Mouhcine Iajour ( ar, محسن ياجور; born 14 June 1986) is a Moroccan football striker who currently plays for

RS Berkane Renaissance Sportive de Berkane ( ar, نادي النهضة البركانية) commonly referred to as Nahdat Berkane or RS Berkane for short, is a professional football club based in Berkane, Morocco, that competes in Botola, the top flight o ...

and the Moroccan national team. In 2013, Iajour became the first African footballer to be

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

's top scorer and Bronze Ball, advancing with

Raja Casablanca Raja Club Athletic ( ar, نادي الرجاء الرياضي, Nādī ar-Rajāʾ ar-Riyāḍī, zgh, ⴰⵙⵔⵉⵔ ⵏ ⵕⴰⵊⴰ ⴰⵎⴰⵏⵓⵏ), commonly referred to as Raja CA, Raja Casablanca or simply RCA is a professional Footb ...

into the final played against European champions

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

. Previously, only Congolese

Dioko Kaluyituka Alain Kaluyituka (born 2 January 1987) is a DR Congo professional footballer who plays as a forward. He has represented his country Congo DR 30 times, scoring 9 times. He has also represented his former club TP Mazembe in International footbal ...

won the Silver Ball in 2010.

Club career

Raja Casablanca

Iajour began his career at his hometown club

, in 2003. After staying there for four years, he moved to

FC Chiasso FC Chiasso is a Swiss football club based in Chiasso. It was founded in 1905. Chiasso also played in the Italian first league between 1914 and 1923. The team's most glorious period was between 1948 and 1961, when the team was promoted to the ...

FC Chiasso

In August 2007 when the Arabian Clubs Tournament was finished, Mouhcine decided to stay in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

without the permission of his club

. On 28 October 2007, Iajour has appeared for the first time in official match with the team of

Return to Raja Casablanca

He returned to

in 2012. After a season, he won his first league title with Raja. In 2013, Raja qualified to

as league champions of host country. On 11 December 2013, Iajour scored a goal in the 2–1 victory against

Auckland City FC Auckland City Football Club is a New Zealand professional football club based in the suburb of Sandringham in Auckland, New Zealand. They currently compete in the Northern League (New Zealand), Northern League. Auckland City have established the ...

, in the play-off for quarter finals. His team eventually defeated

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

with 2–1 in the quarter finals to pass in the semi-finals. On 18 December 2013, he scored a goal in the historical 3–1 victory against Atletico Mineiro in the semi-finals. But in the final, Raja Casablanca was defeated by

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

holders,

with 2–0. Iajour become one of the FIFA Club World Cup top scorers for 2013, together with

Dario Conca Dario is a masculine given name, etymologically related to Darius. Given name * Dario Allevi (born 1965), Italian politician * Dario Argento (born 1940), Italian film director * Dario Badinelli (born 1946), Italian triple jumper * Dario Bellezza ...

César Delgado César Fabián Delgado Godoy (born 18 August 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a winger. He also played as a central midfielder, making piercing forward runs through the center of the opposition's defence. His ...

and

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger. Wide ...

. He received the

bronze ball.

Damac

On 21 July 2019, Iajour joined the newly promoted Damac in the

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

RS Berkane

In January 2020, Iajour returned to Morocco to play for

International career

Youth

In the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Worl ...

Iajour has scored three goals and helped Morocco to move to the semi-finals, where they were defeated 3–0 by Nigeria.

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

ended the tournament in fourth place after a 2–1 loss to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Senior

In January 2014, coach

Hassan Benabicha Hassan Benabicha ( ar, حسن بنعبيشة; born 15 April 1964) is a Moroccan football manager and former player. Biography Benabicha played several years for Wydad Casablanca and is counted among the club's most emblematic players. Once his ...

, invited him to be a part of the Moroccan squad for the

2014 African Nations Championship The 2014 African Nations Championship was the third African Nations Championship association football, football tournament. The 16 national teams featured players from the respective national championships. The tournament took place between 11 Ja ...

. He helped the team to top group B after drawing with

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

and defeating

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. The team was eliminated from the competition at the quarter final zone after losing to

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

Botola The Botola Pro ( ar, البطولة الاحترافية, translit=al-buṭūla l-iḥtirāfiyya), is a Moroccan professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Moroccan football league system, it is the country's prima ...

: 2003–04,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Coupe du Trône The Moroccan Throne Cup or the Throne Cup is a football tournament sponsored by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and brings together Moroccan clubs who play on the knockout system until two teams reach the final match. Unlike the league cha ...

: 2005, 2012, 2017 *

Arab Champions League The Arab Club Champions Cup ( ar, كأس العرب للأندية الأبطال, french: Ligue des Champions Arabe) is an annual regional club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by eli ...

: 2006 *

runner-up:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup and organi ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

CAF Super Cup The CAF Super Cup (also known as African Super Cup or for sponsorship reasons TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup) is an annual African association football competition contested between the winners of the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

: runner-up:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Individual

top scorer:

Bronze Ball:

top scorer: 2017–18 *

Moroccan Throne Cup The Moroccan Throne Cup or the Throne Cup is a football tournament sponsored by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and brings together Moroccan clubs who play on the knockout system until two teams reach the final match. Unlike the league ch ...

top scorer:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

top scorer : 2018–19 * Eagle of the Season in

: 2019

International

African Youth Championship The U-20 Africa Cup of Nations also called TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsoring reason (previously known as the African Youth Championship or the African U-20 Championship) is the main international youth football competition ...

Golden boot:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

References

External links

*
Guardian Football
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iajour, Mouhcine 1985 births Living people Footballers from Casablanca Moroccan footballers Association football forwards Moghreb Tétouan players Raja CA players Wydad AC players FC Chiasso players Qatar SC players Al Ahli SC (Doha) players Al-Khor SC players R. Charleroi S.C. players Damac FC players RS Berkane players Botola players Swiss Challenge League players Belgian Pro League players Qatar Stars League players Saudi Professional League players Morocco under-20 international footballers Morocco international footballers 2014 African Nations Championship players Moroccan expatriate footballers Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Qatar Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Renaissance Club Athletic Zemamra players Morocco A' international footballers