Qasmi: “Yacine del Elche has not yet been seen in El Rayo”

He came back, he flew, and he scored. Yacine Qasmi, 30, lived the Santo Domingo derby like a catharsis, following in the wake of a Lightning that has definitely left its bad moments behind. The striker, who scored his second goal in the league and the fourth of the season, he begins to show what he is capable of. A process in which work and self-criticism have accompanied him, two of his tools to grow. And it is that the road has not been easy. Not now in Vallecas, not since his first steps at PSG. But he has known to overcome to setbacks and move on, with the family always present in the distance and with the certainty that football is not the utopia that many believe. His sacrifices and those of his family are reflected on his shirt, with his surname, a tribute and at the same time an impulse to continue fighting for his dream, flying and scoring. He already did it in Alcorcón and now trust repeat it before an old acquaintance, a Sporting in whose subsidiary he played 13-14. Yacine looks to the future with hope and faith.

—The victories against Zaragoza and Alcorcón have been balsamic, they have left behind the worst streak of the course …

—We came from getting three points out of fifteen and now we have regained our march. We all know that, throughout the season, there are good and bad streaks. At the level of the game we were not as showy or as the Rayo at the beginning, but we always had chances and some failure in the initial minutes for which we had to row against the current. The most difficult thing about a losing streak is to get out of it and we have already done it.

—It's a boost of morale for what is coming: Sporting and Almería.

—We have a difficult week, but it is better for us to play against direct opponents who you can move away from your position or cut distances. The reality is what it is, first we must ensure the playoff and if the opportunity to climb comes, we will not let it pass. You have to go game by game. Due to our style of play, it is better for us to face teams that also want to play and leave us spaces.

—You went back to eleven almost two months later and dialed, how are you doing personally?

-All right. When I was not playing I tried to help my teammates from where I was, if I had to go in for three minutes I did. I'm not one to pout about it. I would love to play every game, but just as there are streaks of results, there are also streaks in form. These months I have worked more and now I am reaping the fruits. I feel better. When you are given the opportunity, you don't want to be left out again.

– And how does a forward manage that time without scoring?

—At the level of goals, since I've been at Rayo, the numbers are horrible, but I'm doing well. From the Alcorcón game, even without scoring, I would have left with a very good feeling. I felt very comfortable. The Yacine del Elche has not yet been seen here, but in Santo Domingo I did notice myself at a similar level to then. And that feeling has freed me more than the goal. Now I have to keep that bar.

-After his double in Copa al Haro, he already declared that 2020 had been “horrible”, but that this 2021 he faced it with a renewed mentality to get his best version.

– The year 2020 was horrible. I'm not going to blame the pandemic, or the change of club … It's my fault and the first one who gets angry if he doesn't score is me. People are wrong about that. I am not here to fail but to score as much as I can. Self-criticism is always good to improve. I talked about clearing your head because if you stay at all the ones you failed in the past you drown. You have to keep the part of those mistakes that makes you not make them again. I'm not going to say that 2021 is great, but something has improved and I must continue like this.

– You have a contract until 2022, is your dream still to succeed with Rayo? Have you ever regretted coming?

-No. I do not regret anything. Rayo is a very big club, with a wonderful history and fans. Things haven't turned out quite right for me, but I'm not going to blame anyone. There has been a host of circumstances. Shortly after arriving and dialing in Albacete the pandemic began and we stopped for several weeks. They are not excuses. It is destiny. I'm not going to give up. The easiest thing would have been to go out to another team in winter where I would play everything, but I have come here to show what I have and I will not give up. Last winter market I told my representative, from the beginning, that I was not going to leave. So I was amused by the rumors. I spent the last market day calmer than ever.

—How was your goal cooked in Santo Domingo?

—When I saw Lucho (Advíncula) arrancar had a lot of confidence in him. And as soon as I saw the ball come out, I thought it was mine, I hit the ground running and nodded. I celebrated with him because the play is his. You must never forget who gives you the pass. To score I need whoever gives me the pass because I am not Messi or Cristiano who takes the ball and goes alone. The goal was 70% from Lucho.

—His celebration, putting his finger to his mouth, as if commanding silence, what did it mean?

“It was for a challenge!” It was not directed at anyone. If someone has been offended, it is because of something, because surely they have spoken badly …

“Tell me about the importance of family and their advice.”

—My parents know how I am and that I am very demanding. When I don't play, sometimes, I don't even rest. I think it's because I'm not doing things right and I have to work harder. If they have to put my feet on the ground, they do. And if they have to cheer me on, they do it too.

“He wears Qasmi on his shirt in homage to them.”

“People don't know the sacrifices my parents have made for me to be here.” My father would get up an hour earlier to take me to PSG training sessions and he would leave a little earlier to pick me up. There was more sacrifice than reward.

—They always prioritized their education …

—I reached an agreement with my father, whereby he would let me play soccer if I studied. I got a degree and he confessed to me that he had gone further than he expected. I was good at school, I had a knack for understanding things. He always instilled in me that if football didn't come out, I would have my career, Corporate Financial Accounting.

“And how many languages ​​do you speak?”

—I speak four: Spanish, French, Arabic and English. I lost the fifth, German, for not practicing it. I have family there on my mother's side.

– What memories do you have of your life in Paris and with PSG?

—I entered when I was 9 years old and I was until I was 21. I went through all the training, I made my debut in the Europa League with the first team when I was 19 years old and I was a fixture in training. I remember Makelele giving me advice. He saw all this as something normal and it was not. It was something nice, so he had to fight. I thought I had already arrived, that I was one of them and it was not true. They had been ten years and I, ten days. In the world of football, we often lose our perception of real life. When you're up, all the people love you and they give you everything, but if you lower the level, they don't. Every year there were friends who were not renewed. I have seen many fall.

'Then he went to the Stade Rennes.

“He had a complicated coach.” I signed for the first team, but it was not in their plans. It was the worst side of the coin. I was on the right side, being left-handed. In winter I asked him to play for the reserve team on weekends. I wasn't the only one I didn't count on. He told Yacine Brahimi, formerly of Granada and Porto, that he had no level to play in the First Division.

—Then the jump to Spain takes place and chains Getafe B, Sporting B, Sestao River, Compostela, Alcoyano, Mérida, Melilla and Elche.

—The experience with Sporting B was very rare because I scored five goals, but I hit the sticks 17 times. I had Palop as coach at Alcoyano and Eloy Jiménez, at Mérida. The latter had been a forward and gave me a lot of advice. Melilla was my culture and mentally it was so good that it was reflected in the field. The second year with Carrión was very good and I scored a penalty goal against Real Madrid in the Cup. Then, they paid more attention to me. I have been through many clubs because I like to sign for only one year. There I play it because it can turn out perfect or very bad.

—And he has lived through all that traffic far from home …

—There is a lot of sacrifice in the life of a footballer. I live alone in another country, with another culture and language. It's complicated. I have lost my two grandmothers and my grandfather and I have not been able to go to the funeral because I was playing. I don't see my nieces grow up, only on the phone. I go home six days at Christmas and three weeks in summer. And then there are the criticisms … I'm used to it, but sometimes my mother searches Google to translate and her heart breaks. We are humans.