INTERVIEW | AC Sparta Prague’s Ahmed ‘Hamdi’ Abdelkader talks about Czech move

In this new series, Kingfut gives the young footballers a boost up to show what these players are holding from talent and ambitions to rise on the field and we’re going all the way to Czech Republic to meet with AC Sparta Prague newest signing Ahmed Mohamed Abdelkader ‘Hamdi’.

The midfielder is also one of the U-19 Egyptian National team’s main players, as he was called up for the friendlies against United Arab Emirates, the Young Pharaoh impressed in a 4-1 win, scoring a goal and provided an assist, skipping past mass of defenders to feed his teammate inside the box. He was again named in Hamada Sedky’s list in the friendlies against Oman that were held at Cairo International Stadium in August where he scored the only goal for the Young Pharaohs in a 1-1 draw and also featured in the second game where they beat them 3-1.

The newest AC Sparta Prague signing is also studying Commerce in Cairo University, he  is registered as enrollment system where he pursue his studies online and only head to the University for exams.

How did you kick-off your footballing Career?

I started playing football in a regular academy at first, then I moved to Al Ahly’s academy in Mansoura for a while and later I joined the youth team for the club.

Around three months ago, you went for trials in FC Basel; Mohamed Salah’s former side, tell us more about the experience and why didn’t you join?

Basel agreed but under few conditions, they wanted to see me play with my club Al Ahly and feature with the first team as they only analyzed my performance in training and not on the field. However, Al Ahly didn’t agree and they offered to stay with the youth team for a while, I refused and decided to join another huge club so I can get more chances of play with the first team.

They call him ‘Abdallah El-Said’s heir’ for his nine playing years for Al Ahly’s youth teams and he has taken an advanced step in his career as he joined the Czech’s most successful club. Hamdi is an 18-year-old footballer who was named four times the best player as well as four times the top scorer of each tournament he featured in for the club.

Several reports had named you as the heir of Abdallah El-Said, How do you feel when you read people describing you as so?

Abdallah El-Said is a huge star in the Egyptian football and it’s good to be called as his successor but I think my style is a bit different to his.

Who’s your role model and why?

Chelsea’s star Eden Hazard, I like his style a lot and I sometimes feel we have similar mental skills and technical abilities on the field.

How would you describe your experience in the Red Castle and what you learned out of it, also was there a reason for your departure?

It was a really good experience, I stayed nine years with Al Ahly and yes there were a lot of reasons for leaving the club but I’ll reveal about everything soon.

Tell us more about your new club in Europe and if there’re any updates?

AC Sparta Prague, it’s one of the biggest clubs in Europe, they are holding most league championships (12) here in Czech Republic and the club had also been featuring in the Europa League for the past few years.

What do you expect from your first journey in Europe as an International player?

I hope I do well with my first club in Europe and I’m taking everything step by step. May god ease what’s coming next.