Youssef Al-Nusairi, a professional soccer player, was born in Fez in 1996, and in a few years he became a star in a group of Spanish teams, then a popular hero in the eyes of the Moroccans. Qatar 2022.
Birth and upbringing
Youssef Al-Nusairi was born on June 1, 1997, in the popular Ben Dabab neighborhood in the ancient city of Fez, in central Morocco, and grew up in a simple football-loving family.
His family was aware of their son Youssef's passion from an early age for playing the game, and prompted him to develop his great talent in it, which he showed in the small leagues in the alleys of Fez.
Al-Nusairi, who some have come to call him "the pride of the city of Fez," was known for his distinguished relationship with his parents, and they were his small world associated with a great deal of love, and they did not stop talking about him with pride in their city.
His mother loves to collect match balls in which her son Youssef scores, which is his permanent gift to her, and he frequents the popular Medina cafe to meet his friends whenever he visits Morocco.
Away from football, the Moroccan striker finds his best hobby in snooker.
A star in the making
Youssef Al-Nusairi, the "black scorer", began his life as a player in the streets in the alleys of Fez, and showed great talent, compared to his friends.
Youssef was distinguished for his passes, headers and dribbles, and he won the award for the best young player in football as part of his school team.
After that, the Maghreb Fassi team expressed a desire to include him in order to train in the club's age groups, but his family hesitated in making the decision because they wanted Youssef to complete his studies.
But the persistence of the football-loving child made his father accept his affiliation with the local club in 2010, and he honed his football talent there.
In 2011, he joined the Mohammed VI Football Academy (specialized in discovering football talents) in the city of Sale, less than 20 kilometers from the capital, Rabat, when he was 12 years old.
This was after he was selected in a selection of football talents in various cities of the Kingdom, and he was in a group that included a number of current Moroccan football stars, including Hamza Mandil, Reda Al-Taknouti, Nayef Akrad and others.
Moroccan coach Nasser Largate - who also holds French citizenship - was the director of the academy at the time, and expressed his admiration for Youssef Al-Nusairi's talent and physical fitness.
During 4 years of training and training, the Moroccan star proved his eligibility for his place within the academy, because he imbibed the methods and rules of the game according to the “study and sport” curriculum, and at that time showed great levels that enabled him to obtain a graduation certificate with a “very honorable” distinction.
The dream of the "son of the people" was to make a name for himself in the world of football, and to make his family enjoy the gains of his success, so the academy helped him build the base for this dream.
Youssef Al-Nusairi left Morocco for the Chelsea Academy for young players, and succeeded in his first test opportunity, but the work permit and the minors law stopped the talented star's dream of joining the "Blues" battalion.
After that, he went to the “Albiceleste” academy of Malaga club, which opened its doors to him, in implementation of an agreement that brought it together with the Mohammed VI Football Academy.
Al-Nusiri was young at the time, but the Spanish coach, Juande Ramos, said that he was "in a tremendous physical condition that actually excels the professional players, and for this reason I pushed him in the matches, even though he was naturally suffering from tactical and tactical problems."
Professional experience
In 2015, Youssef Al-Nusairi succeeded in obtaining the first contract with the second team of the Malaga team, at a value of 150 thousand euros, and after one year he rose to the reserve team in 2016, and presented great levels, as he scored 9 goals in 10 matches.
This outcome made him an option in front of Jose Miguel Gonzalez, the coach of the first team, so he included him in the adult camp in preparation for the 2016-2017 season, and he scored a double in the preparatory matches.
Al-Nusairi scored a goal in his first match 5 minutes after entering as a substitute, and in two seasons with the first team, he scored 5 goals in 53 matches for him.
The Moroccan national team striker confirmed that his life changed when he traveled to Malaga in the first steps of his professional path, and despite that, he did not have this opportunity to appear much, as he played 1980 minutes in 41 participations with his club in various competitions.
In the summer of 2018, the Spanish club Leganes hired him for 6 million euros, in a purchase deal, the highest for the team.
Al-Nusairi entered the club's history by being the first player to score a hat-trick in the tournament, and in two years he participated in 53 matches, scoring 15 goals.
On January 16, 2020, Youssef Al-Nusairi, who was 22 years old at the time, signed his transfer contract to Seville, for 5 seasons, for 20 million euros.
And the director of football at Seville, Ramon Rodriguez Verdego - known as "Monchi" - said that Al-Nusairi "possesses speed, strength, ferocity and the desire to fight until the last breath," which are the qualities that the club needs.
The rise of Youssef Al-Nusairi, who achieved the goal of qualifying for the golden square in the 2022 World Cup (Reuters)
Al-Nusiri, nicknamed the "Moroccan trigger for Seville Club", became the top scorer in the "La Liga" with 12 goals, bringing back the memory of his Arab compatriot Ben Mubarak, who had scored 56 goals in 113 games with Atletico Madrid at the end of the 1953-1952 season.
