Latest news with #HakimZiyech
Morocco World
2 days ago
- Business
- Morocco World
Wydad Interested in Hakim Ziyech Ahead of Club World Cup
Wydad Casablanca are exploring a move for Hakim Ziyech following his exit from Al Duhail, according to Africa Foot. The Moroccan international is currently a free agent and could be in line for a surprise switch to Botola Pro. Ziyech, 32, parted ways with the Qatari club just five months after joining. His time in Doha was underwhelming, with only one goal and one assist in 13 appearances. Al Duhail confirmed his departure in a brief statement on Saturday. Wydad, who will represent Morocco at the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, are reportedly considering a short-term deal to strengthen their squad. Club president Hicham Aït Menna is said to have opened discussions through intermediaries to gauge Ziyech's interest. Despite representing Morocco at the international level, Ziyech has never played professionally in the country. Born and raised in the Netherlands, his entire career has taken place abroad, with spells at Heerenveen, Twente, Ajax, Chelsea, Galatasaray, and most recently, Al Duhail. The winger's career has stalled in recent years. After a promising start at Ajax and a high-profile move to Chelsea, things began to unravel. Injuries, tactical changes and lack of game time limited his impact in London. Short spells in Turkey and Qatar followed, but neither sparked a real turnaround. Ziyech was left out of Morocco's squad in 2025 and is now believed to be looking for a new challenge that could revive his form and put him back in contention ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations to be held on home soil. Wydad see the move as a bold statement ahead of their Club World Cup campaign. Ziyech's experience at the top level, including Champions League and World Cup appearances, could offer valuable leadership and quality in attack. His market value has dipped to around €4.5 million, but on a free transfer, the deal could suit both parties. Tags: Club World CupHakim ZiyechWydad AC
Ya Biladi
4 days ago
- Sport
- Ya Biladi
Hakim Ziyech's contract with Al-Duhail officially ends after one season
Al-Duhail SC has officially announced the departure of Moroccan international Hakim Ziyech, confirming the end of his contract with the club's first team. In a statement shared on the club's official channels, Al-Duhail stated that Ziyech's contract concluded at the end of the 2024–2025 season, and he will not be part of the team moving forward. The 31-year-old winger joined Al-Duhail in January on a free transfer after terminating his contract with Turkish side Galatasaray. Ziyech has had an eventful career, playing for several clubs since starting out in 2015, including Heerenveen, Twente, and Ajax in the Netherlands, Chelsea in England, and Galatasaray in Turkey, where he featured in 11 matches across all competitions this season. During his time at Galatasaray, Ziyech played five matches in the Turkish Super Lig, three in the Europa League, two in the Champions League qualifiers, and one in the Turkish Cup. At Al-Duhail, he made nine appearances in the Qatar Stars League, scoring once. Al-Duhail finished the current Qatar Stars League season in second place, lost the Qatar Cup final to Al-Sadd, and exited the Emir Cup at the quarterfinal stage after a defeat to Al-Rayyan.
Morocco World
4 days ago
- Sport
- Morocco World
Ziyech Leaves Al Duhail as Qatar Begin Foreign Player Overhaul
Hakim Ziyech has left Al Duhail after just five months, as clubs across the Qatar Stars League begin reshaping their squads following changes to foreign player regulations. The Moroccan international, who joined in January after a short-lived spell at Galatasaray, made 13 appearances for Al Duhail, scoring once and assisting another. His departure was confirmed by the club on Saturday in a short statement thanking him for his efforts. Ziyech is one of several big names to leave the Qatari league at the end of the 2024/25 season. Al Duhail have also announced the exits of head coach Christophe Galtier and striker Michael Olunga. Galtier departs after a season that ended without silverware, while Olunga leaves as the club's all-time top scorer with 123 goals. Elsewhere, Al Rayyan confirmed the departure of five foreign players, including Egypt's Mahmoud Trezeguet, who returns to Al Ahly. Brazilian trio Thiago Mendes, Romarinho and Paulo Vitor have also moved on, along with Paraguayan forward Adam Bareiro and Dutch right-back Joshua Brenet. The exits come as the Qatar Football Association prepares to implement a new rule allowing clubs to register up to 10 foreign players in their 28-man squads. The change is part of a wider effort to strengthen Qatari sides in Asian competitions, particularly as neighbouring Saudi clubs continue to attract top talent with heavy investment. Ziyech, now a free agent, will once again weigh up his options as he looks to revive a career that has seen stops in the Netherlands, England, Turkey and now Qatar. Tags: GalatasarayHakim ZiyechQatarQatari league
