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When pain turns to glory
After Morocco star Ismail Saibari scored the decisive penalty to send the Netherlands out of the round of 32 at the World Cup in Russia, he ran straight to the stands, hugging his mother through tears of joy mixed with memories of years of pain and suffering.
To many, it was just a hug between mother and son, but it was actually the end of one chapter and the beginning of another in a story that began more than two decades ago, the day doctors told his parents that their child might not be able to walk for the rest of his life.
Shock and prayer
Ismail Sibari was born in 2001 in the Spanish town of Terrassa to a Moroccan family, but his early years were unlike any other child’s childhood. Doctors discovered that he suffered from a congenital foot deformity, with his feet severely bent inwards, prompting them to inform his father that the chances of him walking normally seemed slim.
Then began a long and grueling journey of treatment, during which she wore braces, braces and special medical shoes to straighten her legs, while her family moved between doctors and treatments in hopes that the child would achieve what seemed impossible.
Saibari later recalled that at that stage his dream was not to become a football player, but he only wanted to be able to walk like other children.
Despite the harsh diagnosis, his mother did not allow despair to find its way into the family. He believed that treatment alone was not enough and that prayer and persistence could change what seemed impossible, a belief that continued to accompany his son until he became one of the most famous Moroccan soccer stars.
Excess weight!
After going through the most difficult stages of treatment, the family moved to Belgium, and that’s where Saibari’s relationship with football began.
Showing remarkable talent at an early age, he joined Anderlecht’s academy, one of the biggest talent factories in Europe, but the road was not paved with roses.
When he was fourteen, the club decided to let him go, citing that he was overweight and lacked the physical ability to reach the highest levels, a moment that almost ended his dream before it had even begun.
However, the Moroccan boy reacted differently to that shock. Instead of giving up, he doubled his training hours, built up his fitness and moved to Genk, before finding his real opportunity at Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, where his name gradually began to emerge among Europe’s hottest emerging talents.
The giant of Bavaria
Everything changed in Eindhoven. Saibari developed season after season and went from a promising player to one of the most important elements of the first team, helping the club to several Dutch league titles, while his attacking numbers attracted the attention of the seniors of the European continent.
The Moroccan international’s name has been heavily linked in the transfer market after numerous reports linked him with a move to Bayern Munich, one of Europe’s most important players, clearly recognizing how far the player who once had doubts even about his ability to walk has come.
Morocco without hesitation
Although he was born in Spain and trained as a footballer in Belgium, Saibari did not hesitate when it came to choosing the team he would represent at international level. He chose to wear the Moroccan shirt, rejecting attempts by the Belgian federation to convince him to represent the Red Devils, stressing that belonging to the country of his parents and grandparents was a no-brainer.
Since joining the Moroccan national team, he has gone on to prove himself as one of the most important talents Moroccan football has produced in recent years, until becoming a key element for the Atlas Lions.
A world star
Saibari entered the 2026 World Cup as a talented player known to European football followers, but exited the first round as a global star.
He opened his career with a goal against Brazil, then scored the fastest goal in the current game against Scotland, before scoring against Haiti and continuing his record-breaking streak with Morocco.
The highlight came against the Netherlands in the Round of 32 when, after 120 minutes of excitement, the game went to penalties and Saibari confidently took the last kick and slotted the ball into the net to give Morocco a place in the last 16, before heading straight to his own stands for his mother’s most important moment. tournament.
That hug wasn’t just a celebration of a goal or victory, but rather a message of gratitude to the woman who stood by him through the most difficult years of his life and believed he could surpass all the expectations that judged him early.
Ismail Saibari, the star of the Moroccan national team, hugged his mother after scoring the decisive penalty against the Netherlands in the 32nd round of the World Cup. pic.twitter.com/T8G4dsQrll
– Al Jazeera Egypt (@AJA_Egypt) June 30, 2026
Faith.. patience.. work
History may remember Ismail Saibari for his goals or the penalty kick that sent Morocco into the round of 16, but what makes his story truly exceptional is that it proves that football’s greatest triumphs cannot be achieved inside the green rectangle.
A child whose legs were surrounded by medical equipment and whose family doctors once told him that he might never walk has now become a player running in the world’s biggest stadiums and leading his country’s national team to historic achievements, proving that faith, combined with patience and work, can turn the most difficult situations into the most beautiful.
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