Youness Mokhtar ( ar, يونس مختار; born 29 August 1991) is a 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 le ...

who plays as a winger for Liga 1 club Bhayangkara. Born in the Netherlands, Mokhtar has represented both his native country and Morocco internationally at youth level.

Club career

Early career

Mokhtar formerly played for

FC Eindhoven FC Eindhoven is a Dutch football club based in Eindhoven, North Brabant. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie (second tier of Dutch football), and are one of two professional clubs which are based in the city of Eindhoven, the other one bei ...

FC Twente Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese Bo ...

Al-Nassr Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yello ...

and

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

. In April 2019, he signed a contract with Stabæk. The club announced on 3 June 2019 that Mokhtar had left the club by mutual agreement.

Columbus Crew SC

On 19 July 2019, Mokhtar signed with

Columbus Crew SC The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an Soccer in the United States, American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference ( ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

as a free transfer. He made his debut on 10 August 2019 in a 2–2 draw against

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

in the first Hell Is Real Derby in MLS, coming on as a substitute for Luis Díaz. He scored his first goal for the team about a month and a half later on 29 September 2019 in a 2–0 win over the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

. Mokhtar would make eight total appearances in the 2019 season. Mokhtar remained with the team for the 2020 season. He scored important goals during the

MLS is Back Tournament The MLS is Back Tournament took place during the 2020 Major League Soccer season to mark the league's return to action after being suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 26 Major League Soccer teams, 24 participated in the tour ...

, scoring in the 4–0 win over FC Cincinnati and scoring the lone goal in a 1–0 win over

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...

, helping the team win their group. He was frequently used as both a starter and a substitute during the season, scoring three goals in 19 appearances, ten of which were starts. Columbus declined their contract option on Mokhtar following their 2020 season. On 25 January 2021, Mokhtar joined Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

side

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

for the remainder of their season.

International career

Mokhtar was born in the Netherlands to parents of Moroccan descent. He was first called up to the Netherlands U17 squad, followed by a couple appearances with the Netherlands U19. Mokhtar then switched federations and joined the Morocco U20 team. Mokhtar was last called up by the Morocco U23s.

Honours

Columbus Crew *

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

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- ...

References

External links