of 8 I take care of myself because my mother went to work and came back late. I went through, but I always knew how to take care of myself and I was independent. “
After last year there was a feeling that this was your year of breakthrough, but again injuries came precisely when you got into shape
“I had an unusual misfortune. I am a believing person and sometimes I looked up and asked ‘why me?’, But I also know that everything is for the better. Probably there is a reason why it happened. “Nothing can go away. It sucks, but you have to know how to come to terms with it. I pray to be healthy and confident in the Creator of the world. Talent and potential are important, but but when you are not qualified you can not show what you are worth.”
And lately Andy Herzog is giving you the keys?
“I knew Andy when I was at Hapoel Tel Aviv. When I came back from a ruptured cross it was a great game he came to see. He thought I was a foreigner and not just him because many do not know that I was born in Israel. Andy contacted me after the game and that’s where the acquaintance began. Last season was catastrophic in my personal life, I did not watch football at all. People had no idea what I was going through. I was crushed. My mother was ill, but we did not expect it to be the end. “
And it’s probably convenient to have Ilai Almkeys with you
“Ilai is a nice guy. Funny and a good friend. We are a lot together. When I played in Augsburg I was with a good friend of his. Ilai and I were born on the same date. A small world.”
So which are you more, Israeli or Congolese?
“A big question. My appearance can not be ignored. Whoever washes the difference knows how to distinguish between Ethiopian and Congolese. Judges in the country would speak to me in English and I do not blame them, because maybe if I were on the other side, I would turn to an actor in English. I feel Israeli in a sense, but Also very Congolese. Most of the Congolese immigrants who came out of Africa went to France and Belgium. Players also go crazy and ask me ‘How did you get to Israel and not Europe?’ They do not understand that there is more brown skin in Israel. “
You had an offer from Maccabi Haifa. Just sign and come
“I gave it up for a simple reason. Maccabi Haifa is a huge club, but to be whole with myself and my dream I wanted to play outside of Israel. I felt I would not be happy if I stayed in Israel. I spoke with Yankele Shachar before their Europa League and he told me he wanted “I would join the training camp. I told him, ‘Yankele, I have to be whole with myself.’
In Augsburg you felt the threshold of progress
“I made a lot of progress there, and it surprised me on levels I did not think. I remember one day, after a game against Dortmund, I went up to train with them and there were players like Stefan Lichtsteiner (ex Juventus and Arsenal) and Reese Oxford (ex West Ham) who said to me ‘Tell me, why not Playing with us and not training with him on a regular basis? The pace in the reserve in Augsburg is higher than in the Premier League. The quality and requirements are also much higher and it saddens me that where we are and where they are. “It is not the talent that separates, but the mentality and work ethic. It is not a cliché, it is beyond that.”
Not everyone can manage so much time alone abroad
“I live with my partner, so I’m not alone. When I was in Germany my mother would come to visit me. My agent is German, so we meet occasionally and I love Europe. For many Israelis the adjustment is difficult. I am not an Israeli player who misses a big family because it was just My mother and I when I was growing up. I got used to being alone. “
If Marco is confused or the next coach picks up the phone and says ‘Come to the team’ will you think twice?
“Obviously playing at an international level is something I strive to reach. I spoke to him from the Congo team and I did not rule out outright. I am open on both sides. A team is something I am missing in my career and can change my status in Europe.”
Do not feel missed in your career?
“At 24 you can not say a miss, because the whole career is ahead of me. I’m not 30, I have a lot more to show. My clock is not ticking. Austria is an open league. If you give numbers in it, you can make the leap. We have Ten games in the playoffs, I’m fit and I hope I can contribute to the team. I’m not the type of player to look back. I will not say to myself ‘You were a candidate for City and see where you are’ As far as I’m concerned. “
So what’s next?
“God knows. I am a believing person. Enjoying football is my ambition. God will already guide me the way. I will do my best and train the strongest there is. I was once interested in what was written about me and what was said about me and it was stressful for me, but I decided not to let it “More importantly, to keep working hard and see where we get to. Right now I’m looking at Admira and that’s what’s important to me. I’re back to fitness and I aim to be fit again once I was before my injury.”
So there is nothing to talk about returning to Israel?
“I have a contract for another season and I’m not looking at returning to the country, but I do not want to cut things and just say. It is impossible to know what will happen in football, but my desire is to stay here.”
