In exceptional numbers…great achievement for Belgium’s Al-Wahidi

Moroccan footballers continued to make their mark on Belgian football after Genk right-back Zakaria El-Wahidi was crowned the Belgian Premier League’s best player of African or African descent on Monday night, in an honor that reflects the Moroccan national team’s exceptional season.

From third place up

Al-Wahidi, 24, managed to turn the disappointment of last season, when he finished third in the nominations, into strong motivation to be crowned the top individual award for an African player in Belgium this year, after a remarkable performance in which he established himself as one of the old continent’s most prominent attacking defenders.

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Exceptional numbers

The Genk full-back enjoyed an impressive campaign with some rare attacking numbers for a defender, as he scored 12 goals and provided five assists in 41 appearances in various competitions, becoming a key factor in his team’s results and the focus of the European giants.

These numbers have sparked the interest of several English Premier League clubs, showing that Al-Wahidi is ready to take his professional career to the next level.

The third Moroccan on the honor roll

With this crowning, Al-Wahidi joins an illustrious list of Moroccans to achieve this feat, as he became the third player from Morocco to win the award after Mbarak Bousoufa (2006, 2009, 2010), the 3-time most decorated player, and Tarek Tissoudali (2022).

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