The pioneer of the family

On a hot August day, the fifth of the El Kaddouri family’s six children was born in the usually cold city of Brussels. He was named Omar, not because he inherited it from a relative, but because according to Islam, Caliph Omar was one of the most important and faithful companions of the Prophet Muhammad. Although only one of the six children was a girl and they had her as a princess, Omar also grew up very warmly in a traditional and loving Moroccan family.

At home, his parents spoke Rif (Moroccan dialect) and the children answered in French! His mother, Asusa, an immigrant, left Morocco for the then «Promised Land», Brussels, at the age of 11. For a while she worked as a cleaner and then after starting a family, she stayed at home to bring up her six children. His father, Hamou, an illegal immigrant in Europe, arrived in Belgium much later, having first made a stop in France. He was involved in the metal and coal industry. To this day, Omar has a powerful image of his dad etched in his mind, arriving home with his face covered in black dust! His second job was raising horses.

All of his brothers are married and live with their families in Brussels. He has become an uncle 11 times and has excellent relationships with all members of his family. In whatever city he lives in, he always wants a house with several rooms, not for him, but to fit the whole family when they come to visit!

He «escaped» from the first floor to go and play football!

As a child, football monopolized his interest. He also had many teammates both at home and in the local area. His brothers. His parents were initially negative about their son’s involvement in the sport.

One summer, during a family vacation in Morocco, little Omar had organized a match with the children of the village at the local stadium, at 08:00 in the morning. His mother forbade him to participate and locked him in his room from the previous night to make sure he would not run away. And yet, he found a way. And a dangerous on at that!. He opened the window, jumped from the first floor, fractured his leg, but still did not miss the match. He played in the game and then visited the hospital to have a splint placed for the rest of the summer. The cause of the injury remained hidden until his professional involvement with football.

His passion, however, was able to overcome the resistance of his parents. He was enrolled in the neighborhood sports club, Schaerbeek FC. In fact, Hamou, although he did not like football, not only accompanied his son to every training session, but also did not miss a single game, being a constant presence in the stands. He had even become the «informal» team’s driver, since due to the family van he had, he drove all the children of the club home after each match.

His second «father», the Brazilian coach, Da Silva Oterio, took him with him to any club he went to coach. Omar feels indebted to him for his subsequent career path. Da Silva had him under his protection, let him stay at his house before every difficult match and accompanied him to training when his father could not. They also went to Haren and Saint Michelle, who organized one of the best tournaments in Europe, where the then raw talent of El Kaddouri won the title of best player.

In 2001, at the age of 11, his dream began to take shape at Diegem sport, one of the Belgian teams known for promoting young players. He stayed there for five years, making some great appearances that brought his name to the attention of all the talent scouts. And it was from here where Anderlecht’s proposal came about.

Welcome to Italy!

In Brussels, however, he did not enjoy the best period of his career. The teenage Omar prefers not to remember the two years from 2006-08. In the first year, in spite of producing some excellent appearances, the Anderlecht coaches made him train with the Under19s instead of with the Under-21s like his other teammates. He found a way out again though, this time through an international tournament, the «di Viareggio». He was seen by some Brescia scouts, for whom he signed for in 2008. It was a year which marked the start of his long journey to the neighboring country that lasted nine years and is his second home. Six months after his arrival, he met Camila, his Italian wife, and it was there where both of his children were born – Adam (7) and Ryan (5) – as well as being the place where he came of age and became a professional! An official resident of Italy by now, a 17-year-old Omar, dropped out of school. Even today he claims that you do not need a diploma to show your education and intelligence.

After two full seasons in the Brescia youth team and an appearance with the senior side against Livorno, he was loaned to Sud Tirol. In 2011 he returned to the «Biancazzurri» and made 40 appearances, scoring 7 goals. Juventus then came in to sign him, but his team rejected the offer. It was this incident that he describes as the first worst moment of his career, since he believes that he was deprived of the opportunity to play for one of the top teams in the world at the age of 21!

