Ilaix Moriba

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Oblow14 (talk | contribs) at 23:52, 1 February 2021 (Undid revision 1004289785 by Stephenireland123 (talk)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Ilaix Moriba
Personal information
Full name Moriba Kourouma Kourouma
Date of birth (2003-01-19) 19 January 2003 (age 21)
Place of birth Conakry, Guinea
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Barcelona B
Number 30
Youth career
2008–2010 Espanyol
2010–2020 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019– Barcelona B 15 (1)
2021– Barcelona 0 (0)
International career‡
2019– Spain U17 7 (2)
2019– Spain U18 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:33, 24 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:25, 29 April 2020 (UTC)

Moriba Kourouma Kourouma (born 19 January 2003), known as Ilaix Moriba (Spanish: [iˈlaʃ moˈɾiβa]), is a Spanish footballer who plays for Barcelona B as a central midfielder.[1] Born in Guinea, Moriba represents Spain internationally.

Due to his physicality and creativity, Moriba has been compared to French footballer Paul Pogba.[2][3]

Early life

Moriba was born in Conakry, Guinea, to a Guinean mother and a Liberian father.[4] He holds both Spanish and Guinean citizenship.[5]

Club career

Moriba arrived at FC Barcelona from RCD Espanyol in 2010.[6] He has been considered as one of the best players of his generation, and he has very often played in categories of players far older than him.[7][8] Moriba really stood out at age 15 when he scored a hat-trick against the Real Madrid U19's. The most remarkable thing was his last goal, where he scored from the middle of the pitch at the start of the second half.[9]

In January 2019, as his youth contract was about to expire, clubs such as Manchester City and Juventus tried to sign him, but he eventually came to sign a record deal, with a salary of more than €500,000 a year and a buyout clause set at €100 million.[10]

The following season he became a regular for Barça B. He scored his first goal on 8 March 2020, the winner in a 3–2 victory against UE Llagostera.[11]

During the 2020–21 season, Moriba was included in the first team squad for the first time for a La Liga match against Granada CF. He was an unused subtitute in a 4–0 away win.[12][13] Moriba would later make his first team debut – and as a starter – on 21 January against UE Cornellà in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey. He was replaced by Sergio Busquets in the 74th minute of a 2–0 win.[14][15]

International career

Ilaix is a youth international with Spain, but both the Guinean and Liberian football federations have reportedly tried to get him to switch nationality.[5] It appeared the youngster eventually chose to play for the Guinea national team, being set to make his debut on the international stage in June 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic froze the 2020 football season.[16]

Career statistics

As of 24 January 2021
Club League Season League Copa del Rey Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona B
Segunda División B
2019–20 8 1 — 3[a] 0 11 1
2020–21 7 0 — 0 0 7 0
Total 15 1 — 3 0 18 1
Barcelona La Liga 2020–21 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Career total 15 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 19 1
  1. ^ Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs

References

  1. ^ "Meet Ilaix Moriba, Barcelona's Next Wunderkind". Forbes. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Ilaix Moriba: The 'Pogba of Barca' Destined for Greatness". Bleacher Report. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Ilaix Moriba: Barcelona's 'new Pogba' closing in on a first-team debut". Bleacher Report. 16 April 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  4. ^ Quaye, Peterking (27 May 2018). "Manchester City Liberian young player Moriba Kourouma". Liberia Sports Online.
  5. ^ a b Mognouma, ParLamine (9 July 2017). "Nouveau Talent : À quatorze ans, Moriba Kourouma s'impose au centre de formation du Barça". Guinée Foot (in French).
  6. ^ "Bale's agent secures €2M deal for Barcelona starlet". Diario AS. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Next Generation 2020: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Barça: Manchester city ,Chelsea et Juventus font le forcing pour Moriba kourouma". Guinée Actu Sport (in French). 30 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Barcelona youth teamer Ilaix scores a hat-trick against Real Madrid". Marca. 21 August 2018.
  10. ^ Martinez, Ferran (19 December 2018). "Cuenta atrás por Ilaix Moriba" [Countdown for Ilaix Moriba]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish).
  11. ^ "Barça B 3-2 Llagostera: License to dream". FC Barcelona. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Barcelona youngster Ilaix Moriba called up by Koeman for Granada". Sport. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  13. ^ "Granada 0-4 Barça: Another away win!". FC Barcelona. 9 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  14. ^ "Cornellà 0-2 FC Barcelona: Victory in extra time". FC Barcelona. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Ilaix Moriba: I almost couldn't sleep". Marca. 21 January 2021.
  16. ^ Lantheaume, Romain (20 March 2020). "Barca : le prometteur Ilaix Moriba dit oui à la Guinee !". Afrik foot (in French).

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ilaix_Moriba&oldid=1004304395"