“Al-Shabab is the athletics of Saudi Arabia, it uses its weapons to fight the big guys”

Yannick Carrasco (Ixelles, Belgium, 1993) is a different player. He always has been. Both in football and personally. The Belgian’s movements and dribbling on the wing are just as characteristic as his controversial decisions. And one of those last decisions was to accept the call of the Al-Shabab and go to Saudi Professional League to become one of its biggest stars.

If Yannick Carrasco defines himself in a certain way, in addition to being an offensive player that the ‘Cholo’ Simeone transformed, he is like a man stuck to a suitcase. Always traveling, from one country to another, from one league to another, from one culture to another. Landing in Saudi Arabia is therefore no problem for him. It is not too exotic either, just a new experience to add to your backpack. One more season in his complete and complex football journey.

Carrasco’s life has always been marked by changes and the mixing of cultures. His father, who abandoned him when he was just a child, was Portuguese. His mother, Spanish. However, he was born in Belgiuma country he defended more than 70 times and twice World Cups and three European Cups.

At just 17, he has become one of Belgium’s biggest prospects after excelling in the GenkYannick Carrasco makes the big leap to professional football by signing with AS Monaco. There he made his debut in 2012 in a match against FC Visits in which he also scored a superb free-kick goal. It was his undisputed letter of introduction to the world. From that moment on, his footballing progression did not stop.

In 2015 he signed for Atletico Madrid and he met Simeone, the coach who changed his life on and off the pitch. He had several clashes with the Argentinian, for which Yannick takes almost all the responsibility, but which were decisive in his learning.

After a two-year adventure in Chinese football defending the colours of Dalian Yifangreturned to the mattress team to become a legend. He understood the importance of the team and made up to seven seasons with the Rojiblancos, playing more than 250 games and winning titles as important as a League or a Europa League.

Today, far from the typical elite battles, Yannick Carrasco enjoys football at a different pace and faces this new stage in a historic Saudi Arabian club like Al-Shabab. In this second season, the “youth” group which fights against the power of the four clubs supported by the FRP shines at the top of the standings with three consecutive victories and only one goal conceded. In the midst of this good time, Carrasco receives EL ESPAÑOL in Riyadh to talk about his new life, his money, his commitment, his opportunities and, above all, Saudi football.

What is football for you?

That’s it. It’s my life. I’m lucky to be able to do what I love. It was my dream to be a footballer and I’ve been happy doing it for many years. I hope there will be many more.

What do you miss most about Madrid?

I lived in Madrid for many years and created many bonds with many people, friendships that I miss.

What struck you most about “Cholo” Simeone?

I learned to work, to hurt myself. As an offensive player, I learned that commitment and I learned a lot defensively.

Thanks to “Cholo” Simeone, did you have the career you had? Mainly because of this change of mentality.

Maybe, but you never know. There are coaches who have other virtues or who are more offensive and with them I could have scored more goals. But Simeone made me grow as a man and as a footballer. He taught me this commitment, to think of the team before yourself.

Simeone made me grow as a man and as a footballer. He taught me to commit and think first of the team.

Does the work that “Cholo” taught you help you here in Saudi Arabia to make a difference? Because all the players who come here have a lot of quality and maybe others lack that sacrifice that you make.

Of course. I have to set an example as a foreign player. Any foreigner who comes, with his ideas and what he has learned from other coaches during his career, must demonstrate the level of Europe. But you have to contribute to the work, add and help.

At Atlético, you played with “another” Portuguese like Joao Félix. What do you think of his time there and all the controversies he had?

Everyone in football knows that Joao Felix is ​​a very talented boy. He was born with it. But sometimes talent is not the most important thing. The same goes for discipline, concentration and work. Atleti is a difficult team because it requires a lot of effort and talent alone is not enough. It may be that his relationship with Simeone was difficult.

But you can say that he is a very talented boy because he has always found great teams like Barça, Chelsea or Atlético itself. I wish you the best. It will surely grow. Arriving so young at a club as big as Atleti, with the pressure of such an expensive transfer, is not easy.

Didn’t Joao Félix have the best attitude?

Maybe the attitude was good. But maybe he didn’t do what the coach asked him to do. When you’re young and you’re an attacking player, you all want to attack, and maybe at some point I didn’t defend the way Simeone wanted. Or there are times when you don’t adapt to the system and in one case you’re the best in the world and in another it doesn’t fit your style of play. When I was there, he left moments of great talent and won games for the team.

Did Carrasco lack desire?

It happened to me when I was young too. I came from Monaco and I needed time to adapt. For the first three months I didn’t play. Then I got this job by changing the chip in my head. There are players who have a different rhythm or who take a little longer. I was lucky and it clicked, but otherwise, maybe after six months I could have been out.

What memories do you have of a team like Atlético de Madrid, very internal and with a particular philosophy?

Atleti’s daily life was excellent. Firstly because it is a very well-known club, where you feel good from the first day. And then for those fans who suffer in every match, who know that with Atleti anything can happen… Atleti fans are unique. I saw what happened in the Champions League, there, pushing until the last minute and finally winning… You can tell that it is a very familiar team because you see how the whole bench moves to celebrate the goal, the ‘Cholo’ too… And that is the beauty of Atleti.

You are a player who has been through many countries and played in leagues like China. What brought you to Saudi Arabia and what do you take with you from this country?

I think that for me every experience is something positive on a human level and on a football level. When I was younger, I thought that everything was normal in life. and when
You go to a country like China, which is no longer at the level of a Champions League team, you see another reality and that in football, not everything is made up of the best teams in Europe. When I returned to Atleti, I arrived with more values, respecting things that are normal for some people. And here I come to Saudi to help with all this experience that I have had in Europe and also outside Europe, telling the club what it can improve.

Which Atletico Madrid player would you take to Saudi Arabia?

I would say Lemar because we have a great complicity and for me he is a top player. But the one who, for example, is fantastic for a group is Lucas Hernández. Josema Giménez is also at the top, he is a leader. A guy who, even if something hurts him, will give his all. Play with your heart. Players like that are always necessary in a team.

Do you think Atletico Madrid can really win the Champions League or La Liga this year?

I hope they can win something and more in the Champions League, that’s what they’re missing.

Are you still in touch with colleagues there?

Yes, I played for Atleti for many years. It’s like my home. In the end, there were seven years in two parts and almost 300 games. So, in the end, when you create good moments and live difficult moments that make you grow and get up the next day, that feeling enters your heart and never leaves it.

Have you spoken to any of them about Arabia or have any of them asked you?

I can’t name one off the top of my head, but among friends, everything is asked. What is the city like, what is life like, what is the championship like… As it is developing a lot, people from outside are curious and want to know how everything is going.

Al-Shabab is a historic team, but it is difficult to compete with the big teams in the league. What goal do you set for yourself both collectively and individually?

The budget is not the same as the four above. They bring players from another level because they have more resources. That’s how it is. For example, in Spain the same thing happens with the top teams that have better players because they have more money and pay better salaries.

The coach has done a very good job and has improved the team a lot. We have very good players and we have to work hard. Here it is like at Atlético de Madrid, who have a very good team, but Barça and Real Madrid have always been Barça and Real Madrid. So, with our weapons, we have to fight to be up there.

Does this remind you a little of the fight you fought in Spain?

Yes, that’s true.