First Team

ONE ON ONE: YOUSSEF MALEH

Sacrifices, passion, making it to Serie A. Football as a way of life. Meet Youssef Maleh.

11 August 2021

Sacrifices, passion, making it to Serie A. Football as a way of life. Youssef Maleh joined Fiorentina after working his way up since he was a kid, and is ready for a new challenge. 

WHAT FOOTBALL MEANS TO HIM

"For me, football is a way of life. I started when I was five years old – a year earlier than I was due to. I used to go to watch my older brother play and while I was waiting for him, I used to entertain myself by kicking a ball around. I don’t remember that period all that well, but a few things have stuck in my mind. My sister always reminds me of that whenever people ask her how I got into the game.

I remember that when I was a kid, I’d stay out until way after dinner and my sister would have to come and get me and drag me inside.”

THE FOOTBALL EXPERIENCE

"It’s really intense for me.

It really is a passion for me – not just me, but my whole family too. They were the ones that passed it on to me. My brother plays at a lower level, but he still puts his heart and soul into it. He’s very passionate.

My sister likes it too. She follows football closely."

GOING PRO

"To be absolutely honest, I would never have imagined it would happen.

When you’re a kid growing up, you play because you enjoy it – you’re not really thinking about anything. But as you get older, you realise that you could become someone. You still have the passion, but you try to work on yourself, because there are a lot of different dynamics to consider both on and off the pitch.

It doesn’t really sink in when you turn pro. I was playing in Serie C just three years ago, just playing and watching the higher leagues. Then when you get to Serie B, you look at Serie A as a really hard place to get to. More than anything else, I play because I enjoy it.

There are seasons when you’re not really able to show what you can do. But then there are seasons – like last season – which are incredible.

And suddenly you find yourself here.

There’s the mental side to it too. The importance of going through tough times in order to make it. I want to make that clear: the tough times are part of the journey too. You might get injured or find your playing time limited, if the coach doesn’t notice you.

All that is part of your process of development.

Let me give you an example. When I was 18, I was brought up to the first team, but I had six months where the coach didn’t give me a look-in – perhaps rightly. So I had to cut my teeth at a lower level.

But it meant that I didn’t get ahead of myself, and that experience enabled me to develop across the board.

You have to try to improve every single day and set ambitious targets, if you want to get to a team like this." 

KEY MOMENT

"As well as not playing, that also proved to be an important experience in terms of becoming more mature, because I was living in an apartment with five other guys that I didn’t know.

You become a lot more responsible.

I also had a two-month lay-off with injury.

There wasn’t one particular moment, but the combination of lots of different factors." 

SACRIFICE

"At 16 or 17, you see other people going out but you know you can’t because you have to work on Sunday. For a young person, that can be quite tough, but to be honest it wasn’t for me.

I never felt the urge to go out before I was 18 – I was very focused because my passion for football was stronger than my desire to go out and have fun.

This isn’t always an easy career to have, because there are a lot of other sacrifices you have to make. And I’m not just talking about individual players, but all the people around them.

Your loved ones and family members have to dedicate a lot of their time to you – they make sacrifices to ensure you can go as far as possible and make your dreams come true." 

ALTERNATIVE CAREER

"I’ve never thought about it, because I’ve always been 100% dedicated. I was focused and my aim was to try to be committed and give everything for football, without having any regrets or remorse.

In the end, all the sacrifices I made and my family made have brought me here." 

TAKING CARE OF THE BODY

"Ti serve per andare in campo, devi stare bene fisicamente e devi curarti. Non basta farlo in allenamento, ma anche fuori. 

Per esempio ti danno le vacanze ma devi stare sempre sul pezzo, magari acquistando materiali per allenarti. 

A me è successo soprattutto in categorie inferiori. 

Così devi investire su te stesso andare dal nutrizionista che alla Fiorentina c’è, ma in altre realtà magari no". 

FREE TIME

"It depends on how I’m feeling.

I read a lot because I find it relaxing. I like books – at the moment I’m reading one about the Battle of Verdun – and articles, not necessarily linked to sport, but just to stay informed.

