Maziar Kouhyar
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Qamaruddin Maziar Kouhyar[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 30 September 1997[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2013 | Coventry City | ||
| 2013–2016 | Walsall | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | Walsall | 21 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017– | Afghanistan | 6 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:54, 15 October 2019 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:54, 15 October 2019 (UTC) | |||
Maziar Kouhyar (Dari: مازیار كوهيار, born 30 September 1997), is an Afghan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder most recently for EFL League One side Walsall. He is the first Afghan to play professionally in Great Britain.[3]
Club career
Born in Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan,[3] Kouhyar moved to England as a two-year old due to conflict in his home country.[4] His parents settled in Handsworth suburb of Birmingham and his father worked as a pizza delivery driver, before returning to Afghanistan to work as an interpreter, leaving his mother to bring up the four children.[3] At the age of eleven he was spotted by a Coventry City scout after attending a Saturday football session with his cousin, and joined the club's youth system.[3] After being released at the age of sixteen, he played in Sunday league football, before being spotted by a Walsall scout whilst playing in a local Powerleague.[3] After a trial, he subsequently joined the club.[5] He went on to sign a two-year scholarship with the club, progressing to sign his first professional deal in February 2016, on a one-year contract with the option of a further year.[5] He made his professional debut in August 2016, in a 2–0 defeat to Chesterfield, replacing Kieron Morris as a substitute.[6] He scored his first goal for Walsall in an EFL Trophy tie against Grimsby Town on 30 August 2016.[7] On 9 December he signed a new contract with Walsall until the summer of 2019.[8]
Outside of football, Kouyar attends an accountancy evening course.[3]
International career
In October 2016, he received his first call-up to the Afghanistan senior side for the friendly against Malaysia.[4] While he was on international duty with the national team, he picked up an injury which cost him a minimum of three months without playtime and required knee surgery.[9] Kouhyar made his formal debut for Afghanistan in a friendly 2–0 loss to Oman on 30 August 2017.[10] In 2018 he rejected a call-up for a home match against Palestine as his family did not want him to travel to Kabul.[3]
Career statistics
- As of match played 5 January 2019.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Walsall | 2015–16[11] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016–17[11] | League One | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 1 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2017–18[12] | League One | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 21 | 1 | |
| 2018–19[13] | League One | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 1 | 5 | 1 | |
| Career total | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 33 | 3 | ||
- ^ a b c Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
References
- ^ "Retained List 2015-16" (PDF). English Football League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "Maz Kouhyar". 11v11. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Setting an example", When Saturday Comes, April 2019, pp16–17
- ^ a b "Walsall's Maz Kouhyar delight over international call-up". Express and Star. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ a b "Walsall sign starlets Jordan Sangha and Qamaruddin Maziar Kouhyar". Express and Star. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ "Maziar Kouhyar - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ "Walsall 5 Grimsby 2". expressandstar.com. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ "Maziar Kouhyar: Walsall midfielder signs new contract with League One club". BBC. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ "Walsall Midfielder Maziar Kouhyar Undergoes Surgery". bescotbanter. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ "Oman vs Afghanistan 2 - 0 - FIFA Friendlies - 2017 - August - World Football". www.worldfootball.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ a b "Games played by Maziar Kouhyar in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ "Games played by Maziar Kouhyar in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ "Games played by Maziar Kouhyar in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
External links
- Maziar Kouhyar at Soccerbase
- Maziar Kouhyar at National-Football-Teams.com