The next player that features in our interview series is Emil Abaz, considered one of the big talents on the youth national teams of Macedonia.
Emil Abaz was born in Skopje in January of 1998, so he recently turned 16 years old. Based on our interview with him, Emil told us that his family left for Belgium 15 years ago when he was only 1 years old.
In late January of this year, it was announced by the Football Federation of Macedonia (FFM) that Abaz was one of the players called up by the Macedonia U17 team for the two friendlies against Italy U17. Macedonia won the first friendly 2:1, and after the game the U17 manager singled Abaz as one player who left a great impression with his performance. Shortly thereafter, Emil also was called up to play for Macedonia U18 and U19 in the friendlies against Latvia and Romania, respectively.
Before his appearances with several of Macedonia’s youth national teams earlier this year, Abaz was capped by Belgium U16. He has spent 15 of his 16 years in Belgium, so it is no given that Abaz will continue to represent Macedonia in the future. For instance, in one of our questions, Emil said FFM first contacted him about a year ago, but his father was opposed to that idea at first. Then, FFM reached out again about two months ago and this time it was agreed for Abaz to represent Macedonia.
Emil currently plays in the youth academy of Belgian giant Anderlecht. We asked him about that along with several other topics which you can read below in our question and answer session with Abaz.
MF: Emil, tell us about your background a little bit? Where were you born and where are your family origins in Macedonia?
EA: Hi, I am Emil. I was born in Skopje and came here in Belgium when I was just 1 years old. Furthermore, my father and mother are also from Macedonia and we moved to Belgium 15 years ago.
MF: What position do you play and can you describe your characteristics as a player? Do you have a footballer you look up to?
EA: I play on either the left or right wing, or as a classic central striker. It is in my character to work hard in order to become a great player. My idol is Cristiano Ronaldo and I don’t think I have any glaring weaknesses.
MF: How and when did FFM contact you to represent Macedonia U17?
EA: I was initially contacted by FFM one year ago, but at first my father was opposed to that. Then, about two months ago, the now deceased Petar Miloshevski once again got in contact with me through my father and it was agreed for me to play for the youth national teams of Macedonia.
MF: You were part of the Macedonian U17 squad that defeated Italy? How was that feeling for you and your teammates?
EA: I felt really proud because I represented my country Macedonia and together with my friends we tried to pull off a positive result for our country. At the same time, I am also appreciative of my friends who gave their maximum to defeat a big team like Italy.
MF: Lastly, how is everything at Anderlecht? How long have you been with the club? How long do you train in a given week?
EA: I have been with Anderlecht for one year and the club does a great job in their work with the youth players. I am very satisfied here. As for how a regular week looks for me, I train twice a day from Monday to Thursday while also attending a sporting school as well. Friday is my off day in the week, but I use that time for more training. I work with the coaches and my father, who is also my agent/manager, as they attempt to make me a great player.
As mentioned several days ago, we will next publish our interviews with Muarem Muarem and Krste Velkoski. Additionally, we also conducted an interview with Mirko Ivanovski yesterday. Early next week, we will publish Mirko’s interview where you can learn more about his current situation at Astra and how close he came to joining Spanish club Real Valladolid during the past winter transfer window.