Lille: Adam Ounas transformed physically and mentally after AFCON
Algeria international Adam Ounas's trip to the AFCON has had a positive knock-on effect for his club Lille, who have seen a different player come back
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Before the 2023 AFCON, Adam Ounas was having a difficult league campaign with his club Lille. He was caught in a cycle of injuries and relapses, which affected his form each time he returned and, in turn, his confidence. He had even been dropped down the pecking order in favour of team-mate Edon Zhegrova.
Yet the player, called up by Algeria for the AFCON, came back against all expectations looking sharp and in good physical condition, as his club's staff noticed, much to their pleasant surprise, after Algeria's exit at the group stage. The player puts this down to the pre-AFCON winter preparation with the Fennecs squad. “It was very, very hot, we prepared well, and it also helped me get a bit sharper. Today, I'm very happy to be stringing games together”, he said.
“This is the Ounas we'd been waiting for from the start, he has finally understood. This is the real Ounas, full of talent, a different player. He came back from the AFCON really motivated, perhaps also because he is in the final year of his contract. I told him: listen, you can be the biggest reinforcement of January. When he works like that, he is obviously a different player. He has also lost weight. But the main thing is in the head,” said his coach Paulo Fonseca (50).
Read more on the same subject: Iliman Ndiaye: “one of my best games at OM ”
Adam Ounas also had a mental breakthrough on returning from the AFCON
The Algerian admits he overthought things a lot at the start of the season. “The first part of the season was difficult for me, I was still a bit afraid of getting injured, afraid of giving everything. In pre-season, I was in good physical shape, but then there was that minor injury at Brentford (in a friendly) which knocked my momentum a bit. After that, yes, I'm someone who puts on a bit more weight than others, it's complicated. I have to be careful and give my maximum to be even sharper.”
Adam Ounas reveals that the AFCON preparation did him a world of good physically and mentally. “We did a lot of sprint work so we could repeat them in matches, and I tried to be less afraid. Little by little, the fear faded and now I try to go flat out when I'm on the pitch,” he says.
This mental change on his return from Ivory Coast was noticed by his coach Paulo Fonseca, who remarked on it. The player, who was reluctant to play on the left, is no longer resistant to playing there. “In the past he said he didn't really like it, but now he is showing me he is ready to play in that position.”
Expected to be more decisive
The current expectations on the player, who is in good form, include being more decisive (he has 1 goal since the start of the season). On that, he says : “The main thing is to win matches, the stats will come later.” Since returning from Ivory Coast, the Algerian attacking midfielder or winger has played 5 matches, largely convincing in terms of performance, 3 of them as a starter.
The latest was the away game at Toulouse this Sunday, 25 February. Adam Ounas started. He played the full match, but unfortunately the team lost (3-1).
🎙️Adam Ounas's words at the press conference!
— ⭐️ Squadra Khadra 🇩🇿 (@Squadra213) February 24, 2024