BELGIUM: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Algerian football player Mohamed Seif Eddine Amroune kicks off first season in Belgium D1 club

Twenty-four-year-old Mohamed Seif Eddine Amroune transferred from Algers football club CR Belouizdad earlier this month and has just started the 2007-2008 football season with his new club - the RAEC Mons in Belgium's first division. Twenty-four-year-old Mohamed Seif Eddine Amroune moved from Algeria to Belgium at the beginning of July. He is one of the latest African player to be signed by a European football club, the R.A.E.C. Mons which joined Belgium's first division last season. In Mons, Amroune is part of an international team that includes Dare Nibombe from Togo, the only player in Mons who took part in the 2006 World Cup. Amroune, who played four seasons with Algeria national team, also met again with Fadel Brahami, the other Algerian in the team. Amroune came to Belgium for a week trial with another football club, in Zulte, but was finally signed by Mons on July 6 for a two-years period, renewable once. Jose Riga, the team's trainer, had watched Amroune on DVD and found his profile interesting. Quite unusually, the player was signed without a trial period in his new club. Brahami was then asked to make sure his compatriot integrated well with his new surroundings and the club's staff helped him to find an accommodation and other practical details like opening a bank account. After a week training in the Netherlands, Amroune and the team came back to Mons to get ready for the beginning of the 2007-2008 season which officially starts this weekend (August 3-5). More than ten nationalities coexist on the pitch, including Amroune and Brahami from Algeria, Daniel Wansi from Cameroon, Francois Zoko and Romeo Affessi Seka from Ivory Coast and Mohammed Aliyu Datti from Nigeria. With players from Serbia, Croatia, Italy and France, Belgians are a minority with only five or six players. Amroune says he enjoys this diversity: ''It's great, you have players from everywhere, Algerians, French, Ivorians, Serbs, Croats, it's great. Frankly, it's really good, and there are some Belgians too. We all get on together very well.'' He wants to give the club the best of himself and will get his first opportunity on Saturday (August 4) when R.A.E.C. Mons plays against F.C. Bruges. ''Well, my objective here in Belgium is to be among the best players in the championship so the club will do better next year,'' Amroune says. Riga said he was interested in Amroune for many reasons, and not only because he was left-handed. ''It's a player with a good technique, who is skilful in front of the goal which is important for a striker. It's his first experience here, so he is hungry, he is hungry to discover this side of Europe, he is hungry to make himself known outside his home country and at the same time, as far as his personality is concerned, I would say he is very open, he has got a lot of will, a lot of dedication and doesn't have any problems to blend with a group, very respectful, and that's also some qualities I am looking for in a player because one should not forget that the individuals have to form a group. So Amroune, at this level, matched what we were looking for,'' Riga describes. The fact that Amroune spoke French also played in his favour. And last but not least, Amroune was available to sign a new contract. Riga regrets that they are not more Belgian players in his team and has created a football club for junior players to train them and nurture ambitions. He said Belgian players are usually signed outside Belgium, often in the Netherlands. He also said Belgian players can be quite expensive. He said he noticed an increasing numbers of South American football players are now emerging on the market, and admire Argentineans for their competitiveness. But he said African football players will remain in demand. ''I would say that African players are still in demand and well appreciated because he has some natural qualities we can't find at a European level, for example their muscular power, so I think they will stay in demand because they are also growing in parallel. African countries are getting the right infrastructure and so will evolve. So African players will always stay in demand but competition is growing,'' Riga explains. One of the characteristic of Mons football club is the close relationship between the players and their fans. Here, locals are welcome to watch any training sessions and players kiss children after the games. The supporters have already nicknamed Amroune 'Momo' and hope for he will give the club many goals. They too regret that there are not more Belgian players in their home team. ''We are slightly annoyed by this, but this is modern soccer, that's the way it is. Unfortunately, there are not that many Belgian players in the teams. It doesn't happen only in Belgium, it's a bit everywhere, so we have to get used to it, we have to get used to it,'' Vincenzo Lomanto, the head ''The Ultras'' -- one of Mons six supporters' clubs, says. Mons, 100.000 inhabitants, is a quiet town in the French speaking part of Belgium located some sixty kilometres South of Brussels. For Riga, it is an ideal place for a young player to grow, far from the temptations of bigger cities and away from too much media attention. Amroune likes his new city, but says he will certainly miss his family and friends. And before leaving us, Amroune offers some advice for young football players who may be thinking of a professional career in international football. ''Yes, I will give you a little piece of advice. You have to work a lot, during the training and during the games, and then wait for your luck. And when your luck arrives, you have to grab it,'' Amroune suggests before heading back to the pitch.

ITN Source | August 4, 2007

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