Behind every great player is a sad story, mostly. This is how the British press described the rise of Moroccan striker Hakim Ziash, whose successful career with his Dutch team Ajax Amsterdam culminated in the transfer to the English Premier League football from the gate of the Chelsea team.
Ajax announced Thursday that Ziash, 26, will be officially transferred to Chelsea from next summer for 40 million euros.
Chelsea reached an agreement with Ajax to transfer Moroccan Hakim Ziash to him next summer. |
The British newspaper "The Sun" listed some aspects of Ziash's life in which he suffered early when he was ten years old, when his father died after suffering years of terminal illness. She pointed out that this tragedy caused the young boy to pursue his dream of professional football in order to support his extended family, which prompted him to leave school and he is only 16 years old.
Seven siblings
Ziash was born in the Dutch city of Dronten, with a population of about 40,000, to a Dutch father and a Moroccan mother. He was the youngest of his seven siblings, and his father died in 2003, turning his life upside down.
His football talent emerged early at the age of five when he was sharing with his brothers playing on the streets, joining one of the small clubs in his city (Real Drunken), which helped him to develop his skills.
Although Ziyash developed and managed to move to Heerenveen in 2008, he was unable to cope with the consequences of his father's death, which affected his academic level due to his absence from school while his mother was working to spend on the extended family.
We have some Hakim Ziyech news… 👀 - Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 13, 2020 |
Ziyash was forced to leave school permanently in 2010 and he is only 16 years old, to devote himself to football and help his mother spend on his brothers.
Despite his early talent, being affected by his father's early death was negatively affected by his behavior, and he committed many bad behavior that threatened to end his career early. However, shortly after, he received a life-saving collar with the help of the Moroccan star and his former coach Aziz Dovecar, who helped him to participate with the first team for Heerenveen in 2012 as his first professional step, and he succeeded relatively by scoring 13 goals in 46 games.
His move to the Twente team in 2014 was the beginning of his great brilliance, where he scored 34 goals in 76 games, including 15 goals in his first season with the team, to be appointed leader in the following season.
It started with Ajax
Ziyash caught the spotlight in his second season with Twente by scoring 17 goals and providing 10 crucial passes, which prompted many teams to seek his inclusion, and Ajax won a contract with him in 2016 for 11 million euros, to start the most successful stage in his football career and save his family from poverty forever .
His career almost stumbled with Ajax after being sent off in a European League match against Panathinaikos, but he quickly overcame this pent-up by brilliantly shaking the net, reaching his goal to 10 goals in his first season, which made him one of the team's stars.
Hey @ChelseaFC, you have to believe in his magic. |
But the best is yet to come, as the Champions League last season was the beginning of his second start, where he starred and was one of the reasons for his team's reaching the semi-finals of the tournament after overcoming many of the oldest major teams, including Real Madrid and Juventus.
Ziyash scored two goals against Real Madrid, the first in the 1-2 loss in the Netherlands, and the second in the second leg match in the Spanish capital, which Ajax won 4-1, to topple the Royal from his favorite championship.
Ziash's brilliance in the Champions League Chelsea match this season in a confrontation that ended in a dramatic 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge seemed to have played a role in the blues coach Frank Lampard's insistence that the Moroccan star be part of his team.