Revelation of the end of 2021 with FC Barcelona, young Abdessamad Ezzalzouli was demoted to reserve with the return of injuries and new recruits in attack. The one who had refused to play the CAN with Morocco to focus on his club, experienced a big setback.
FC Barcelona supporters discovered young Abde Ez (20) one evening in October 2021 against Alavès. With the many injuries of the attackers and the lack of choice in front, Ronald Koeman had decided to launch the young people from the reserve. The Moroccan striker, recruited this summer from Hercules to strengthen the club’s B, quickly caused a sensation in his lane. A confusing dribbler, technically fine and above all already physically fit, he had amazed his world and above all convinced his new coach Xavi to count on him for the following matches. He even ended up becoming an indisputable holder in this revamped Barça with the added bonus of this nice goal against Osasuna. “Ezzalzouli is a talented player. He has tremendous ability to dribble past defenders. He is a player who makes the difference. He caused two yellow cards. It is a marvel and a surprise. Very good news for us”even explained the Spanish coach after the meeting.
Nothing seemed to slow down the progress of the native of Beni Mellal in Morocco… or almost. His very good performances had logically caught the eye of Morocco coach Vahid Halilhodzic, who surprised his world by summoning him to CAN 2021. “He is a very interesting player. We lack a punchy profile on the wing. He will be able to help us.”, explained coach Vahid at a press conference. But problem, Barça did not really intend to let him go in the middle of January. The player, who had represented Morocco in the youth selection so far, gradually began to doubt. Aware of the potential, the Spanish federation also came to the news to express its interest. And a battle to snatch the player has started between the two federations. Despite Vahid Halilhodzic’s statements assuring that Abde Ez really wanted to play for the Atlas Lions, the latter decided not to go to the CAN, with a view to continuing to impose himself on Barça as he had promised the Catalan management who guaranteed him playing time. His entourage also advised him this option to increase his value…
A forced return to reserve
But nothing went as planned for the player who had landed for 2.5 million this summer. While he hoped to have his place in the group, FC Barcelona quickly understood that he could not have a season without strengthening offensively. Ferran Torres, Adama Traoré and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang landed in Catalonia while Depay or even Braithwaite and De Jong recovered from their injuries. Result, Ez Abde was forced to go down with the reserve, despite the promises of the management. Since January, where he could have known exposure and international level with Morocco at the African Cup, the 20-year-old striker has played 90 minutes (out of 630 possible) in La Liga. Back with the reserves, he featured for some time in Barca’s La Liga squad until the start of February. Since then, he has completely disappeared even if he shines easily with Barça B, as evidenced by his sensational goal against CD Alcoyano. And the recent success of winter recruits should not help his situation.
However, FC Barcelona does not want to part with it. In the winter transfer window, the Catalan club refused several offers of 10 million euros for his colt. Perhaps good news for Abde Ez who still seems to have the confidence of the leaders. But after experiencing a meteoric rise, the return to reserve is a real setback in his young career. His exposure decreasing, the battle between Spain and Morocco also seems to have calmed down while he has still not made a clear decision on his choice of selection. Recently, Luis Enrique publicly announced that his profile appealed to La Roja. Morocco still hopes to see him wear the red and green colors. But seeing him summoned during the 2022 World Cup play-offs next March would be a surprise. The mystery remains intact. Still, Abdessamed Ezzalzouli is undoubtedly the big loser of recent months on the side of Catalonia.
