The last street football player

class=”sc-97fd9fa8-0 jNFKxv”>

Lionel Messi! Naturally. How could it be otherwise. La Pulga, the Argentine magician, is Zeki Amdouni’s idol. “It’s incredible what he can do with the ball,” says Basel’s man of the hour. But the man from Geneva would never compare himself to Messi. He is far too modest for that. “Zeki is a rather reserved man, very discreet, but that’s a quality because he doesn’t let himself be disturbed even in hectic situations,” says Jean-Michel Aeby. The former Servette player and current Biel coach discovered the young Amdouni at the A-Juniors at FC Carouge. “We were classic in the 1st division and I had a lot of injured or suspended attacking players, so I looked around at the juniors,” says Aeby.

Amdouni had come to training with the first team. And never left. “He has incredible quality, an almost complete footballer. He has both feet, is strong in the air, good preparation, an absolute team player, a good listener, willing to learn,” said Aeby. In short: a full-fledged professional.

At Servette, Amdouni had to leave

“I always believed that one day I would turn pro,” says Amdouni. Even when the people in charge of Servette, the club in his city and his heart, told him at the age of 13 that it would not happen. Amdouni had previously injured his foot badly, Servette dropped it. “At first they told me they wouldn’t throw anyone out who was injured. Then I had to go anyway,” says Amdouni. The sting still seems to run deep today. When the magic foot first attracted attention as a professional at Lausanne-Ouchy in the Challenge League, Servette wanted to get his lost son back, but Amdouni moves to Lausanne-Sport.

The Swiss national player has been playing for FCB since this summer and has become the man of the hour this year. Amdouni is mainly responsible for the progress of his goals, both in the achievement against the Turkish champions Trabzonspor and in the quarter-finals of the cup. The 22-year-old also managed to impress on Thursday in the eighth finals first leg against Slovan Bratislava. “For me, the game represents his mentality,” says Aeby. Amdouni received a hard blow to the head, but fought on. “He’s someone who never nags, never complains.”

sober relationships

A character trait that develops at a young age. Amdouni was born in St-Julien, France, on the Swiss border, to a Turkish father and a Tunisian mother. At the age of five, the family moves to Geneva. Amdouni’s father owns a kiosk near the hospital. Simple, down-to-earth relationships.

It goes without saying that the parents were initially not thrilled when Amdouni dropped out of high school to play professional football at Stade Lausanne-Ouchy. “My family wanted me to continue my studies, but in the end they accepted my decision,” says Amdouni.

And they did not regret it. The small, shy boy has become what is currently the most spectacular footballer in the Super League. One of the last real street football players. Someone who doesn’t come from a youth academy. But only had to struggle through as an amateur.

“His next goal will be to become a regular at the Nati,” says its discoverer Aeby. And there is little to argue that Amdouni can do this.

Source : Blick