Barcelona coach Hansi Flick praised the performance of promising Egyptian star Hamza Abdel Karim in a friendly match between the Catalan team and English side Birmingham City.
Barcelona played another friendly match last night against Birmingham City, with the latter winning on penalties after a 2-2 draw in regular time.
Hamza Abdel Karim started in yesterday’s match and scored two goals, the first from a penalty kick, and was substituted in the 62nd minute.
Hans Flick said, in statements published by the Spanish newspaper "Sport": "Hamza Abdelkarim is a very humble person and has a wonderful personality. He has a mentality that makes him constantly strive to give his best. He has great potential."
He added: "As a striker, he has to be present in those situations inside the penalty area. He did that in today's match. That's what I ask of a striker. It will give him great confidence in the coming weeks."
He continued in other statements published by the Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo": "Hamza has enormous potential, just like the rest of the players. The most important thing is for them to show their quality. I appreciate that very much."
He added: "Quality is important, but enthusiasm and the atmosphere with these young players are equally important. Working with them is something that makes me happy."
In the end, Hamza Abdelkarim needed only 62 minutes to make a clear mark on the game after scoring a brace from just two attempts on goal and receiving a rating of 8.1, thus writing a strong start with Barcelona's first team.
