Called for the first time in selection on March 17, Kevin Van Den Kerkhof, better known by fans of the Fennecs under the name of Kevin Guitoun, highlighted his privileged relationship with Algeria.
Revealing behind the scenes of his first summons to the Fennecs, the native of Saint-Saulve (France) explained, during a recent interview for 90 Soccerhow his Algerian roots allowed him to access the selection trained by
Djamel Belmadi.
“I learned that it was about me in Algeria. I type my first and last name on Google, and there I see one or two articles in Algeria talking about me, saying that Djamel Belmadi was interested. Me, I was not aware of anything at all! I finally knew it was possible when I had contact with the assistant coach of Algeria (Salah-Bey Abboud, Djamel Belmadi’s assistant, editor’s note) after the match against Valenciennes (March 11 ). (…) He called me back 5-10 minutes later to tell me to do the paperwork as soon as possible, then he asked me about my attachment to Algeria, to see my mentality. I told him that I had a lot of ties with the country, that I had my grandparents who lived there. From there, I had contacts with the administration in Algeria to do my papers very quickly”said the right-back of SC Bastia (5 goals, 7 assists in 36 Ligue 2 matches).
Another weird choice from our coach
Guitoun was unaware of Belmadi’s interest in his profile. Remember that Guitoun is 27 years old and plays in L2 in Bastia.
Why is Weiser, who said he wants to come, not called?#Algeria #Algeria #dzfoot pic.twitter.com/zhxVmNktPA
— Jean Monique (@Jean_Monique87) May 13, 2023
“Tears in the Eyes”
For the 27-year-old defender, the joy was only greater after his father, of Algerian nationality, announced his first selection to him on the telephone. “I had to go to the consulate in Lille to get an emergency passport. I didn’t want to give myself false hopes to be disappointed afterwards so I kept telling myself that it would facilitate a selection later. On the plane back to Bastia, after going to the consulate, I received a call from my father who told me that the Algerian Federation (FAF, editor’s note) had contacted him to tell him that I had been selected. . I had just landed in Corsica, I had tears in my eyes, I was very happy”continued the former Lorient.
As a reminder, Kevin Guitoun honored his first selection on March 27, on the occasion of the fourth day of the CAN 2023 qualifiers, against Niger (0-1). The person concerned had been established by Belmadi, author of a great turnover, following the victory acquired three days earlier in the first leg, in Algiers, facing the Mena
(2-1).
