Young Spanish star embraces transition from Barcelona to Al-Ittihad
JEDDAH: Although a statement addition to the Roshn Saudi League in January, Unai Hernandez had to wait a little before making his debut.
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Maybe that was to be expected. The Spanish starlet, a feature of FC Barcelona's reserve side this season, only made the transition from teenager to 20-year-old man a month before he left his homeland for Saudi Arabia.
Born in Barcelona, his transfer from the Spanish giants to Jeddah's Al-Ittihad represented the midfielder's first taste of the professional game outside his own country.
However, a few weeks after he left La Liga for the RSL, Hernandez finally got the opportunity to show what he could do in Al-Ittihad's home clash against Al-Okhdood last Sunday.
The young star was introduced at Alinma Stadium as a 76th-minute substitute, replacing Saudi winger Abdulrahman Al-Obud.
For Hernandez, it was worth the wait.
'I am very happy to make my debut in this great team,' he said after the 1-1 draw. 'Since I arrived, I was really eager to play, and well, it has been a tough match where we lost these points and the victory at the end.
'But we can't relax. And we have to try to win every possible match."
Despite his tender years, Hernandez already sounds like a seasoned pro. It maybe helps that he is surrounded in the Al-Ittihad squad by some of football's most decorated stars.
Among them are Karim Benzema, the club captain and winner of the 2022 Ballon d'Or. Then there is N'Golo Kante, a FIFA World Cup winner. And Fabinho, who, like Benzema, is a European champion who has won the UEFA Champions League.
As they have already followed the same path from Europe to Saudi Arabia, they will be crucial to helping Hernandez settle swiftly.
'I feel very comfortable with my new teammates,' Hernandez said. 'The fans also support me a lot, and that makes me happy and gives me a lot of confidence when I go out for those minutes.'
Although he missed Thursday night's 1-1 draw with Al-Qadsiah, he has said before that he hopes to play a role, no matter how big or small, in Al-Ittihad's intended march to the title. With such a talented group of teammates, no doubt he is biding his time as he waits for his next chance to shine.
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