Mohamed Ihattaren has rediscovered happiness in his life, he says in conversation with Ajax TV† For the first time since his move to Ajax, the twenty-year-old attacking midfielder has given an interview for the first time. Ihattaren indicates that he went through a difficult period, but that he could quickly feel like a ‘football player’ again, especially thanks to the guidance of Gerald Vanenburg.
“I wasn’t there with my head”, opens the creative, who is currently at a training camp in De Lutte. “Mentally I was not feeling well. I was very unhappy before my arrival to Ajax and I went back to a familiar, familiar environment. I let go of everything for a while and I started from zero. Got too many emotions and I thought too much: everything a footballer shouldn’t do. Fortunately, I then met Gerald Vanenburg, and I immediately clicked with him.”
“I didn’t think about football for a while and just wanted to focus on myself. He said to me right away: ‘Players with your qualities can’t stop. It doesn’t exist, so get it out of your head.’ A day later we already started training”, smiles Ihattaren. “Gerald Vanenburg is a really good guy. It was one for him no go that I wanted to stop. We often went hiking together. We talked, trained, called… I cried at him, everything. A big brother I can tell everything to. I’m really grateful to him for that. He really hit me. When I started it I really thought it was impossible.”
“I had become really heavy and I was no longer a pro. But that’s why I’m really happy with where I am now. I actually did it myself, but it also has to do with your environment.” Ihattaren indicates that the guidance from Ajax was strict and that staff members even went on holiday with him. “Everything has been about getting fit lately. At some point they started paying attention to everything. Sleep, eat, everything… They even went on vacation with me. It was a kind of training camp mixed with vacation.”
The arrival of trainer Alfred Schreuder also does the creative person very well. “I’m fit and I hear positive things from everyone. I am happy and I feel human again. I am especially happy that I get a lot of love here at Ajax. Really a lot of love. The trainer is also happy with me. He knows exactly how to hit you. He treats everyone the same, yet different. You don’t see it a lot with trainers, but he knows how to deal with everyone. He really has a feeling for that, he really has a heart. That is very nice. I still have a long way to go, but I’m happy that I’m very fit”, concludes Ihattaren.