First Team

“I’m very happy here”

An interview with VfL’s Algerian summer signing Mohammed Amoura.

Mohammed Amoura’s pre-season was something of a rollercoaster ride. After scoring twice in three friendly matches, the former Union Saint-Gilloise player suffered a medial knee ligament injury at the Wolves’ summer training camp, ruling him out for the start of the current campaign. It was a setback for the Algerian international, who has set himself lofty goals for his first season in Wolfsburg. However, after playing his first 45 minutes in the Bundesliga and registering his first assist at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, the 24-year-old was named in Ralph Hasenhüttl’s starting XI for the first time at Bayer Leverkusen last weekend.

Mohammed Amoura, you were able to lift the domestic cup and qualify for Europe at both your former European clubs – Lugano in Switzerland and Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium. Does Mohammed Amoura guarantee success?

Mohammed Amoura: “I hope so (grins). The injury at the start of my VfL career really annoyed me at first, but I’m fit now, I want to help the team and keep improving game by game. If everything goes well, it hopefully won’t be impossible.”

You’ve been at the club and in the city for nearly three months now. How have you settled on and off the pitch?

Mohammed: “I’ve found a family environment here in Wolfsburg and I’m very happy. My team-mates and the coaching staff gave me a very warm welcome, despite minor language barriers. I spend a lot of time with the French-speaking players in particular, like Aster [Vranckx]. In my free time, I really enjoy playing FIFA or Call of Duty on PlayStation, cooking and spending time with friends in the city.”

 

Der VfL-Wolfsburg-Spieler Mohammed Amoura sitzt neben Aster Vranckx.

Karim Ziani is the only previous Algerian to play for VfL, making 23 competitive appearances between 2009 and 2011. Do you know him? What kind of reputation does he have in your home country?

Mohammed: “Of course I know Karim. I had the opportunity to speak with his dad before moving here. Karim was a very good player who always gave everything for his clubs and the national team. I admire that about him because that’s how you earn a lot of love from the Algerian fans.”

Speaking of fans: with nearly 500,000 followers, you have an enormous reach on Instagram. Is that a curse or a blessing?

Mohammed: “I’m really pleased about having so many fans and so much support, particularly in Algeria. Although the tone on social media platforms is mostly negative, I don’t feel any pressure. On the contrary, I’m incredibly grateful for it. I try to make people happy through my performances and give them something in return.”

Was leaving Algeria for European football at just 21 years of age a difficult decision to make? What’s your biggest challenge in Germany right now?

Mohammed: “My family is very important to me, so it wasn’t an easy decision. But I’m in regular touch with my parents, my sister and my brother. They all follow my games and keep their fingers crossed for me every weekend. I’m still on my own in Wolfsburg at the moment, but I’m looking forward to my family visiting me this autumn. Other than that, there are no language issues on the pitch. Off it, I still find it a little difficult to communicate in German, but I’m hoping I can change that soon with my language course here at VfL.”

In VfB Stuttgart, we’re up against a side on Saturday who have recently done very well against both last season’s Champions League finalists, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. What are you expecting from them?

Mohammed: “VfB Stuttgart are a big club with a lot of quality, which they showed last term and in the first few weeks of this season. It’s a very important game for us. If we perform like we did in Leverkusen, we’ll hopefully pick up three points at the Volkswagen Arena.”

Der VfL-Wolfsburg-Spieler Mohammed Amoura spielt den Ball.