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“Handball is developing little by little”

EUROPEAN CUP In the round of 16, the Red Boys will meet Anorthosis. A Cypriot club in which right winger Malik Hoggas evolves. Encounter.

After attending all his courses within the Châteauneuf-les-Martigues club, from the age of six to twenty-five, the French-Algerian decides to try his luck in the professional world. He subsequently joined Semur-en-Auxois and Villeurbanne before “adventuring” to more exotic countries. First in North Macedonia, at RK Ohrid, then in Greece, at AEK Athens. This summer, the 34-year-old right winger will be packing his bags in Anorthosis, Cyprus.

Why did you decide to pursue your career abroad?
Malik Hoggas: I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. In France the level is very high so it’s difficult to prove yourself. I wanted to go to clubs that played D1, that played in European cups to find out if I had the level. For example, in North Macedonia, handball is the number one sport. The year I left there, we managed to qualify the team for the European Cup and I was able to express myself on the pitch. We were able to play against big teams like Metalurg Skopje and Vardar Skopje, who won the Champions League twice.

From this year you have joined a new country. How is your new adventure going?
I decided to discover this country because I had only heard good things about it. And then, sportingly speaking, it is a country where handball is growing little by little thanks in particular to Andreas Sabbianco, the current president who is a big fan of Anorthosis and who, with a group of friends, decided to found the club recently enough to be able to develop the team to the highest possible level, but also because it is important for him to develop the sport in the country. He does gigantic things for his club! At the moment the overall level of the championship is not very competitive compared to that of our team. There are one or two other teams you can play against derby, if not the rest, is evolving.

More generally, how is your start to the season going?
More than good! We have positive results, we are the first to be unbeaten. There, we move on to the second stage of the championship. Our main goal is to go as far as possible in the European Cup because that’s where we can play at our best level.

We know this Red Boys team from their history

In North Macedonia and Greece, you experienced beautiful atmospheres. And Cyprus?
For me, one of the differences between the west, i.e. Germany, France, Luxembourg, whatever… and the east, is that even if handball is less developed, the positive side is that there is a lot of atmosphere . In Greece there is a lot of atmosphere! Here in Cyprus, this is especially true for football and basketball. Handball is not yet a well-known discipline, but on the other hand during the derby against Parnassus and also in the Champions Cup there are fans!

You have already faced a Luxembourg team in your career. What is your point of view on handball in Luxembourg?
When I was playing AEK Athens, I had the opportunity to play against Berchem. He was in the quarterfinals of the European Cup in the 2017/2018 season. Otherwise, from what I know, it’s quite an interesting level and the clubs have good infrastructure, but hey, the weather here is good (he’s laughing).

Do you know any Red Boys players?
I know Ognjen Jokic, we already had the opportunity to play against each other when he played in France. He is very well known in the French league. I also played against Elledy Semedo, he was in the semi-finals of the European Cup in 2018. At the time I was playing AEK and he was playing Madeira, Portugal. And then, I know, without really knowing him, Roman Becvar. We were able to discuss our sport on the networks some time ago.

To conclude, how do you face this first stage?
For most players here, we know this Red Boys team from their history. We know that the title is played very often between Esch and them. We know they will be a very tough team to deal with because they have great people. We will give everything to achieve a positive result.

Program :
Dimanche (19h): Anorthosis Famagusta – Red Boys

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