To be honest, though, we don’t actually have a lot of free time.

I live with my girlfriend and we’re growing up together, but we’re still young."   

FIRST FEW WEEKS AT FIORENTINA

"I’m learning a lot. It’s been a couple of weeks, so it’s quite early to take stock, but I can definitely say that it’s a different playing style to the one I’ve been used to over the last past few months.

The coach is giving me a lot of tactical pointers, and I’m trying to do what he asks. I feel a lot of confidence from the club.

I remember the announcement came out in January, then I had a crazy six months as Venezia sealed promotion to Serie A.

Fiorentina have put their faith in me and I’ll try to repay that on the pitch."

COMMUNICATION IN FOOTBALL

"The role models you have on the pitch are players from a few years ago – that might be top players that played ten years ago, so naturally you try to learn from your elders, and that extends to how to behave away from the pitch too.

The questions are often the same, so the responses are the same as a consequence of that. You end up saying ‘let’s focus on the next game’ almost automatically, because that’s how it is. You can never rest on your laurels in this sport – you always have to look to the future.

It’s good to look back at mistakes you’ve made and try to improve them, but you can’t look too far back, unless it’s to correct issues.

Otherwise, your game will never progress."

THE PERFECT MIDFIELDER

"Midfielders need to be able to attack and defend.

That said, there’s a lot more responsibility on every position in modern football. Defenders are being asked to start the play – sometimes even goalkeepers. So everything has really changed.

Down the other end, strikers are not just asked to score goals, but to defend too. They’re the first line of defence.

In terms of my position, the midfielder, it’s undoubtedly a complete role – it’s great but it’s tough too. You’re in the centre of the park so theoretically you’re going to be seeing a lot of the ball.

It’s also a position in which you have to work really hard, because you have to show real composure and apply yourself in both phases.

You have to choose your moment and read the game." 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF FLORENCE

"I haven’t been able to experience the stadium yet, but I know there’s great support there.

Everybody knows that the fans in Florence are really passionate. Even during the training camp, there are lots of fans there asking you for photos and trying to motivate you… It’s only the start of the season.

You get all the motivation you need when the season draws close.

It’s been a whirlwind of emotions, from the little things to the big stuff."

VENICE AND FLORENCE 

"For me it’s really important to take into account what the city and environment are like when choosing where to live or work.

It’s important for you and for your family. I didn’t really see much of Venice as a city unfortunately, because I lived and trained in Mestre.

I’m here in Florence with my girlfriend. We’re growing up together and this is a wonderful place to do that.

It manages to motivate you while allowing you to relax all at once.” 

TRAVEL

"I love travelling, but it’s been difficult with the pandemic.

“I love being by the sea and visiting the coast in Italy and elsewhere – the landscape is beautiful. Wherever you go in Italy, you find amazing places where you can have a good time while eating delicious, varied food.

“I’d love to go back to Morocco – it’s been years since I’ve been there." 

FRIENSHIPS IN FOOTBALL

"I’m quite a shy, humble person, but I try to make sure I’m respected and that I don’t come across as ‘fragile’. I don’t give much away.

I’m not famous enough to be worried that people are only getting close to me for other reasons.

On the field, I try to show personality. I’m a big believer that when you step out onto the turf, you’re not representing yourself but a club, a team and the passion of so many people.

Football has to be about fun, about passion. When you go out there, you can’t be worrying about the number of fans there are or how passionate the support is.

I’m not worried about playing in front of 10,000, 20,000 or 70,000 fans.
When you play, you play to defend your shirt and make your team win". 

FANTASY FOOTBALL

"“I play with my friends and team-mates – this year I’m even in the game! I have to say that I think a lot of it is luck – that’s one way of putting it anyway!”

MALEH IN 20 YEARS

"I haven’t thought about that yet, but I’d like to stay in the world of football.

That would be great, because it’s my passion.

I believe that it’s important to do something you enjoy."

Interview by Vieri Capretta (@VieriCapretta), with the help of Luca Giammarini 

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