Abdessamad "Abde" Ezzalzouli ( ar, عبد الصمد الزلزولي; born 17 December 2001), sometimes known as Ez Abde, is a Moroccan professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
club
Osasuna
Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...
, on loan from
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. Born in Morocco and raised in Spain, he plays the Morocco national team at international level. He began his professional career playing for Hércules.
Early life
Born in Morocco, Ezzalzouli moved to Spain with his family at the age of seven to live and started his football youth career in the neighborhood of Carrús, in the city of
Elche
Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Kelme CF, Promesas Elche CF, and CD Cultural Carrús. He trialled at
Elche CF
Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Elx Club de Futbol, S.A.D.) is a professional football based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1923, the club competes in La Liga, holding home matches at ''Es ...
, the main club in his hometown, but was not offered a place in their academy.
Ezzalzouli continued to play for neighbourhood clubs in Elche until Hércules B coach Antonio Moreno Domínguez offered him a contract, and Ezzalzouli subsequently joined the main club in the neighbouring city of
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
. He moved to Hércules' reserves in 2016, where he began his senior career in 2019.
Barcelona
Ezzalzouli transferred to
Barcelona B
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
on 31 August 2021. He made his professional debut with
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
in a 1–1
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
draw with Alavés on 30 October 2021, coming on as a substitute in the 80th minute. Ezzalzouli thus became the first Moroccan-born player to feature for Barça's first team. He scored his first goal for Barcelona against
Osasuna
Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...
in a 2–2 draw.
In September 2022, he renewed his contract with Barcelona until 2026 and was ensuingly loaned to Osasuna. On 4 September, he made his first appearance for Osasuna against
Rayo Vallecano
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Li ...
after being subbed in the 81st minute, he managed to assist the winning goal in that game, which ended in a 2–1 victory.
Vahid Halilhodžić
Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 October 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various na ...
2021 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's foo ...
to focus on his club.
On 17 March 2022, Ezzalzouli was listed in the 26-man squad to face DR Congo in the
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round
The third round of CAF matches for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 25 to 29 March 2022. The ten group winners from the second round were drawn into five ties. The five overall winners of these fixtures qualified for the 2022 FI ...
.
In September 2022, Ezzalzouli was called up to join the Morocco national team. He played his first match in a friendly against
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
at the
RCDE Stadium
RCDE Stadium, also known as Estadi Cornellà-El Prat (; es, Estadio Cornellà-El Prat ), is an all-seater football stadium on the outskirts of Cornellà de Llobregat and El Prat de Llobregat, in the wider Barcelona urban area (Catalonia, Spain). ...
in
Cornellà de Llobregat
Cornellà de Llobregat (; es, Cornellá de Llobregat) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the left bank of the Llobregat River. It is in the south-western part of the Barcelona metr ...
, which ended in a 2–0 victory.
On 10 November 2022, he was named in Morocco's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
.
Career statistics
Club
Honours
Orders
*
Order of the Throne
The Order of the Throne (Arabic: ''Wissam al-Arch'', French: ''Ordre du Trône'') is a state decoration of the Kingdom of Morocco awarded for distinguished services of a civil or military nature. The Order was instituted on 16 May 1963 by King Ha ...
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Found ...