Jules Conde, his colleague in the Seville team, said, "We must precede his name with a title as an expression of respect." Others called him "Sir" Youssef Al-Nusairi, and the "Diario de Seville" website described him as "Hurricane Joseph" and "the man who was touched by the magic wand of the scorers."
Since moving to the club, the top scorer has scored 37 goals in various tournaments so far.
And after his brilliance, some Spanish newspapers preferred to search for the traditions of the talented player, and indicated that the barber of the Seville striker since 2015 is his "amulet of luck."
The Moroccan barber, who lives in Spain, said, "He travels from Malaga to Seville every week to style his hair after training and before each match," but he attributed the player's brilliance to seriousness and diligence.
Frontline captain
Youssef Al-Nusairi participated for the first time in the national team shirt on August 31, 2016, in a friendly match against Albania, where he played 90 minutes and gave good signals as a mobile sniper.
Then he participated in 34 other matches in "Cannes 2017" in Gabon and succeeded in scoring his first international goal against the Togo national team, and in the 2018 World Cup in Russia he succeeded in shaking the net of the Spain goalkeeper with a historic goal that was the goal that changed his life, as he brought him into the interests of many giant clubs. in Europe.
Commenting on his goal, Youssef Al-Nusairi said, "It was the best in my playing career; it constituted a second birth for me, and it was a turning point in my career, and it earned me special appreciation in Spain, where I am a professional."
Al-Nusairi believed that the event constituted a breakthrough in his football career, and said, "I will not say that I benefited from the national team, because its representation is a dream and a source of pride and pleasure for me."
He was in the Lions Brigade in "Cannes 2019" in Egypt and scored only two goals, and his numbers with the Moroccan national team made him subject to harsh criticism to the point of bullying at times.
folk hero
Moroccan coach Walid Rekragui was criticized for summoning Al-Nusairi to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and voices were raised calling for his exclusion on the grounds that he was "ineffective."
However, Regragui confirmed his support for the player, whom he described as "talented and a world-class player," and confirmed that he plays for the Moroccan national team, just like Olivier Giroud with the French national team.
He said, "He is our son, and he was born in Morocco, and we are here to help him... Al-Nusairi represents the future."
Youssef Al-Nusairi participated in the Doha World Cup with a personal challenge, which is to announce himself as a scorer in front of skeptics of his offensive capabilities, and he had previously said, "Personally, I love the response on the field."
The young player succeeded in the language of numbers, as he was the first Moroccan to score in two consecutive editions of the World Cup, and the biggest scorer in the history of Morocco in the World Cup with 3 goals.
Youssef Al-Nusairi preceded Abdul-Razzaq Khairy, who scored two goals in 1986, and Salah El-Din Basir and Abdel-Jalil Hadda (aka Camacho), who each scored two goals in 1998.
The "Atlantic Lion" became the talk of the Arab and international media, after its historic goal that led the Moroccan national team to the semi-finals of the World Cup Qatar 2022, which it scored with a header against Portugal.
Youssef Al-Nusairi, nicknamed "The Flying Boy", confirmed in an interview that scoring goals in this way requires harsh exercises and special techniques, and nothing is subject to chance or luck because it benefits from a characteristic associated with height.
"I like this kind of goal, and I find it especially fun to score in this way," he said.
And at Al-Thumama Stadium, he dedicated his achievement to his family and said, "When you see your parents next to you, watching what you offer, you will certainly give everything on the field, even your liver will give it."
He continued, "I was the first to be criticized and questioned about my abilities, but thank God the result appeared and proved to everyone that I deserve to play for the national team."
Since the beginning of his football career with the national team, Youssef Al-Nusiri succeeded in scoring 17 goals in 55 matches, in which he participated in the Atlas Lions shirt so far.
playing style
Youssef Al-Nusairi, the striker of the Moroccan national team, is unique in his playing style that shows his superiority in head strikes, pressure and ball recovery, which are somewhat defensive tasks, and make him a shadow player who realizes his true value as game experts.
He plays with a right foot that rarely misses the net, and his left foot is adept at finishing attacks, and his physique helps him attack and play back to play defensive roles.
Al-Nusiri, who is 1.89 meters tall, is distinguished by his high jumps and running for kilometers in the field, and he said in a previous interview, "I think I am lucky because I run a lot, and this is what modern football requires. Without running, it is difficult for you to achieve positive results in every match."
Nicknames
European League with Spanish club Sevilla, season 2019/2020.
Awards
The award for the best player in the Spanish League in January 2021.
Second place in the Spanish La Liga top scorer race, with 13 goals, equally with Argentine star Lionel Messi in 2021.
The Portuguese newspaper "Apolla" awarded him the "Pichichi" award, which is awarded to the best scorer in La Liga.
He was in the Africa squad of the year in 2021.
Player of the season in the Spanish club Leganes in 2019.