5 Things You Should Know About Noussair Mazraoui

Here are 5 things you should know about Manchester United full back Noussair Mazraoui 

 

1 - Did you know that whilst Mazraoui plays for Morocco at international level, he was was born in the Netherlands? 

Mazraoui was born in the town of Leiderdorp in the Netherlands. The small town is located in the western Netherlands with a population of just 27,000.  It is actually one of the oldest towns in the South Holland province and also the place of birth of teammate Matthijs De Ligt. 

Mazraoui ultimately opted to play for Morocco at international level since both his parents are Moroccan.

 

2 - Did you know that it was Erik Ten Hag who gave Mazraoui his senior debut?

The current Manchester United boss handed the defender his debut for Ajax on 4th February 2018, coming on as a substitute in a 3-1 win against NAC Breda.

Mazraoui said it was a long and tough route to get there claiming,

“I was in the youth teams for my entire youth, from the first to the last team. It was always doubtful, at the end of the year you have this talk about whether you go through to the next year or not, and I always went through, but always with a question mark about whether I was going to make it!”

 

3 - Did you know that Mazraoui was named Ajax’s  Talent of the Year in the 18/19 season? 

The prize, also known as the 'Marco Van Basten Award' was won by Mazraoui in 2019 for having a superb season. Mazraoui was the standout player in the squad for providing consistent performances as well as contributing with 4 goals and 1 assist as Ajax won the Eredivisie, KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield. Erik Ten Hag’s Ajax team also reached the semi finals of the Champions League that year, ultimately losing to Spurs after having a superb tournament.

Previous winners of the Talent of the Year award at Ajax include Nwankwo Kanu, Benni McCarthy, Raphael Van der Vart, as well as new Manchester United teammates Christian Eriksen and Matthijs de Ligt 

 

4 - Did you know Mazraoui had four trials at Ajax before earning a place in the club's academy?

Mazraoui joined the Ajax youth academy at just seven years of age and he mostly played as a midfielder as he progressed through the ranks at the club. 

Speaking in an interview with the Bundesliga Mazraoui said,

“The first time they told me I was too lightweight," he recalled. "It hurt. I was a little boy, and cried. After my fourth try-out, I got an acceptance letter."

 

5 - Did you know that Mazraoui was part of Moroccan side that produced one of the biggest surprises in World Cup history as they reached the 2022 semi-finals? 

Mazraoui played all games in the 2022 World Cup apart from the quarter final win over Portugal and the third placed play off loss to Croatia. The player unfortunately tested positive for COVID 19, ruling him out of the quarter final and due to a mild inflammation of his heart (a potential complication of Covid) he did not play in final play off game v Croatia as a precaution.