Walid Azaro
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 11 June 1995 | ||
Place of birth | Agadir, Morocco | ||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Team information | |||
Current team |
Al-Ettifaq (on loan from Al Ahly) | ||
Number | 95 | ||
Youth career | |||
2008–2015 | Adrar Union Athletique Souss | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2017 | Difaâ El Jadidi | 48 | (18) |
2017– | Al Ahly | 60 | (26) |
2020– | → Al-Ettifaq (loan) | 7 | (3) |
International career‡ | |||
2017– | Morocco | 4 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 January 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 January 2020 |
Walid Azaro (Arabic: وليد أزارو; born 11 June 1995) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Al-Ettifaq on loan from Al Ahly and the moroccan national team.[2][3]
After beginning his career in his home country, he joined Al Ahly in 2017 and finished as the Egyptian Premier League's top goalscorer in his first season. He made his international debut for Morocco in 2017.
Club career
Azaro was born in Agadir and grew up in the suburb of Aït Melloul.[1][4] He started his career with Adrar Souss in the third division of the Moroccan league.[5] He joined Difaâ Hassani El Jadidi in 2015, signing for them on a three-year contract. During the 2016–17 season, he finished as the club's top goalscorer with twelve league goals.[2]
In June 2017, Azaro turned down several offers from European clubs to join Egyptian Premier League club Al Ahly on a four-year deal for a fee of $1.4 million, despite Moroccan national team manager Hervé Renard attempting to convince him to move to Europe.[6] His transfer saw him become the first Moroccan to play for the club.[7]
In his first season with the club, Azaro scored 18 league goals to finish as the top goalscorer in the Egyptian Premier League and help Al-Ahly win their 40th league title.[8] His tally saw him break the record for the most goals scored by a foreign player in the Egyptian Premier League, surpassing the previous record of 17 jointly held by Flávio Amado and John Utaka.[9] He also surpassed Stanley Ohawuchi's record for the most goals scored in the Egyptian Premier League by a player in their first season.[10] He also scored the only goal of the 2017 Egyptian Super Cup and scored a hat-trick against Tunisian side Étoile Sportive du Sahel in the semi-final of the 2017 CAF Champions League.[11] His performances attracted attention from several clubs and Al Ahly rejected an offer from Saudi club Al-Nassr of William Jebor plus a cash sum.[12]
International career
Azaro made his debut for Morocco on 24 March 2017 as a substitute during a 2–0 victory over Burkina Faso.[13] He was named in Morocco's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup but was later omitted from the final squad.[14]
Honours
Club
Al Ahly[15]
Individual
References
- ^ a b "Moroccan finishers poised for final showdown". FIFA. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ a b Seif Soliman (8 June 2017). "Walid Azarou confirms move to Al Ahly". KingFut.com. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ Zoubida Senoussi (20 April 2018). "Moroccan Walid Azarou Ranked Top Goal Scorer in Egyptian League". Morocco World News.
- ^ Zoubida Senoussi (1 June 2018). "Morocco's Walid Azaro to Leave Egyptian Al-Ahly Club". Morocco World News. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ Farah Tawfeek (18 April 2018). "Azaro becomes highest scoring foreigner in a single Egyptian League season". Egypt. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ Tarek Talaat (23 June 2017). "Morocco international Walid Azaro snubs Europe for Al Ahly". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ Dahab Elkady (14 February 2018). "Sayed Abdel-Hafiz: Walid Azaro's personality is similar to Mohamed Salah's". KingFut.com. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ Tarek Talaat (19 March 2018). "Ahly striker Azaro eyes World Cup success with Morocco". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ "Moroccan Walid Azaro becomes highest-scoring foreign player in single Egypt league". Arab News. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ Sina Isaac (6 March 2018). "Walid Azaro beats Egyptian Premier league goals record". KingFut.com. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ "Azaro hat-trick sees Al Ahly into Champions League final". Reuters. 22 October 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ Ali Ismail (28 January 2018). "Al-Ahly refuse Azarou's departure to Saudi side Al-Nassr". Kingfut.com. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ "Walid Azarou". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ "Morocco reveal World Cup squad, Ahly striker Azaro left out". Ahram Online. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ Walid Azarou at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- 1990 births
- Living people
- Moroccan footballers
- Morocco international footballers
- Difaâ Hassani El Jadidi players
- Al Ahly SC players
- Ettifaq FC players
- Botola players
- Egyptian Premier League players
- Saudi Professional League players
- Moroccan expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Egypt
- Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia
- Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Egypt
- Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
- People from Souss-Massa
- Association football forwards