Morocco World
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Morocco World
Ziyech Storms Off Pitch After Substitution in Qatar Cup Semi-Final
Rabat — Moroccan international Hakim Ziyech was visibly angry yesterday following his substitution during Al-Duhail's Qatar Cup semi-final match against Al-Gharafa. The Moroccan star couldn't hide his displeasure when coach Christophe Galtier replaced him with Ismail Mohamed in the 71st minute. Video footage circulating on social media shows the Moroccan international player storming off the pitch with wrinkled brows, muttering words of protest while raising his hand in frustration. Ziyech's anger didn't stop there — he kicked water bottles twice before a teammate on the bench attempted to calm him down. This outburst comes as no surprise to those familiar with Ziyech's temperament. His move to Qatar reportedly stems partly from similar incidents during his time at Galatasaray, where coach Okan Buruk reportedly benched him for comparable behavior, according to Turkish media. The 'magician' has a history of such conflicts, notably with former Morocco coach Vahid Halilhodzic. The two had a longstanding conflict that led the former coach to shock fans by excluding Ziyech from the national team for months despite his vital role and contribution to the squad's performance. Read also: World Cup 2022 with Morocco Remains Engraved in Hakim Ziyech's Memory Despite these behavioral issues, Ziyech remains one of Morocco's most talented players, scoring 25 goals in 64 appearances for the Atlas Lions. However, current national team coach Walid Regragui hasn't called him up since October 2024. During a press conference earlier this month, Regragui said that he can call up the Moroccan winger when he is back to his best. The Moroccan coach described Ziyech as 'a great player with real talent' who contributed a lot to the national team. 'Now he's started the last two games and is getting back to form,' Regragui added. 'When he's ready, we'll call him back because he's an important player for us.' Al-Duhail managed to advance to the Qatar Cup final after winning 4-3 on penalties, but Ziyech's latest outburst could impact his standing with the club for the remainder of the season. Tags: Al DuhailFootballHakim Ziyech
BBC News
18-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Greatest European comebacks as Man Utd beat Lyon
Manchester United produced a stunning late fightback to beat Lyon and reach the Europa League semi-finals on came back from being 4-2 down and scored twice in the final minute of extra time to achieve an extraordinary 5-4 victory at Old Trafford and 7-6 aggregate is arguably up there with one of the best fightbacks in European Sport looks back at some of the greatest turnarounds in Champions League and Europa Leauge history. Ajax 2-3 Tottenham (semi-final second leg, 8 May 2019) Aggregate 3-3: Tottenham win on away goals Tottenham travelled to Ajax for the second leg of their semi-final trailing 1-0, and things went from bad to worse in Amsterdam when Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech put Ajax 3-0 ahead on aggregate before the needed to score three times without reply to progress, and were given a glimmer of hope 10 minutes into the second half through Lucas Moura - and it was game on just four minutes pounced on a loose ball in the box after Fernando Llorente's shot was saved and he curled home to put the hosts on the stunning turnaround was completed in the 95th minute when Moura completed his hat-trick to seal Tottenham's spot in the final on away goals, leaving Ajax players strewn across the turf in disbelief. Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona (semi-final second leg, 7 May 2019) Aggregate: Liverpool 4-3 Barcelona Just 24 hours before Tottenham's heroics in Amsterdam, Liverpool had become just the third club in the history of the Champions League to overturn a three-goal first-leg Reds' hopes of forcing their way back into the semi-final after a 3-0 loss to Barcelona at the Nou Camp looked slim, especially with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino unavailable due to Divock Origi got the ball rolling on seven minutes, before the tie really turned in the space of 166 seconds after half-time when substitute Georginio Wijnaldum scored twice.A moment of quick thinking saw Liverpool complete the job as Trent Alexander-Arnold spotted Barcelona's defence switch off from a corner, whipping the ball in low for Origi to fire home and spark wild scenes at Anfield. Fulham 4-1 Juventus (last-16 second leg, 18 March 2010) Aggregate: Fulham 5-4 Juventus Fulham welcomed Juventus to Craven Cottage having lost the first leg 3-1 and it did not take