Sami Burrard signed in the current transfer window at Hapoel Hadera with the help of the main sponsor “Ginat Group”, thus becoming the most impressive player in the history of the humble club, who has played in the last five seasons in the top league.
At the age of 26, the midfielder born in Liege, Belgium to parents of Moroccan descent has become one of the standout players in the Toto Cup so far. With three goals and two assists, the midfielder gave the coach, Assaf Nemani, great reasons for optimism. If until a month ago not many knew Burrard who played in almost all the youth teams of his country with players such as Yuri Tillmans and Ender Dandonker, now his name is rising more and more and he is definitely marked to be one of the leading players in the league this season.
It took quite some time for the club’s leaders to land the player, who is represented by the same agent that represents Rudiger from Real Madrid, but at least so far it seems that the move is paying off. Tomorrow (Saturday) he will try to start the league on the right foot, together with his team that will be hosted by Hapoel Jerusalem.
In a special interview with ONE just before the start of the season, he talks for the first time since he arrived in Israel: the reasons that led him to come to the Holy Land, the special relationship with Ilai Almakais, the expectations for the future and the path he took from training in the senior team of Anderlecht to the club from Sharon.
“According to the warm-up games, we haven’t lost seven games. But we know that we have to stay in the league first and not think about too many expectations. You can’t create expectations based on warm-up games. For me, the goal is to survive and if we do that, then it will be possible To say my goal is complete. Anything else would be a bonus and I like bonuses. Personally, I want to make history with Hadera, something they haven’t done here.”
Did you expect such a personal opening?
“The truth is no. I didn’t start well in the training camp, but I knew I had the time to adapt. I think the Toto Cup games are good for the foreign players to get used to the league. Assaf (Namani, the coach) made me change something in my mind, to understand that the style of play is different from what is played in the Netherlands. There I had something like six or seven dribbles in a game and here it happens less.”
After your goal against Hapoel Haifa you ran to Asaf Nemani, why?
“Assaf wants me to be stronger. He knows that Dutch football is very different from Israeli football and in the game I fell on the floor three times, so he didn’t want me to fall again. He wanted me to stop complaining and told me: if you fall one more time, I will kill you and not the players (laughs ). After the goal, I ran to him and showed him. But you know, if a player kicks your leg, it’s hard for you to stand on both feet.”
You’ve been talked about a lot since you got here.
“These are just friendly games. The start for me is the game on Saturday. If I don’t deliver the goods in the game on Saturday then everyone will forget about it. I know many players who are good in training and come to the game and don’t deliver the goods.”
How did you get to Israel?
“I saw this as a good opportunity. I received a call from Assaf and Moran (Golan, the professional manager) and they made it clear to me that they really wanted me. I was a free agent and I had offers from the Spanish second division and the Dutch first division from Go Eagles, but I am a player who guides him before signing with a club is to see which is very much desired by the coach and the professional manager. This is a big step for me, Hadera has been playing in the Premier League for five years and this is a good opportunity.”
Who did you consult with before signing?
“I spoke with Jonathan Sissa because he speaks French. In addition, with Ilai Almakeis who played with me in Den Haag and with Elton Akoltsa who played with me in St. Troyden. Elton told me that it’s a good league and the people are very good, that it’s a physical league and I have to be ready for that. He He told me that with my ability I will manage here.”
As for Akultsa, is there still a chance that he will return to Be’er Sheva?
“He told me that he was injured, but that when he recovers he will return. He told me that he has a contract in Be’er Sheva.”
Before you signed, did you know anything about Israel?
“I knew Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and B.S., but I also played against PSV and Eran Zahavi. When I played with Ilai in Dan Haag, he talked to me every day about Israel. He told me that there are many Moroccans here. We had A good relationship, I came to his house for meals. I learned from him what kosher is, what is allowed to eat and what is not, it’s a bit like Moroccans.”
Have you heard about the restaurant “Sami in the Square” in Hadera?
