Yahia Omar: “We are a different team now, much more settled”

Six years ago, when Yahia Omar joined Veszprém from Zamalek SC, many handball fans didn’t know quite what to make of him. Especially since he was one of the first Egyptian players to appear in the EHF Champions League, long after former star Hussein Zaky.

But it didn’t take Omar long to prove that he is one of the best right backs in the world, and he opened the door to Europe for many more Egyptian players.

“I’m very proud of that, even though it has to be noted that players like Mohammad Sanad and Mohamed Mamdouh also played in Europe then. But I guess that when clubs saw I was able to adapt in such a big club, they started to trust more Egyptian players,” Omar says.

“I am really proud of all the achievements we have done, and we can also see how much of a benefit it is for the national team that we all play the EHF Champions League.”

After five seasons in Veszprém, the 27-year-old Yahia Omar decided to move to Paris last summer. Shortly after coming back from a tough knee injury, he settled in his new environment. While he appeared a little bit hesitant for his first steps with his new club, the left-hander has quickly found his rhythm.

His stats tell the story, as he scored eight goals twice in group phase matches, against Füchse Berlin and Dinamo Bucuresti. And with 46 goals in total, he is the fourth-best shooter for PSG so far in the group phase.

“I am settled now, I speak the language with my teammates, I know exactly what the coach wants on the court, I moved in a new apartment,” Yahia says. “I am definitely not the player anymore I was a couple of months ago.”

The Egyptian international even has had the time to go through the French capital like a tourist.

“It’s easy in a city like Paris. You go out on the street and you are already sight-seeing,” he says with a laugh. “Overall, I am really happy here.”

Speaking of moving on, Paris Saint-Germain have made a lot of progress over the season. Long gone are the days they were beaten by 13 goals in Veszprém in round 2.

“We grew a lot since then. Veszprém were definitely more ready than we were, we were all coming back exhausted from the Olympics,” Omar recalls.

But that’s water under the bridge now for PSG ahead of the reverse fixture against Veszprém in Paris, which is the MOTW on Thursday (live on EHFTV at 20:45 CET).

“It is a top game, no matter how you take it. Both teams are on top of the standings, Veszprém have qualified for the quarter-finals already, we want the ticket as well,” Omar says. “It will be a huge battle, and I don’t expect them to play any easier because they have secured the top spot already.”

After Paris struggled at home against teams like Orlen Wisla Plock and Füchse Berlin recently, they gained confidence with a 38:32 win at Fredericia Håndbold Klub last week.

“The defeat to Wisla was a huge setback, but I guess it was hard for us to find our feet just coming back from the world championship. Mentally and physically, we were not able to put enough in this game. So, it was important for us to win again last week,” Omar says.

And he is confident Paris Saint-Germain will pull off a better performance than they did in Hungary in September.

“We are a different team now, much more settled, with a lot more collective experience,” Omar says. “And this is a special game for me, there is a lot of personal motivation for me to beat Veszprém and to help the team finishing second.”

photos © 2024-25 Team Pics / PSG