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Legend has it that a genie dropped a jewel in the Indian Ocean that lit a fire and launched a volcano, and from its belly came the islands of the Comoros.
If you believe this myth, then this genius must be named Amir Abdo.
The man, born in the French city of Marseille, led the country of his parents and grandparents to unprecedented continental glory, and promoted the Comoros to the final of the African Cup of Nations for the first time in its history.
This was achieved on Thursday night, after a draw against Togo, to reserve the place of Comoros in the final phase against Egypt, including the lady of that tournament.
The lessons of monotonous geography told us in our childhood that Comoros is a member of the Arab League, without giving us more information about the African country located in the east of the continent.
However, as usual, football will take on the task of educating people and opening bridges of knowledge to nations that have made sport their voice.
While the Comoros mission is Egypt’s guest to face the pharaohs at the end of the African Nations Qualifiers, it took advantage of FilGoal.com The opportunity and I met Amir Abdo, the technical director of the residence.
When Abdo entered the room accompanied by Hamza, the media coordinator for the Comoros national team, we made sure with our own eyes that he was not a genius, but a normal person who had performed a miracle that no one had preceded.
And the glory does not pass in a day and a night, nor in a year or even two years, but it can take 7 years of continuous work, as is the case with his servant, who took the task of training the Comoros in 2014. Did you imagine at that time that you would achieve the achievement of one day reaching the nations of Africa?
NerdAbdo did not hesitate to respond quickly in the negative, and continued: “It was very difficult, I needed to lay the foundations of the house first. There were few professional players, and that’s when I started to lay down my philosophy and build my own business.”
Abdo, 48, was born in France to an immigrant family from the Comoros, and his dream of playing soccer was shattered by two dangerous pieces of the cruciate ligament, and he immediately headed into the world of training at an early age.
Abdo says in an interview with FilGoal.com: “I started my training work with the younger ones. This helped me to know the way of thinking of the young people and how to deal with them.”
On October 13, 2013, Abdo had a magical first moment in his coaching career, while managing the then active club, Golfes Saint Paul, in the French 6th division.
The submerged team achieved a resounding surprise in the Coupe de France that day, and toppled third-division team Lusignac to sweep the stadium with 500 ecstatic fans with a victory they had never seen before.
Outside the stadium, the genius was in training and would achieve an even greater miracle in just 8 years of that magical night.
Shortly after this victory, Abdo received from the Comoros Football Association, to be on the coaching staff of Henri Stambouli, who was in the process of taking on the task of coaching the Comoros national team.
Abdou agreed, of course, as it is an opportunity to learn about his roots, as well as work with Stambouli, who previously coached Guinea, Mali and Togo, as well as Olympique de Marseille, Sion, Monaco, Sedan and many other clubs.
In a surprising turn of events, Stambouli apologized at the last minute, preferring to work in Montpellier, only to find his servant facing the first man’s mission destined for him, and from there the story began.
Abdo says of that long adventure: “I kept the backbone of the national team from the beginning. The players started with me young and now they are mature, and with the support of the national team with other young people, we became more coherent.”
The man, who has previously made no secret of his admiration for Diego Simeone and Carlo Ancelotti in all their different training styles, stresses that he is a flexible coach.
“I always adapt”Abdo explained when asked if he was a defensive or offensive coach, continuing: “I adapt to the available players and always try to create a balance between defense and attack.”
…
Monday’s clash between Egypt and Comoros will be reminiscent of the November 2019 clash, when the African champions failed to shake the Comoros net on 7 occasions, resulting in a scoreless clash.
Abdo remembers that historic day: “It was a good match, we tried to win it, but Mohamed El Shennawi stood in front of us.”
But he added: “We did not qualify only on the result of that match, but it was an integral job throughout the trip. We also beat Togo before.”
That match saw the absence of Mohamed Salah, so does Abdo want to repeat this in the second leg at Cairo Stadium?
Abdo responds: “No, playing against Salah is always fun.”
Abdo believes Egypt is chosen Integrated and homogeneous in all lines, it also has distinguished players such as Salah, Trezeguet and Mostafa Mohamed ”.
