Abde, from the poorest neighborhood in Spain to the sensation of the season

Abdessamad Ezzalzoulibetter known as abde He is becoming one of the sensations of Spanish football because of his impudence and quality. In Pamplona, ​​they know very well that they have a polished diamond. Moroccan winger’s goal for the win Osasuna in front Athletic in the first game of the semi-finals King’s Cup summarizes the qualities of the loaned footballer from Barcelona, with imbalance and speed as its most lethal weapons.

At the age of 21, Abde has already played in the World Cup and is one of Europe’s rough diamonds, but his arrival in the elite was not easy. He was born in the town of Beni Mellal, which is located in the center of Morocco, but when he was seven years old, his family moved to Spain due to the business commitments of his father, who was looking for a better future for his family in Spanish. ground. They landed in Elche, more precisely in carriage, it is considered the poorest neighborhood in Spain. In 2021, it led the list of districts with the lowest income in the national territory, with 15,542 euros per person, according to data from the Tax Administration. It also has one of the feet crouching the most in the country.

“Carrús is a normal neighborhood. There are people of different nationalities, like Mali, Senegal, Morocco, everything but normal,” Abde explained in a recent interview with Movistar. His childhood idol was neymar, It coincides with the arrival of the Brazilian in Barcelona, ​​and the Moroccan explained that “I go down to the booth under my house, and for 50 cents you get 30 minutes. I would go watch Neymar’s videos and then imitate him with my friends.”

He started his football adventure with Promises Carrús, a team from his neighborhood, when he was 16 years old. There, his coach encouraged him to take football seriously because he saw the ability to do something important. From there he jumped to Hercules B, hand in hand with Javier Portillo, Former football player and then sports director of Alicante, who saw him and was amazed: «I saw him and immediately signed him because I saw a lot of potential in him. Later I renewed it for four years and with an important clause for a modest club like Hércules”, explains Portillo, currently a member of the technical secretariat of Rayo Vallecano.

It also confirms what we see about Abde every day and what made him sign him without thinking: «He is a different footballer, funny and with great dribble. He is a player who makes a difference because of his qualities and it was good for him to go to Osasuna to use all his football week in and week out,” said Portillo.

In relation to the environment from which the Moroccan comes, he also explained that “Carrús is a very modest district, as is Abde. It’s a place that could do with a lot of improvement, but there’s the boy’s credit. He is a good person and I am very happy to have discovered him.

Ramón Planes’ personal bet

After progressing to third place with the affiliate, Abde did a pre-season with the Hércules first team to play in the second B. When he made his official debut, Portillo was quick to sign a contract extension until 2022 ahead of the play-offs. offer to the extreme. «There is no roof, I can’t see it. Despite his great qualities, there is still a lot of room for improvement and he will go further,” admits Portillo.

Barcelona showed great interest in 2021 thanks to Ramón Planes, who visited him while Hércules played in Cornella and Llagostera. Interestingly, the signing of Abde with Barcelona, ​​which happened on the last day of the market for the payment of the release clause of two million euros, was made viable thanks to the sale of Ilaix Morib to German Leipzig for 16 million euros. . After a season in which Abde did not participate much in the culé team, Barcelona’s technical secretary welcomed him loan to Osasun, where the Moroccan is an important figure and shows every week that he can be a great player.

“Of course he belongs in Barcelona. If I were in the technical secretariat of Barcelona, ​​I would have no doubts. It’s a profile of a player that they don’t have and they would clearly give him a plus,” says Portillo about the immediate future of the Moroccan.

This is the story of Abde, a player who knows how to appreciate success because he grew up in the most humble environment. The greatest exponent of neighborhood football with flagrant insolence. “The level of society is losing that nerve. Today’s football is different, it is more tactical and comfort with this type of player is more difficult,” concludes Portillo, the discoverer of one of the biggest pearls of Spanish football.