The Napoli chapter

The next challenge, however, was not long in coming. In 2012, Napoli showed an interest and offered four million euros for his aignature (which is the most expensive transfer in his career). In Naples he felt comfortable very quickly. He fitted right in since he loved the way of life, his friends there, the atmosphere, and the food. A lover of pasta, after all, it was the ideal city to learn to cook his specialty, pasta with salmon. In the South he gained recognition in a very short space of time. One afternoon when he was accompanying his mother to a well-known shope in the city for his other favorite sport, … shopping, he was mobbed by around 40 fanatical fans who were waiting for him, asking for his autographs, hugging him, and chanting songs.

The following year, however, he returned to the North again on loan, this time at Torino. There, under coach Gianpero Ventura, who stands out to this day for his infectios attitude, austerity and guidance, he spent two full seasons at the club, making 76 appearances, scoring 9 goals and contributing 16 assists, as well as enjoying a European run in the Europa League.

In the summer of 2015 he had the option to stay in Turin, but he chose to return to Naples and probably regretted it. Mauricio Sarri did not place his trust in him in terms of giving him fewer games, and cut him from the European list of players for the Champions League.

In 2017, when his contract was coming to an end, he chose not to renew it. A fact that provoked the reaction of President Aurelio de Laurentis. The situation quickly got out of control with the other players separating the two men, and Omar ended up in hospital with stitches in his hand after a clasg with a door!

His many years of experience in the country of espresso, ended with a short stop at Empoli. The club could not avoid relegation though, and the «sultan» (as his nickname was in Italy), chose to leave for Thessaloniki.

Title-winner in Thessaloniki

Leaving his hometown at such a young age, but also due to constant obligations, Omar sacrificed many carefree childhood moments with friends and companions. His best friendships were built inside the football stadiums with Medji Benatia and Sebastien de Maio. On arrival at PAOK, he did not expect that he would fall in love with the city, and the team so much, as well as form such a strong bond with his teammates. Crespo, Varela and Biseswar are the ones who have earned his trust most, and he calls them true friends. The award for best player is one he bestowed upon Misic for his ethos and professionalism.

At the Toumba, he experienced some of the most special moments of his career, winning two Greek Cups and of course the Double of 2019. In a PAOK jersey, he lived through everything that every child dreams of when they begin playing football.

Between two nations

Due to his dual nationality he was fortunate to experience international football for both Belgium and Morocco. For Omar, Belgium is the country that made him what he is today. The country where he was born, went to school and gave him all the necessary educational background for the future. In three words, Belgium means the following to him: Merit, organization and recognition.

He played twice with the Belgian U21 side, but always felt «different». That is why he will never forget the moment he was first called up by the Moroccan Olympic team (U23). The same goes for his first game with the Morocco senior men’s national team, when his parents were there in the dtands proudly bragging about their son. When he hears the national anthem, he is overwhelmed with such strong emotions that he has never hesitated to answer the question: «How do you feel in the end» and to say with pride, Moroccan!

FACTS

• He speaks 5 languages ​​(Flemish, French, English, Italian and Rif)
• He is a big fan of Barcelona. The best player of all time for him is Leo Messi and his idol is Zinedine Zidane
• He listens to music all day and dances. His favorite genre? American and French rap, Reggae and Bachata
• He is curious about food. He loves pasta and sushi, while he does not drink alcohol due to his religion. His greatest temptation, is all kinds of sweets and he has a speicla weakness for chocolate.
• He is a Muslim. He prays 5 times a day, adheres to Ramadan, and had an Islamic wedding ceremony since his wife also embraced Islam!
• He does not spend his money in vain. He remembers where he comes from and invests mainly in real estate. He has three houses in Marrakesh, one in Italy and his paternal home in Belgium.
• He has a talent for beatboxing, fast mathematical calculations and geography.
• He donates 2.5% of its income every year to various charities, as the Koran also states
• He is afraid of heights, but even more afraid of rats and snakes!
• He likes changes. He wants to move to another apartment every year.
• He likes cats and not dogs. He had two cats in his life, but they both «left» in a bad way. Since then he is afraid to adopt again
• His favorite number is 10. But on his shirt he chose the number 7, because it was with that number that he wore while playing for Napoli and Torino for many years.