Interview
Up and running and established – an interview with Ramy Bensebaini
After taking a little time to get up to speed, Ramy Bensebaini has now well and truly arrived in Dortmund. Strong in the tackle, enthusiastic, technically adept and with a powerful shot: the Algerian has everything a coach could wish for. Not to mention tactical flexibility. When the Black & Yellows faced Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League at the end of January, the fans couldn't find him in his position when Borussia were building up and attacking. In possession, the left-back shifted into central midfield alongside Marcel Sabitzer - and then quickly scarpered back over to the left side of defence when the opposition had the ball.
Bensebaini is a straightforward type. He usually wins six out of ten tackles. His success rate was 62% last year. He goes in hard but fair. Referees only whistled a foul against him 12 times last season. He has remarkable technical ability, especially when taking the ball down and dealing with it in the air. Ramy is not the type of full-back who charges up and down the line, chasing loose balls over the park; instead, he is someone who looks to get forward patiently and combine with his teammates.
Want an example? In the aforementioned game against Donetsk, he controls a pass from Jamie Gittens and quickly gets his head up to assess his options. "I saw that Gio [Reyna, ed.] was in front of me and I decided to play it to him. With his technical quality, he managed to slip it back to me." After the successful one-two with Gio Reyna, Bensebaini finds himself on the half-left of the opponent's penalty area and continues to maintain his composure and overview. Rather than rushing his effort, he finished with a deft lob to give BVB a 3-1 lead. "When I was in front of the goalkeeper, I wanted to make a feint to see how the goalkeeper would react. But in reality he didn't move at all, so I said to myself: OK, I'll just put the ball over him. And that's what I did."
It may sound simple, but there's an interesting story behind it. The technical skills, the anticipation and vision under pressure: none of it is coincidence. Ramy Bensebaini was born and grew up in the eastern Algerian city of Constantine, the third largest urban centre in the country, after Algiers and Oran, with a population of around 450,000.The city has a university and is characterised by its ancient and medieval architecture.
At the age of 12, Ramy moved to the academy of Paradou AC in the capital Algiers. There, great emphasis is placed on ball control. Unconventional methods according to European standards were deployed. The youngsters trained and played barefoot – and without a goalkeeper!
We have heard about a particularly interesting story about your playing days as a youngster; apparently you trained barefoot at the Paradou academy. Is that true?
"Yes, that's true. They told us it was all about having more control over the ball. When you play with shoes, you don't have the same control. So it was about the technical aspect. That's where you make progress. I played barefoot for three-and-a-half years. I trained barefoot, we played games barefoot."
Really? Even games?
"Yes, even our games were played barefoot. We played against opponents who had their shoes on. So it was very complicated and very painful, especially when someone stepped on your foot. It really hurt a lot."
Is it also true that you didn't have a goalkeeper?
"Yes, at the beginning we played without a goalkeeper. But you have to realise, they were just friendlies. Because we were young, we only played friendlies. We had an extra player, but we didn't have a goalkeeper. It was all about defending well and pressing the opposition, because if you give them time, it's easier for them to shoot from distance. The focus was on pushing out properly and getting stuck in. You could never let the opposition shoot."
At 19, he moved to Lierse SK in Belgium, followed by spells at SC Montpellier and Stade Rennes in France, where he helped the team defeat Paris St Germain in the 2019 cup final. Bensebaini scored in the penalty shoot-out. He had previously scored the decisive goal in the semi-final against Olympique Lyon.
It's good to remember that Emre Can and Serhou Guirassy are not the only reliable penalty takers at Borussia Dortmund. Should the team ever be involved in a penalty shoot-out, Niko Kovac can count on Ramy Bensebaini. The Algerian has slotted home all of his seven penalties in the Bundesliga (all for his previous club Mönchengladbach).
2019 was Bensebaini's year. A cup winner with Stade Rennes. And winner of the African Cup of Nations with Algeria. When he thinks back to the tournament in Egypt, Ramy still gets goosebumps almost six years later. "That was incredible. It's a memory that will stay in my head forever, and I think in the heads of the other players who were there too. We really were as good as invincible in that tournament. We were a very strong group. Off the pitch and on the pitch. I don't know how to explain it: we came there to play football. And we knew we were going to win."
Where's the medal?
