Abdi's game: “I don’t play handball only for myself, but for my whole family”

Ask Ayoub Abdi whether playing the Machineseeker EHF Champions League for the first time in his career is a dream come true and he will answer back right away, “It was my brother’s dream actually, but he’s not here anymore. I am living it for him now.”

Every player has to go through a lot in order to make it to the top of international handball, but one must admit that Ayoub Abdi’s journey has been a particularly tough one. Born in Chlef, a small village 200 kilometres west of capital city Algiers, handball has always been his passion. Following his two older brothers, he naturally found his way to the hall and started to practice.

But it was not before the African Championship in 2016 that Ayoub Abdi realised he had the potential to reach higher than the local first division. “I started receiving calls and getting contract offers from many clubs in Europe. But I chose Aix as I thought it would be the best place for me to develop,” he recalls.

His first experience in France did not turn out as planned. In his own words, Abdi “did a lot of stupid things. I was injured as well, I did not get the respect I think I deserved. It was not easy for me to adapt to this new environment.”

As a result, Abdi flew back to his country for a year and a half, conscious that he had to work harder in order to make it. “One half of my head was thinking, 'I hope I did not blow it.' But the other half was certain that I would get another chance,” he explains. “So I worked twice as hard. Mornings with the physical coach, evenings with my team on the court. It was a hard time, but it paid off.”

The following season, a second division club from France, Grenoble, called. The coach, former Algerian national team player Aziz Benkahla, had spotted the potential of the left-hander and a few months after celebrating his 20th birthday, Ayoub Abdi flew to France again. “I did not want to end up with my heart broken so I just put everything into it. The coach trusted me a lot, I felt way more secure and it showed on the court.” After scoring more than 100 goals in the second division, it was time to move up for Abdi.

And up meant going to Fenix Toulouse, where Philippe Gardent and Danijel Andjelkovic looked after him for six seasons. The latter, now head coach, once said of Abdi that he was “like a Formula One car. You have to channel him but you can’t stop him.”

Tell that to Ayoub and he will laugh, then he will try to translate it to you. “I am a player with a lot of instinct. In Algeria, when I was 18, I was only training twice a week while at that age, here in Europe, the best players train every day. So, of course, I might have lacked some tactical knowledge but, in the meantime, I am able to invent some stuff by myself,” he smiles, before admitting - “I have calmed down, though.”

Back when he was 15, Ayoub Abdi was already playing with adults twice his age in Chlef, in the Algerian fourth division. Which meant he had to find his own way to score and pass on the court. “I think it made me stronger in every aspect. Because when you are in that situation, you learn to fail and to have another go. Also, you have to beat the guys in front of you, but without using your physicality, because you are still a child and they are adults.”

Does the HBC Nantes man still use some of these tricks when on court, facing the best players in the world? “Not really. But I think that you can sense that there is still a lot of instinct in the way I make some moves, for instance.”

All of this might explain why he had to wait until now, aged 27, to make it to the Machineseeker EHF Champions League. For Abdi, though, stepping onto the court at the top level for the first time was not cause for celebration, instead, he put himself under a lot of pressure when Nantes played their first game of the season in Aalborg. “I put myself under so much pressure, I almost had a panic attack. So many emotions going through my head, I could not channel them.” But it seems like he quickly got used to it, judging from his performances in the next rounds, scoring 12 goals so far.

Not only is Ayoub Abdi living his own dream right now, but his brother’s dream lives inside of him. “All of that, I’m sure my brother would have loved to do it as well. He was an amazing player, the reason why I started handball in the first place” he smiles, before adding, “But he was ill, he passed away in 2009, when he was 22. I’ve swallowed it now, but back then, it was tough to lose your model in life at just 12.”

It is no wonder, then, that Ayoub Abdi has a quick look at the sky whenever he enters the court these days. “I don’t play handball only for me, but for my whole family, my parents who are still in Algeria, my brother who is not there anymore…” says the right back, before adding, “It took a lot of mental strength for me to get there. A lot of resilience. If you had told me all of that ten years ago, I definitely would have called you crazy.” 

Photos: HBC Nantes, OTP Bank - PICK Szeged, Henrik Hansen