2023-08-10 04:15:00
Brazen on the pitch, Haissem Hassan (Paris, 21 years old) expresses himself with LA NUEVA ESPAÑA with a simplicity, respect and education that almost confronts that rebellious, brave football, which has made him the great revelation of Sporting and one of the most exciting players of the project. He has not offered an interview for many years. He is fluent in Spanish. Tomorrow he aims to debut at the José Zorrilla.
-If you’re happy…
-A lot. Negotiations with the club began at the end of June. Sporting has always been my first choice. I believe a lot in this project. I really wanted to be here. I’m happy with my first week, adapting to a new coach, coaching staff, teammates, picking up my marks…
He had other offers.
–In Spain and also abroad. I made the decision with my family and agents. I am in the best club to grow.
–Did you ever think that the operation was going to fail?
I know the market. And it is always so. It’s never easy. There were moments when my agents told me: “You have to be patient, this is going to take a long time.” But I never had doubts. Trust Sporting. I thought it was a matter of time. But I know how the market works: there are negotiations, conversations… But I have always had faith that the operation could be done. Sporting have made a lot of efforts. I’m thankful.
–Tomorrow I could debut with Sporting at the José Zorrilla in Valladolid. I think he also knows the stadium well.
-Yeah. I played against them with Mirandés. We lost. I think 3-1. But I played a good game and I assisted the goal. It is a great stadium, very handsome, with spectacular grass. It will be a great challenge to start against Valladolid.
– Has the quality of the squad surprised you?
–No, because I knew we had a very good squad. Before coming, I looked at the equipment. I wanted to be in a competitive one. The club and the coach told me: “We have ambition.” But I wanted to look at the squad to see if there was a good team and players to be able to fulfill that ambition.
– Did you know many players from the squad?
–I don’t watch much football, but I knew some from France: Jonathan Varane, Bamba… I knew him from my first club, Paris FC. Also Yann Kembo. I played with the French national team. I speak Spanish, but they are helping me a lot in my adaptation process.
Aren’t you very soccer fan?
-I love football. It’s my passion. But the field is the field. Outside is something else. 70% of a player’s life is football: training, playing, resting… But when we’re away, it’s good for the head to get out of that routine and not everything is football and more football. Outside, I have my life: family, friends… I like to go out in the city, the cinema… When there are Champions League matches, I watch them. But I’m not a soccer nut.
-What do you spend your time on?
I’m not “home” at all. I like to go out, eat with my friends. Go to the beach…
Do you know Gijón? Likes?
-A lot. I didn’t know the city. They warned me before I came: “It rains a lot and it’s cold.” But… I didn’t know it had a beach. I lived three years in Valencia. I like the beach. I also thought it was a small town. And for nothing. There are people, activity, shops…
Do you already have a home?
-Yeah. I got it three days ago…
-Where?
–Viesques. It’s a very quite zone. I like the floor.
-Does he live alone?
No, with my girlfriend.
How were your origins?
–I was born in Paris. My father, Yousry is from Egypt. And my mother, Widad, from Tunisia. But my sister and I were born in France. My father went there to find a better life. We live in District 20.
-What did they do?
–My father worked a lot: for more than ten years he was in the main train station in Paris, also in a restaurant and, finally, in a moving company. My mother worked in a chocolate shop. And, now, as a “babysitter”.
But are you still working?
Not my father. But she loves children and she continues to work. My sister is sixteen years old. She is still at school.
–And do they maintain links with Egypt? Or have they lost it?
– A lot, of course. I was in summer. I hadn’t been there for seven years
Do you still have family there?
In Cairo, yes. Only my father went to France; all the rest stayed in Egypt. They were all very happy to see me again.
–Would you like to play with the Egyptian team?
I am in contact with the Egyptian team. But also with that of Tunisia. I haven’t chosen who to play with yet. They are two very large countries in Africa at the football level.
How did you discover soccer? Or did his father also play?
–He played, but in Egypt. When he came to France, he quit.
And was it good?
-He says yes. He will have to believe it. The truth is that I did not see him. (Laughter).
-And you?
–I started first in judo. Then I went to athletics…
– Was he fast in athetism?
-More or less. There were others faster … she was in the middle.
-So?
–My best friend, Nassim, came to do track training one day. The thing is, he didn’t like that at all. And he said: “I’m going to play soccer.” It’s not like there was a sport that I liked much more than another. I told my parents. They did not want to; They asked me to finish the year in athletics, because they had paid for the course to sign me up. I had a hard time convincing them. But I signed up for soccer with Nassim.
-How old was he?
–Ocho.
And, of course, he liked it.
-A lot. After two years in my neighborhood team, I went to the Paris Football Club. I was there until I was fourteen.
–And there he meets Bamba.
–Axel was three years older. But we met in the last year. Paris FC has an Academy. We had a school there where we all ate together. And we shared many moments the little ones with the “big ones”. At 16 I already went to Châteauroux. There I signed my first contract.
What did you do with your first salary? Some whim?
-Nothing. I’m not much for frills. Nothing at all. I went on with my life. Nothing changed. Now I am lucky to earn a good living and I can help my family. I am where I am because of them.
– Does your family still live in the 20th arrondissement of Paris?
–Yes, because it is a good, quiet area. But hopefully one day I can buy my mother a house in Tunisia and another for my father in Egypt. It’s my dream.
–Did you ask Bamba for advice when Sporting called you?
-Clear. I called him for advice. I asked him about the city, the club, the coach. He only had good words. He spoke wonders of Gijón. He said that he had a crazy hobby. At the beginning of the negotiations we talked a lot. He wrote to me. He was watching at all times.
He’s going through a very hard time right now…
I’ve known him since he was little. It hurts me a lot to see him like this. It is a hard moment. Axel is a very good player. But above all he is a very good person. It’s complicated: he comes out of a big injury and when he comes back, he gets injured again. He has a good environment. His family is very close.
Have you been close to him?
-Yeah. After training, we saw each other a lot. The team is very close to him. We all know that he needs support
-In his presentation he was surprised because he was very self-critical: he recognized that he must take a step forward defensively, and in numbers…
-Clear! I do not lie: I am aware of my qualities, but I also assume that I have defects. I have potential, talent… But I know that I have to correct many defects. I am ambitious and have high personal goals. But to get to them, I must correct them. I’m not ashamed to admit that there are important things I need to improve on. That’s why I came to Sporting, because it’s a very demanding club. I am also very demanding. I am young and I have everything to learn.
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