Every football player takes a different path to becoming a professional. Nineteen-year-old Jawad El Arroud chooses the gradual path. In the summer of 2023, he left the youth academy of the Belgian top club Union Saint-Gilloise after ten years, and he now plays in Slovakia at FC Kosice.

By Jordi Tomasowa

“I've been away for six weeks now, but I haven't felt homesick yet,” says El Arroud. “I know why I am far from my family and what I do it for. That only gives me more motivation. It's really nice to be here. I see it as a piece of life experience and have been on a great adventure for almost ten months. I arrived in The Hague from Belgium in July, where I lived on my own for seven months. Now I have been in Slovakia for two months and I just want to make my dream come true.”

El Arroud has gone through the entire youth academy of Union. He started in the Under 8s and eventually reached the second team. The nineteen-year-old footballer made the resurrection les Unionists up close in recent years. “About six years ago, Union was bought by Tony Bloom, a British gambling billionaire who also owns Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion,” El Arroud explains. “He has put a lot of money into Union. Three years ago they were promoted again to the highest level in Belgium, only to finish second behind Club Brugge in the play-offs a year later.”

Union also just missed out on becoming champions last season. After an insane end to the Belgian play-offs, it was Royal Antwerp that took the national title again for the first time in 66 years. “I was in the stadium myself,” says El Arroud. A championship was a fact with a win over Club Brugge, but unfortunately they lost 1-3, meaning that Royal Antwerp was crowned champion thanks to a late goal by Toby Alderweireld.”

“Union has become increasingly professionalized in recent years. For example, a whole new gym has been built at the training complex and Nike has been the official clothing sponsor since this season.”

Lack of perspective

El Arroud decided to leave the Belgian club in the summer of 2023, after it became clear that he only had a small chance of making the step to the first team. “I had reached an age where I needed to be presented with a clear plan, but unfortunately I didn't get that at Union. I wasn't offered a contract, but they wanted me to stay. I was already eighteen years old and saw players around me of sixteen and seventeen who already had a contract.”

El Arroud then decided to contact Thanasi Ntinoudis and Charlie Mena. “I met them three years ago when I was still playing for Union. They saw me play football and were aware of my potential. They said to me: 'If you feel that you no longer have any prospects at Union, you can contact us. Then we will ensure that you can find a nice new club.'”

“I joined their football academy at the beginning of August. What they do in the Netherlands is unique. There are only amateur football players who practice against professional football organizations. For example, we played against KAS Eupen, Helmond Sport, etc. That shows that they really treat us seriously. We played the competition matches at HMSH Under 23 from The Hague. All matches are also recorded, so that Thanasi and Charlie can present footage to any interested clubs.”

“Amateur players have been allowed to do internships at clubs in almost all of Europe, even at large clubs,” says El Arroud. “In the Netherlands, for example, at Ajax and AZ and abroad at RB Leipzig, CD Leganés and Aris Limassol. Thanasi and Charlie are also certified individual trainers who train top players on their weaknesses alongside their professional club. Cody Gakpo, for example, used this in his preparation for the World Cup in Qatar, where he excelled. They are now also seriously working on improving and expanding their academy, even beyond the borders of the Netherlands.”

The match images of El Arroud ended up at the Slovak FC Kosice, which quickly became impressed with the wing attacker. “I first heard of the interest at the end of November. Thanasi got a call asking if I could play a practice match there with another club from the second level. I went there, played 90 minutes and made a really good impression. Contact was made at the beginning of January to discuss the contract. I am very grateful to Thanasi and Charlie. They now also represent my interests and without them I would not have been able to take this step.”

El Arroud admits that he was initially surprised by the Slovak interest. “I'm just not a person who has doubts about these kinds of things. I played in Union's youth academy for ten years, so I know what I can do. I saw it as a great start and not as a club where I see myself playing my entire career. It is my first professional contract and now I want to move up step by step.”

“I was actually well received by my teammates immediately upon arrival, even though not everyone speaks English. I immediately felt welcome within the selection. That's also the great thing: even if certain teammates don't speak the same language, they show with their body language and facial expression that you belong.”

Due to the warm welcome, El Arroud says he hardly had to acclimatize. “The first week I had to arrange an Airbnb, but then thanks to the club I was able to move into an apartment. The food is also well arranged. The changing rooms and the fields we train on are also beautiful. This also applies to the stadium, I was told that it can accommodate around six thousand supporters. Actually, I don't have anything to complain about yet. At times there is of course a language barrier, but before the matches it is made clear what the match plan is. Then you know what to do.”

El Arroud is a member of the FC Kosice promising team, because it was not realistic for him to immediately make the step to the first team as an amateur. “I am not in a hurry and I have to prove myself to join the main force in the long term. I am now giving myself half a season to get used to Slovak football, which is a lot more physical than football in the Netherlands. In the first matches I immediately noticed the difference between youth and senior football. I'm a winger myself, but we play in a 3-5-2 formation. When I have possession of the ball, I play in my familiar position and when I lose the ball I have to defend far back, so I really travel a lot of kilometers per match.”

Living in Slovakia

El Arroud proudly says that he enjoys every day in Slovakia. “Life is really good here. I'm lucky that I could draw in Kosice, which is the largest city in Slovakia after Bratislava. In a smaller city I might have had a harder time. The residents here are really nice and curious about people who are not from here. The rest of the city is very beautiful. It is located in a valley between two mountains and the nature here is beautiful.”

“If I'm not at the club, I can go to a gym on the first floor of the apartment building where I live. I actually go there every morning. I left my family and my life in Belgium and the Netherlands to make it in Slovakia. I spend almost all day taking care of my body, because I want to be as fit as possible.”

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