From a promising player who quickly caught the eye and established himself in the starting line-up of FC Barcelona, to a forced return to the reserve team;
A journey with a difference of weeks in which the position of Moroccan player Abdel Samad Zalzouli changed with the Catalan club.
A report by the French website Foot Mercato monitored the situation of the young Moroccan player, and stated that it was an impressive discovery for Barcelona fans, when the 20-year-old started his career in a match against Alaves last October.
With the many injuries to the strikers at the time and the decline in offensive options, coach Ronald Koeman decided to give a chance to a number of young players, including Zalzouli, who was signed by Barcelona last summer to support the reserve team.
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- FC Barcelona (@fcbarcelona_ara) February 26, 2022
The Moroccan striker quickly seized the opportunity and showed capabilities that prompted the new coach, Xavi Hernandez, to rely on him. Xavi described Zalzouli as "a pleasant surprise for the team, because he is a dodger with high technical capabilities and great physical strength."
Zalzouli's early brilliance caught the attention of Morocco coach Vahid Halilhodzic, who decided to invite him to participate with the "Atlas Lions" in the African Nations Cup that took place in Cameroon.
However, the player, who participated earlier with the Moroccan national team in the youth groups, decided to apologize for participating in the African Nations, and preferred to focus with his team in order to secure a place in the ranks of Barcelona.
🔵🔴Barcelona dropped points against Osasuna as a late goal from Chimy Avila rescued a point for the hosts.
🚀Barca's Abde Ezzalzouli scored a brilliant volley!
⏰FT: Osasuna 2-2 Barcelona#OsasunaBarca #LaLigapic.twitter.com/UrIgZM7v39
— #ChampionsLeague (@alimo_philip) December 12, 2021
Despite the promises he obtained from his team to guarantee opportunities to participate in the club's matches, the situation changed with the return of the injured and Barcelona signed the attacking trio Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and Adama Traore.
The player - who arrived in Barcelona from Hericolis for 2.5 million euros - found himself forced to return to the reserve team, and his participation with the first team declined after he was called up in intermittent periods for some matches.
And since last January, when he apologized for participating in the African Nations with Morocco, Zelzouli collected 90 minutes (out of 630 possible) in the Spanish League.
At the beginning of February, the young player completely disappeared from the first team of Barcelona.
The French website confirmed that despite this difficult situation, Barcelona is not thinking of giving up Zelzoli, and confirmed that the administration led by Joan Laporta, in the winter transfer period, rejected offers amounting to 10 million euros in order to sell the young player.
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❤️ Ez Abde
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This confidence from the Catalan administration may mitigate the impact of the "setback" suffered by the player, who declined in weeks from brilliance in first-team matches to playing matches with the reserve team.
The French website considered Zalzouli to be the "biggest loser" from the events of the past weeks, especially with the decline in talk of the struggle in order to convince him to decide on his international future, whether to continue with the Moroccan national team or join the ranks of the Spanish national team.
Zalzouli will have to work to restore his place in coach Xavi's list, in order to have the opportunity to appear with the Moroccan national team in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, if the Atlas Lions overcome the Congo obstacle in the crucial African qualifiers later this month.