Hamza Abdelkarim's father: Flick trusts him, and his appearance with Barcelona did not surprise us
Hamza Abdelkarim reached a pivotal moment in his young Barcelona career last Monday. The promising Egyptian striker pulled on the Catalan shirt in a competitive match for the first time, coming off the bench against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga as the Blaugrana ran out 5-2 winners.
Reflecting on that milestone, the striker's father, Mohamed Abdelkarim, told "365Scores": "Hamza, since his arrival at Barcelona, has known very well that the competition would not be easy, and his goal was always to develop day by day and to benefit from being alongside great players".
He added: "Over the past period, Hamza has made a great effort, and succeeded in proving himself in front of the coaching staff. Therefore, his getting a chance to play with the first team was not a surprise to us. Hansi Flick is a great coach, and his trust in Hamza, and giving him the chance to appear with the first team, represent a very important step in my son's career, and we hope it will be the beginning of more opportunities".
His father also painted a picture of the man behind the player: "Hamza is a very calm person by nature, and does not like to talk much about himself, and he always prefers his focus to be on the pitch and on training, and to let his level speak for him".
An exceptional moment
Asked how the family felt watching their son in the Barcelona shirt in La Liga, he said: "As a family, we were following his journey, and we know the amount of effort he made to reach this stage, so seeing him play with the first team, in an official match in the Spanish league, was an exceptional moment for us".
Mohamed Abdelkarim went on: "For Hamza to become the first Egyptian player to officially play with Barcelona's first team is a very great honour for him and for our family, and we feel proud that he represents Egypt at one of the biggest clubs in the world".
He concluded: "I always tell him that reaching the first team is not the end of the dream, but the beginning of a harder stage, which needs more work, focus and patience. I hope his appearance against Rayo Vallecano is just a beginning, and that Hamza continues to develop and gets more opportunities, and writes a long story with Barcelona over the coming years, and raises the name of Egypt".
