From the lawn of the François-Coty stadium (or even on the bench, if he is not in the starting lineup), Youcef Belaïli will almost be able to feel the fervor of his Algerian supporters and followers, on the other side of the Mediterranean. for his debut in Corsica with Ajaccio.
A favorite of Algerian fans, Belaïli, with 3.5 million followers on Instagram, sparked an original initiative by a cinema in Annaba, a coastal city with more than 600,000 inhabitants in the northeast of the country. On its screen, Olympia will broadcast this Friday, 9 p.m. (8 p.m. local time), the advanced match of the 12th day of Ligue 1 between Ajaccio, 18th, and PSG, dashing leader of the championship …
A snapshot taken by the Algerian media DZfoot shows the poster announcing the event, which says a lot about the fervor for the number 92 Ajaccien. Belaïli, in his new jersey, occupies only the left part of the visual, while in the right part, we find the PSG logo…
For a bit, you would think that the native of Oran (north-west of Algeria) African champion 2019 with the Fennecs, 30, is about to challenge the champion of France and his myriad of star footballers!
Sacred responsibility for the former Brestois who, after ingloriously terminating his contract in Brittany at the end of September, signed on October 12 with AC Ajaccio until the end of the season.
However, the first minutes that Olivier Pantaloni offered to Belaïli on Sunday in Troyes (1-1) were promising. Entering in the 77th minute, the left-handed striker chained the dribbles like the beads of a rosary, sowed panic in the Aube defense and, following a cross from the right, caused the equalizer of Mounaïm El Idrissy at the end of the match (88th).
The native of Oran (north-west of the country) remains a cherished player and very followed by Algerians, wherever he plays and whatever he does. Already his arrival in Brest last January, he had thus enabled the Breton club to pass the bar of one million subscribers on social networks.
The number of subscriptions to the Stade Brestois account on Instagram had increased from 79,200 to more than 211,000. On Facebook, more than 563,000 people “liked” the SB29 page. In Ajaccio, as in Brest, the number of followers skyrocketed at the announcement of the arrival of Belaïli in the Corsican ranks.
As for Annaba’s initiative, there is no doubt that the Olympia will refuse people this Friday, the weekly day of rest in Algeria.