“I was already there on my second day in her room, my agent advised me to go. The truth is, they didn’t know my name was Sammy, so they didn’t recognize me (laughs).”
Ilai Almkays went to Europe at a very young age and is still a kind of enigma in Israeli football. What can you tell about him?
“I can tell you for sure that he is a huge talent. I trained with him every day and played in games with him. Sometimes you have injuries along the way or a bad coach and it can take you longer to develop, but that will not change the fact that he has a lot of talent. I am sure that one day he will come A coach who is good for him and will believe in him and he will be a very big player in Israel.”
Bourrard, who was born in Liège, found himself doing quite a few trials as a child for the city’s top team Standard Liège. After more than five times he was not accepted, he went to the tests in Anderlecht, Lior Rafalov’s team which plays in Brussels, and was accepted the first time. Later he also moved to Eindhoven from the second division in the Netherlands, St. Troyden and Dan Haag, when the Hungarian Fehrbar also acquired her before he joined his current team.
You were missed in Anderlecht.
“We had a very talented team in the youth. We qualified twice in a row for the semi-finals of the Youth Champions League, we had the leading scorers in the factory and I was even one of the top five players in the tournament in one of the seasons. After that, you reach the senior team and you discover that there is a very big gap in terms of football And it doesn’t always work. After I left, Vincent Kompany arrived, who advocated a training method in the senior team that was the same as the style of football in the junior team.”
So if Sami of 2022 was in Anderlecht’s youth team today, would he fit into the senior team?
“I think so, but you never know. I was 17 years old, I started training with the senior team until November and I was never included in the squad, but only trained with the senior team. John van der Brom was the coach and was fired. Before he was fired and because of the results The bad things, he sent all the young players to the second team on the grounds that the squad was too busy. I played there for almost two years and then the president told me I was released.”
You didn’t really get a real chance.
“Listen, in the senior team there is already a lot of money involved in the whole competitiveness thing, so it’s very easy to take out a young 17-year-old player. You have to accept that. I still have a good relationship with the coach and I saw him in Holland. I have no anger, I was 17 And I can understand.”
Still, you got to train with one of the best strikers in world football.
“That’s right, I got to train with Romulo Lukaku. I trained with him 3-4 times in total but his training is crazy, he wants to score at every opportunity even in training and if he doesn’t score he starts shouting and getting nervous. He told me that my style of play reminds him of Samir Nasri. I must say that he is a very nice person, who helps the young people a lot. He played at Everton at the time, but he did the preparatory training with Anderlecht.”
We look at football in Belgium as a model, a team that has gone through a special process. What is the secret of Belgian football?
“Proper development, good coaches, social work and the combination of them, I think this is what makes the difference for young players. If a young player has good facilities, good coaches and grows up in a good company that combines football with studies, then it greatly improves the footballer, to be educated.”
Israel also has talent, but somewhere in the transition to graduates it is often missed.
“But even here (in Belgium) it sometimes happens. Take Anderlecht for example: great talents grew up there but it was difficult to make the transition to the first team. Who did it? Vincent Kompany as I said and in the Roberto Martins team. Kompany as coach of Anderlecht gave the chance For young players even at the price of two or three losses. You have to let the young players develop at an early stage.”
One of the biggest moments in your career was with Dan Haag, in the game against Ajax.
“Yes, in the 2020/21 season, we played against Ajax in the season in which they won the championship. A team that included Tadic, Huntlar, Taliafico and David Ners. Ajax plays amazing, everything is done with a maximum of two touches, football from another world. I came on as a substitute and was able to score and cook.”
What are your goals going forward?
“I’m only 26 years old and I still have many goals, I have no regrets about what didn’t work out in Anderlecht. I’m very happy with the place I’ve reached and I also have a dream to play in the Champions League or the World Cup. Back to Anderlecht? I love Brussels so maybe I’ll come back in the future.”