New Celtic signing Haissem Hassan has spoken about his road to joining Celtic, and highlighted his long and winding journey from the French second tier, to La Liga, before his latest destination in the Glasgow’s East End…
“I’m from the suburbs of Paris and I started like every kid, playing in the parks,” Haissem explained at his first Celtic media conference, attended by the mainstream media, with the Celtic fan media still disgracefully locked out.
“One of the team-mates’ fathers knew someone at Paris FC, and he said to my dad, ‘Your kid is pretty good at football. You should maybe try and get him trial with with Paris FC.’
“A week later, when I was on trial over there, I just signed. So, that’s just how it started.
“Then at 15 I joined Châteauroux, which is a big academy in France, and I made my debut in the second division in France at 16.”
Haissem Hassan warms up ahead of his Celtic debut. Dundee Utd v Celtic, Premier Sports Cup, Saturday 15 August. Tannadice. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou
Hassan would then make the move to Spain at the age of just 18, as he accepted an offer to join the yellow submarine of Villarreal, but failed to make an impact on the first team playing mostly for their B team. He was sequentially sent out on loan to several Spanish second tier sides, before getting the chance to star in the top flight with Real Oviedo.
“And then at 18 I decided to move to Spain—I signed for Villarreal. And then I signed for Oviedo when they were in the second division, and we managed to get back to La Liga. Last season I was playing in the Spanish top division, and now I’m here.
“At the start, I was just a kid chasing his dream and doing everything he could to make sure it happened,” the new Celtic star said.
Hassan also spoke of the difficulties of leaving his family and move to a different country as he chased his footballing dream.
Haissem Hassan of Celtic. Celtic Training and press conference, photo Stuart Wallace IMAGO/ Shutterstock
“Obviously, it wasn’t really easy to leave your family at 15 and then at 18. But I was convinced that was the right move. I’ve always liked Spanish football and the lifestyle in general in Spain.
“So at 18, when Villarreal came for me, it was almost impossible to say no. And again, I knew it was like another step to achieve my dream, so I just went for it.
Haissem Hassan, Mika Baur & Camilo Duran of Celtic. Celtic Training and press conference, photo Stuart Wallace IMAGO/ Shutterstock
“I have a pretty small family, my two parents and my sister, who are back in Paris. They are really happy for me” At that time I went on a couple of loans in the second division in Spain, Sporting Gijón and Mirandés.
Hassan has always believed in his own ability, and was determined to reach the very top adding: “It’s something I’ve always been chasing and I’ve always been confident in my abilities.”
Haissem has certainly covered a great distance in his bid for stardom. He came off the bench yesterday up at Tannadice to make his Celtic debut in the 4-0 Premier Sports Cup win over Dundee United.
He certainly deserves his chance to shine at Celtic and he’ll now get his first taste of Paradise on Wednesday night in the Champions League playoff against LASK.
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