Former Argentine rugby player Omar Hasan sang the song for a long time during the third halves. Today, at 53, he is living a new life as an opera or tango singer.
Based in Toulouse since 2004, Omar Hasan first had a rich career as a professional player. Trained in Argentina, he successively played in New Zealand (Wellington), Australia (ACT Brumbies), then in three historic clubs in the southwest of France: Auch, Agen, Toulouse.
During the 2007 World Cup, with his teammates from the Argentina team Agustin Pichot and Juan Martin Hernandez, he twice brought the France team to its knees, taking 3rd place in the competition contested in France. “The apotheosis of my career,” remembers the right pillar. Six months later, at age 37, he retired.
He first imagined life after rugby in the agri-food industry or international trade, between France and Argentina, before deciding to devote himself to his passion. “I am the only professional rugby player converted to singing. After rugby, I felt the need to have an artistic activity,” says the guy, sipping a mate (Argentinean infusion), installed in his living room to watch Argentina-Samoa. He follows, religiously, all the Pumas meetings.
It all started in the 1970s in the province of Tucuman, at the foot of the Andes Mountains. As a child, he sang almost all the time, with the elementary school choir or at family reunions. He gave his first shows in front of the bus stop, in the central square of Choromoro, his grandparents’ village where he spent the summer. He is 9 years old, sings popular songs and the spectators are the travelers who give him the first rounds of applause, before getting on the coach. It was at this time that the turbulent kid, often punished for fighting or being a clown at school, abandoned football, the national sport in Argentina, for judo, then rugby, invited by a friend to participate in training at Natacion y Gimnasia, a club in San Miguel de Tucuman, the provincial capital where he lives with his parents.
It was then in the locker rooms and post-match banquets in the province of Tucuman, during the Argentina team’s tours on five continents, that he made his voice heard. “Argentinian folklore, Sinatra, Julio Iglesias, opera arias, tango, or the songs that my friends liked, I have always sung. People told me I had a beautiful voice, but I didn’t dare go any further. I didn’t think I had a good enough voice,” confides this father of two children, married to an Argentinian.
In 2002, during a post-match meal in Agen, Jean-François Gardeil was captivated. This lyrical singing teacher hears the powerful voice of the right pillar and detects raw talent. “A few days later, we started classes. Omar is a central lyric baritone with a very pretty voice,” explains the professor and lyrical artist.
A few months later, Omar Hasan sang a tango during a charity concert at the Agen exhibition center, where Francis Cabrel also performed. “That day, I understood that this was what I wanted. I had always dreamed of singing in a band, but since I played on weekends, it was impossible. Once in Toulouse, where he played from 2004 to 2008, he devoted more and more time to his passion, and entered the singing conservatory.
Former partner at Stade Toulousain, international 3rd row Yannick Nyanga was not surprised to see his friend change horizons. “You didn’t have to insist for long for him to start singing, you just had to tell him “go Omar”. This type of reconversion is not common, but not surprising. He moved from one passion job to another.”
Today, Omar Hasan travels the south of France with performances of his show Belcantor, in which he performs Latin American classics, tangos, opera arias and Nougaro’s Toulouse. This year, he also sang in Carmen and sometimes plays supporting roles in the cinema. In 2024, he will play the title role in a musical about boxer Rocky Balboa.