long for the tie to look out of their just two minutes, David Trezeguet netted an early goal for the Italian Bobby Zamora scored seven minutes later and ignited a comeback which proved pivotal in a season where they reached the Europa League Cannavaro's sending off for a professional foul on Zoltan Gera helped swing the game in Fulham's favour before the Hungarian's neat finish put them penalty levelled the tie overall and substitute Clint Dempsey's chip won it before Jonathan Zebina was sent off. Red Bull Salzburg 4-1 Lazio (quarter-final second leg 12 April 2018) Aggregate: Red Bull Salzburg 6-5 Lazio Trailing 4-2 from the first leg in Italy, Salzburg's challenge looked to have been ended when Ciro Immobile extended Lazio's lead in Austria 10 minutes into the second half - his 39th goal of the Moanes Dabour pulled a goal back a minute later with a deflected strike to stir the home side back to Haidara's 72nd-minute stunner from 30 yards sparked an amazing four-minute period, in which Hwang Hee-chan put the Austrian champions ahead on away goals before Stefan Lainer headed an aggregate goals came in 247 seconds - the quickest three goals in Europa League history. Barcelona 6-1 Paris St-Germain (last-16 second leg, 8 March 2017) Aggregate: Barcelona 6-5 Paris St-Germain Arguably the greatest comeback of all, this one is so iconic that it has its very own title in France and Spain - La Remontada (the comeback).PSG were clinical at home, winning 4-0, but the Nou Camp sensed something special when Luis Suarez scored after just three minutes in the second were two goals to the good at the break courtesy of a Layvin Kurzawa own goal, but still trailed by two goals on Messi scored a penalty soon after the restart but Edinson Cavani hit back to silence the home faithful, although it wasn't the pendulum-swinging moment PSG hoped now trailing 5-3, needed three goals in fewer than 30 minutes to achieve a miracle. Neymar scored a free-kick in the 88th minute to offer further hope, before the Brazilian stroked home a 91st-minute penalty to level the tie at 5-5 on PSG were still heading through on away with 20 seconds of added time remaining, La Remontada came to fruition when Sergi Roberto turned home Neymar's chipped pass, with Barcelona becoming the only team in history to overturn a four-goal Champions League deficit. AC Milan 3-3 Liverpool (final, 25 May 2005) AC Milan 3-3 Liverpool (AET) - Liverpool win 3-2 on penalties Moving away from two-legged ties, the 2005 Champions League final was an unforgettable night of Milan thought they had their hands on the trophy after racing into a 3-0 half-time time, but seven second-half minutes altered the course of Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso scored to level the game for Liverpool and that is how it remained after 120 minutes, with Reds keeper Jerzy Dudek making a stunning double save from Andriy Shevchenko in memories of Bruce Grobelaar in 1984, Dudek's wobbly legs and goalline antics played a major part in earning his side victory in the penalty shootout, when Serginho, Andrea Pirlo and Shevchenko failed to convert. Paris St-Germain 1-3 Manchester United (last-16 second leg, 6 March 2019) Aggregate 3-3: Man Utd win on away goals In a memorable year for English comebacks in the Champions League, it all started with Manchester United seeing off Paris St-Germain in the last manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suffered the first defeat of his tenure in the first leg when a 2-0 loss at Old Trafford halted an 11-game unbeaten of the previous 107 clubs to lose a Champions League or European Cup first leg by two goals or more at home had managed to advance and few expected United to buck that Romelu Lukaku got United off to the perfect start after two minutes only for Juan Bernat to hit back 11 minutes later, restoring PSG's two-goal aggregate Red Devils refused to give up and Lukaku put them ahead on the night before Marcus Rashford converted his first competitive penalty for the club in the 94th minute to send United through. Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich (final, 26 May 1999) It was almost scripted that Manchester United would seal the final piece of their historic Treble in 'Fergie Time'.With the Premier League and FA Cup already secured, United had the small matter of German giants Bayern Munich standing in their way in the 1999 Champions League final, at the Nou Roy Keane and Paul Scholes both suspended, United's hopes had already been dealt a blow, and their mission grew even tougher when Mario Basler put Bayern ahead on six ultimately the final proved to be a tale of two substitutes - Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar helped on Ryan Giggs' scuffed shot to level in the 91st minute before Solskjaer poked in the second just two minutes later, handing manager Sir Alex Ferguson his first Champions League trophy.
