Awar reveals an unfulfilled dream: and places himself among Al-Ittihad's legends

Algeria star breaks his silence

Al-Ittihad midfielder Houssem Aouar has revealed a different side to his personality away from the pitch. The Algeria international opened up about a long-held dream that could have led him into journalism had he not become a footballer, before sharing another ambition he wants to fulfil at Al-Ittihad.

Since his move to the Saudi league, Aouar has enjoyed a fresh experience with Al-Ittihad. Speaking on the "Kora Break" programme, he described his special relationship with football, stressing that his passion for the game was never tied only to wearing the shirt. It stretched to every detail, from players and matches to the media and the journalists who follow clubs in major tournaments.

Journalism was a possible path for Aouar

Aouar explained that he could have gone into journalism had he not become a footballer. His interest in the media, he said, came from a desire to stay close to the game, following players, matches and everything surrounding it.

This was no passing idea for the Al-Ittihad man. He revealed that he loved the thought of travelling with journalists to follow Champions League matches, a sign of just how attached he is to football even from outside the pitch, and how much he wants to remain part of that world in any form.

Read also: The curse of the interim manager: why does the strange scenario keep recurring at Manchester United? His career took him down a different path. After turning professional, Aouar passed through important stops at Lyon, Roma and Al-Ittihad, and now finds himself in a position that lets him create his own story rather than write about others'.

Since arriving at Al-Ittihad, his relationship with the game has become more closely tied to the fans, the city and the club. He now plays for one of the most popular sides in Saudi Arabia, in a competition he sees as constantly improving.

Aouar: Jeddah made me feel the power of football

The Algerian spoke with admiration about life in Jeddah. He feels very comfortable in the city, and his bond with it goes beyond being an Al-Ittihad player, having gained friends and a private life whose details he loves.

Football in Saudi Arabia, Aouar pointed out, has a huge impact on people's lives. The city reacts visibly to the team's results and matches, something that makes him feel the uniqueness of what he is living through at Al-Ittihad.

For Aouar, the fan passion around football in Saudi Arabia stood out as one of the most striking things he has noticed. Supporters do not treat matches as merely a sporting event. They treat them as part of everyday life.

He also praised how the Saudi league has developed. The competition has become strong, he stressed, and the image some in Europe once held of it has changed over time, thanks to the presence of big players and a rise in the technical and competitive level.

A new dream: to write his name among Al-Ittihad's legends

Away from journalism, Jeddah and the Saudi league, Aouar has begun to see his time at Al-Ittihad as more than just another stop in his career. He talks repeatedly about the club's strength, its fan base and his ambition to win silverware.

A man who could one day have been a journalist writing about football stars now has the chance to become one of the names about whom stories are written, if he can build an impactful career in the Al-Ittihad shirt.

That ambition carries even more weight given Al-Ittihad's historic standing. The club's long legacy and the names that left their mark on the memory of its fans mean any player chasing a place among the legends faces a task far greater than simply delivering a good season.

The road to that standing begins on the pitch. Aouar must keep producing strong performances and help win titles, so that over the years his name shifts from a player who wore the shirt into one whose name became linked to the club's history.

Aouar's story at Al-Ittihad looks a little different, then. A player who once dreamed of getting close to football through journalism has become part of the story himself. Now he is searching for the bigger step: to leave a legacy that makes him one of the names Al-Ittihad's fans never forget.