A young man from Leifer and the dream of professional football

Hamza Ech Cheikh is currently under contract with Austrian third division club Stadl-Paura. The semi-professional club from Lower Austria signed the Leifer native with Moroccan roots at the beginning of February. “Unfortunately, all championships are currently interrupted due to the Corona situation. We can do maximum individual training. “I’m eagerly waiting for everything to start again,” said Ech Cheikh in an interview SportNews .

For the 23-year-old, things have calmed down at the moment after the last few years have been turbulent. A total of nine club changes across South Tyrol, Trentino and Austria brought him to the gates of the second Austrian league and thus to the door of professional football. The man from Leifer has not yet been able to gain a foothold in the professional business - partly due to some unfortunate circumstances - but he has not given up on his dream. From Laives to Austria Ech Cheikh, who came to South Tyrol from Morocco at the age of four, took his first steps in football in his hometown of Laives. The attacker, who cites his considerable physique (1,90 meters tall and well built) as his greatest strength, soon found himself in the sights of Virtus Bozen, which was still active in the top league at the time. “I first played with the juniors and after a month I joined the fighting team. I spent a total of two seasons there. But I was young and had a few disciplinary problems, so I moved to Trentino,” said Ech Cheikh.

“I really blossomed in Nalles.” Hamza Ech Cheikh In the summer of 2016 he went to Mezzocorona in the Trentino regional league, followed by a move to league rivals Mori in the winter, before returning to South Tyrol in the summer. “Because I had to finish school in Bolzano, it wasn’t ideal to play in Trentino,” said the young South Tyrolean, who finally found his luck with Nals in the 1st amateur league. “The environment and the atmosphere were perfect. “I was able to really blossom there,” enthuses Ech Cheikh. A chance meeting changed everything Even during this time, the Leifer native did not give up his dream of professional football. He finally made the leap abroad thanks to a chance encounter in the summer of 2018. “I met a Tyrolean coach on Lake Garda who invited me to a trial training session with the Austrian fourth division team SC Zirl.” So Ech Cheikh packed his things and headed off Market town near Innsbruck. But he didn't last long in Austria's fourth league. “In the winter the offer came from SV Hall, which was leading the table in the third division at the time. I played well there for a year,” says the 23-year-old.

With his performance, he caught the attention of Wacker Innsbruck II (3rd league), who finally signed Ech Cheikh in December 2019. The second league, i.e. professional football, was within reach - especially because the club promised him that if he performed well he could also be involved in the professional team.

But then Corona came – and suddenly nothing was the same anymore. “It's a shame because things went great in the friendly games. In the summer of 2020, Wacker upgraded a lot, so there was no longer any prospects for me in the professional team,” regrets Ech Cheikh, who then returned to Hall for six months (and with the Gargazonian, among others Daniele Zingale played ) and has now found accommodation with Stadl-Paura in Upper Austria. Return to South Tyrol? If so, then only Nals What does the center forward, who scored 57 goals in 16 games between the third and fourth league in Austria, want for the future? “I haven’t given up on my dream of professional football yet. I think I can win the second league in Austria. But abroad, for example Slovakia, would also be attractive.” And a return to South Tyrol? “If I return, it will only be to FC Nals. That year shaped my life. Everything was perfect, both personally and as a team. I still owe them something.”

AT 1st Bundesliga International	SP	TV	P
1. RB Salzburg	17	36:21	32
2. LASK	17	24:21	29
3. Sturm Graz	17	27:23	28
4. TSV Hartberg	17	26:22	26
5. SV Ried	17	23:23	26
6. Austria Vienna	17	25:26	26
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A young man from Leifer and the dream of professional football

Although Hamza Ech Cheikh is only 23 years old, he has already moved around a lot in his football career. He has been playing in Austria for some time now – and still has a lot planned.

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