"The medal? It's at my house. My mum wanted to keep it, but I got it back."
You've been an Algeria international for eight years. Is that something you're particularly proud of?
"Yes. The national team, Algeria, is something I'm very proud of. Since I started playing football, it had always been a goal of mine to make the national team. I've worked hard for it, with dedication on and off the pitch. And yes, I'm just proud to be part of the national team."
What does home mean to you?
"Home is the fatherland. It's Algeria, it's pride. This is my home."
When you have your family around you during the short, match-free periods, are the stresses and strains of travelling quickly forgotten?
"Yes, very, very quickly. Then you see your family, you see your little sister. I stay with them for a while. Then I meet friends from my childhood. It helps a lot to refresh old memories."
We've heard that you're particularly proud of your sister, who is studying medicine.
"Yes, I'm very, very proud of Mayssane. Because it wasn't easy for her to grow up without her brother, because I left my parents and went to the youth academy when I was 11 years old. I was 11, she was six. She did everything on her own, of course with the support of my mum and dad. She has come far today, she deserves it. I wish her a lot of encouragement and I am simply proud of her."
Maysanne has been in Germany since the end of January. Ramy would have liked to have had the future doctor by his side a few weeks earlier. Just before the first game of the year against Leverkusen, he and half a dozen team-mates were hit by a severe flu-like infection. Faced with a personnel shortage, and with his temperature dropping, Bensebaini made himself available for the following game in Kiel. Four days later, shortly before kick-off in Frankfurt, he was hit by toothache. As football philosopher Jürgen Wegmann would have put it: "If luck isn't on your side, then bad luck will follow too."
Ramy, you're always wiser with hindsight. Would it perhaps have been better not to play?
"I wanted to help the team. I wanted to be there for the team. Today I realise that it wasn't a good decision on my part because I really wasn't in form. It would have been better if I hadn't played the two games against Kiel and Frankfurt, and had waited a bit longer. I then had the tooth pulled out. It was too painful. I couldn't even sleep at night. Now everything is fine again."
That's something the public never gets to see...
"The fans come to watch the game. And they don't know what else is going to happen. They expect that when you're on the pitch, you're 100%. We had bad results. The coach, Nuri, was dismissed. It was very complicated for me and for the club."
Are there people you could talk to? Or did you deal with this phase on your own?
"I'm not a big talker. It's my mum who talks to me all the time. She calls me ten times a day. During this time, she was particularly trying to cheer me up. So the answer is: my mum. I like to stay in my corner and in my bubble."
Does your heart open up when your mum visits you in Dortmund?
"Of course, of course, that always makes me happy. But now it's a bit complicated for her because my sister has also moved. But she comes as often as she can."
Which team-mate do you have the closest contact with?
"With Serhou. Because we're both French-speaking, it's easier to communicate. And we both played for the same club: when I left Rennes, Serhou had just arrived."
What progress have you made compared to your first year at BVB? And what would you still like to improve?
"First of all, I feel much more comfortable. My first season was complicated in terms of adapting. New club, new fans and different pressure. People have seen that I'm getting in better and better shape. I'm giving my all and trying to help the team as much as I can. At the moment, things are going quite well overall and I hope it continues like this. I have confidence in my abilities. As I said, we're gradually coming back after a very difficult time for me, the club and the other players."
Is never giving up part of your game?
"I try to give 100% in every action, especially in defence. I want to be part of the team. If I can also help going forward, I won't pass up the opportunity."
Just like in minute 79 of the Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk. The liveticker on kicker magazine described the scene as follows: "The game is decided - and what a way to do it! Bensebaini plays the ball to Reyna in the penalty area and continues his run. He gets it back from the American, who was marked by two defenders but managed to slip the ball to the Algerian with his heel. He is one-on-one with Riznyk and dinks the ball into the back of the net." It was his fourth goal in Europe's elite competition, two for Gladbach and two for Dortmund. Ramy Bensebaini has scored 20 goals in 130 Bundesliga games. That's an impressive figure for a full-back. For comparison: Philipp Lahm scored 14 in 385 Bundesliga appearances. And in the 2-1 away win in Heidenheim, he notched up his fifth assist of the season. No BVB player had more assists to his name up to that point.
Author: Boris Rupert
Assistance: Felix Ahns
Photos: Alexandre Simoes