Nader El-Jindaoui’s professional debut for Hertha against HSV was a special one. Firstly, because he is already 27 years old. On the other hand, because millions already knew him.
Nader El-Jindaoui’s professional debut for Hertha against HSV was a special one. Firstly, because he is already 27 years old. On the other hand, because millions already knew him. On Saturday he will play with Hertha BSC Berlin against 1. FC Kaiserslautern (from 1 p.m. in the radio report and in the live ticker at the Sportschau).
“If you google me, it says footballer. And that’s how I feel,” said Nader El-Jindaoui in a sky interview on Wednesday after the cup game against Hamburger SV. For people who did not previously know the name Jindaoui, this is probably an irritating remark. Because of course, the offensive player had just celebrated his professional debut at Hertha BSC, and an extremely successful one at that. Of course he is a footballer. Or maybe not?
Millions of people follow Jindaoui online
Well, Jindaoui’s story is a bit more complex and makes his job title more complicated. Because: The 27-year-old, who played in the upper amateur level for a long time, is not a pure footballer. For many years he has been documenting his life and that of his family almost daily, primarily on YouTube and other social media platforms. And very successfully. He is followed by 1.75 million people on YouTube, two million followers on Instagram and 2.6 million followers on TikTok. “Nader,” as he is usually just called, is right in the middle of the internet’s celebrity cult.
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“I’ve been playing football all my life,” says Jindaoui. “Even if some people like to say that I’m an influencer. But I’m a footballer – and I share a little bit of my life.” And yet it is reasonable to assume that Hertha BSC signed Jindaoui a year and a half ago not only because of his footballing qualities, but also wanted to benefit from his immense reach among a very young target group.
In the summer of 2022, Hertha made his jersey available in the online shop, even though Jindaoui was only intended for the second team. The crowd was huge. The Nader fans shut down Hertha’s shop; according to him, it was the best-selling Hertha jersey this summer.
Dardai honors Jindaoui’s efforts
Throughout his career, Jindaoui repeatedly scratched the idea of becoming a professional. In his youth he played for Energie Cottbus and Chemnitzer FC, among others, and later for the second teams of Greuther Fürth and Fortuna Düsseldorf. The talent was undoubtedly there, but physical problems, among other things, prevented him from making the final leap onto the big football stage.
But Jindaoui stuck with it. He recommended himself for more through Hertha’s U23, and he has been training with the professionals for some time now and has been used in test matches. “When I first heard about it, I thought, what is that?”, professional coach Pal Dardai expressed skepticism about Jindaoui’s Internet activities. But as we all know, what’s important is on the pitch – and that’s where the winger impresses. “I’ve watched him, he gives everything, every day. He gives his life to training.”
And Dardai honored Jindaoui’s efforts: In the last league game against SV Elversberg, the 27-year-old was in a professional squad for the first time, but the time was not yet ripe for his debut.
“Hands up whoever says he doesn’t have any balls”
But last Wednesday evening, Jindaoui’s big moment came. The professional debut – at the age of 27. When the score was 1:2, he came on as a substitute for Florian Niederlechner in the 80th minute. “He has a great feint, a great movement,” Dardai then explained the intentions behind Jindaoui’s debut. The attacker impresses with his outstanding technique, both in dribbling and shooting, is so unpredictable and should once again make the difference in the final phase of the game.
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The first few minutes passed Jindaoui by, Dardai then attested to a certain nervousness, which resulted in problems with his stance and loss of the ball. But Nader’s golden moment was yet to come. Hertha saved itself into extra time, but was then 2-3 behind for 18 minutes. In the last attack of the game, Jindaoui played a perfect lateral shift to Fabian Reese, who then served Jonjoe Kenny to make it 3-3. A goal from the 27-year-old.
Jindaoui also impressed in the penalty shootout, confidently maneuvering his attempt into the center of the goal. “Hands up who says he doesn’t have any balls,” Dardai praised the debutant’s courage after the game. “He just drove the ball in. That was great. Respect for that.”
“It’s a perfect story”
At the age of 27, he made his professional debut, scored a goal and sank a penalty – and all of that in his hometown. “I fell in love with the curve. I’m a Berlin boy. The fact that I was able to celebrate my debut in the city where I grew up is a perfect story,” said Jindaoui with an infectious smile after the game. During and after the game, the social media star wasn’t visible, just a boy who loves football and was allowed to live his dream. “If I could write a story, I would write it like this. I hope it encourages people out there to never let go of their dreams.”
However, it remains to be seen whether Jindaoui will be able to fulfill any further dreams in professional football. Coach Dardai shows a lot of appreciation for Jindaoui’s special career, but curbs the euphoria somewhat. “Nader is already 27 years old. He comes from no man’s land now and is on a great path. Nevertheless, he can’t take the place away from any young player here,” explains the Hungarian. “My job at Hertha is to train the young players, to grow them up, to create values. Nader has to understand that too.” Position competitors such as Gustav Christensen, Marten Winkler or Derry Scherhant generally have priority.
But Dardai also says: “I like working with him. This time he helped against HSV and maybe next time too.” And Jindaoui? “I’m not done yet. I want to help the team as much as I can. Let’s see what the future brings.” After the cup game he was asked if he thought his social media accounts would explode. His answer: “I don’t give a damn if it explodes. The stadium definitely exploded today.”
Sentences from a person who will continue to be found under “footballer” on Google in the future.
Broadcast: rbb24, December 7th, 2023, 9:45 p.m