Then Abdo stopped and tried to remember the name of another player, and we managed to help him: “Afsha is in midfield as Egypt has a strong defense and a goalkeeper among the best in Africa. I really enjoy watching El Shennawi.”
And your servant is not expecting an easy match, especially that “Egypt wants revenge after it failed to emerge victorious.”
But it emphasizes: “The only thing about the game is that it will be played without pressure after both teams have already qualified for the final.”
The trip to Egypt was preceded by a visit to the residence of Ghazali Othman, President of Comoros, who urged all members of his country to congratulate them on the historic achievement.
Abdo faces another personal challenge as he has supervised training sessions in Nouadhibou, Mauritania, since last November.
That team, which made the headlines in December when it was considered to withdraw from the Confederation Cup against Asante Kotoko, due to the outbreak of the Corona virus among its members and their inability to contribute the minimum number of players for the match.
The exclusion of me is bitter because it happened after the two teams tied to go with each side, but it would certainly not be an obstacle for Abdo to achieve his goals with Nouadhibou.
The experience of coaching a national team and a club at the same time is not easy, which Florian Ibingei went through previously when he oversaw the training of his country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Club Vita for several years, a challenge that he described as “someday he will afflict him with a heart attack” as a result of the tremendous pressure he undergoes throughout the process.
His servant, for his part, admits that he held two positions “Very, very difficult and very, very complicated.”
Abdo elaborates: “Especially with the Corona virus and its impact and postponing the African Nations Finals for a year.”
He continues: “The balance between the two tasks is very difficult. I work with Nouadhibou on a daily basis and then I go to international scales to work with Comoros, but this is difficult and not easy.”
…
Looking at the Comoros Islands list for the current international scale, we find that it is devoid of local players, as its server relies heavily on the professionals in France of the children of immigrants, so what is the reason?
Abdo responds: “The local league is still in the formation stage, it does not produce strong players, and that is why it is difficult for them to compete with professionals in Europe. Within the current list there are two players who were playing in the local league and recently moved to Nouadhibou, and I added them to the national team to harmonize with the group. “
The list includes names familiar to French soccer fans, headed no doubt by Ali Ahmeda, 29, a former Toulouse goalkeeper, and Kayseri Sport, whom Abdo has continued to trust despite not being associated with any club for several months.
But the most important and famous star of the Comoros, Al Fardo Bin Nebohan is still the wing of the Red Star of Belgrade from Serbia.
The former Olympiacos player is Comoros’ all-time top scorer with 10 goals, and he scored against Milan almost a month ago in European League competitions, as he previously scored against Napoli and contributed to a historic victory over Liverpool in the European Champions League. two seasons ago.
Is that enough to describe Al-Fardo as “the goodness of the Comoros”? Your servant does not think so: “Al-Fardo is one of the most important players in the Comoros Islands, but I cannot compare him to Salah, because the Egyptian team includes many great players and this helps the star to appear, but we tend to collectively more.”
Before revealing: “Al-Fardo did not come with us to Egypt. After facing Togo, he traveled to Serbia to join their team because they have important games to prepare for.”
Aside from Firdaw, Comoros has more talents born in France, whose position in the international game has yet to be decided.
Zaidou Youssef (21 years old), Saint-Etienne midfielder, Misiani Maolida (22 years old), Nice forward, and Welsh Said (25 years old), Toulouse winger, all of them represented the French youth teams, and have the right to play for the Comoros.
Will qualifying for the final of the African nations be the beginning of the road to convincing them? Abdo explains: “I cannot force them, God knows better. Many players hope to play for the French team.”
Abdo continues: “This is a personal decision of the player. I cannot put the knife to their neck, but at the same time, if they decide to represent the Comoros, our arms will be open to them. This is their country and the country of their parents.” and grandparents “.
Duration: “I spoke to some of them and I am still waiting for their decision.”
In the end, it was mandatory to ask oneself about the future: Will the Comoros get a forceful surprise, as its neighbor, Madagascar, did in the summer of 2019, reaching the quarter-finals on its debut?
“I don’t have a magic ball”… replied his servant, with a smile on his face. “We will continue our hard work and see where our path ends.”
Indeed, this generation of Comoros players has already reached a point where none of their ancestors have ever been.
