HUNGER FOR GOALS
Rangers star Hamza Igamane was ‘struggling’ with fasting when he fired stunning Celtic Park winner reveals Ibrox insider
A key ally for Igamane has tipped him for big things in the game
IT was Ramadan and Hamza Igamane was struggling with his lack of food.
But the Rangers striker was just as hungry for goals.
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Igamane’s sensational Old Firm winner against Celtic in March was all the more extraordinary, given it came during the Muslim’s strict period of fasting.
Ibrox coach Issame Charai has revealed how difficult his young countryman was finding it during his religion’s holy time.
Igamane, 22, just didn’t show it as he beat Brendan Rodgers’ side with one of the best goals of his fledgling career.
Charai said: “It was a fantastic moment — especially because at that time it was still Ramadan.
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“I remember Hamza struggling a bit with the fact that he was fasting during the game. But then when he came on, his impact was incredible.
“To get him into the game at that moment when Celtic were pressuring us, and then to get that goal, it was an amazing moment for him and for us.
“It was also just before Hamza went to Morocco’s national team for his first selection for the senior side.
“So it was a wonderful moment for him and for Rangers as a club. We were all really proud of that.”
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Charai knows from his own playing days in Belgium with the likes of Mechelen and Sint-Truidense how tough it is to fast during Ramadan as an athlete.
But he insists it’s more a battle of the mind.
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Charai added: “It’s more about mentality. I have to say, the nutritionists here did a very good job helping all the Muslim players get enough calorie intake.
“It helped them have a good balance and rest, and then get through to the feeding window.
“Fasting takes a lot of self-discipline. I talked about it with a lot of players and if you don’t feel good with it, you could just do the fasting another time. It has to be healthy, and many players cope with it well.
“The medical staff and the nutritionists planned weeks ahead how to deal with that. The preparation was very good.”
Charai was speaking on behalf of Igamane, after the striker was named on the shortlist for the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award.
He made a massive impression with an incredible 12-goal burst in 14 games spanning just seven weeks either side of Christmas.
And the Gers coach has given an extraordinary insight into the background of the young Moroccan, who has gone from street footballer to international star almost overnight.
Charai said: “I was in Morocco as a national team coach of the Under-23s.
“At that time I had players born in 2001, but Hamza came from the 2002 age group.
“So his first national selection was with me.
“I went to see many games of his playing for FAR in Rabat, which is actually a big team in Morocco. He was only 19 or 20 at that point, but his potential was immediately very clear.
“At that time I had many good strikers. But when Hamza came and he trained with us, I saw that his finishing quality was quite high.
“He needed to work a bit on his physicality. But that was normal because he actually started quite late as a player.
“He used to play in the streets. And then at 16 he began playing organised football.
“Hamza was scouted when I saw him playing as a kid. It’s amazing to think that just four years later he was in the first team. So it’s a nice story. When I brought him into the Moroccan team youth set-up, you could see that a lot of things were intuitive.
“He knows when he gets the ball, he makes a decision, a quick decision on what to do.”
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Charai reckons Igamane is the player he is because of his background and upbringing on the streets, rather than being the product of an academy like so many youngsters these days.
He added: “Yes, for sure. And you can see that his ability is so instinctive.
“Sometimes he does things and you think, ‘What did he just do?’. That’s natural ability. It’s something that now he’s in organised football, he has made a lot of big steps.
“Playing for FAR and playing in the African League — that was also a really big experience.
“And then playing for Rangers, which is a big team in Europe. So he’s been developing very well. But you see the steps he’s made already.”
Charai is just delighted for Igamane that he’s proving him right for urging Philippe Clement to sign him last year.
The Moroccan coach — who stayed on as part of Barry Ferguson’s staff — said: “I remember Philippe calling me for him when I still worked for the national team and he asked me about Hamza. So I gave him a report on him.
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“It was a very positive report about him, so I’m not surprised by how he has developed.
“I told Philippe it would take him a year to adapt to the level at Rangers, but in six months he was already scoring goals. So it was fantastic.”
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