Hakim Ziyech

Hakim Ziyech

Hakim Ziyech (Arabic: حكيم زياش‎; born 19 March 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Morocco national team. In 2019, he was selected as one of the 20 best players in the UEFA Champions League for the 2018–19 season. Ziyech is widely considered as one of the best players in the world. He is known for his finishing, dribbling, long passes, technique, and ability from free-kicks.

Ziyech started his professional career at Dutch club Heerenveen in 2012 and signed for fellow Dutch club Twente two years later. The 2015–16 season was the most prolific season in Ziyech's career, as he scored 17 goals and provided 10 assists in the Eredivisie. In 2016, Ziyech signed for Ajax on a five-year deal, with a reported transfer fee of €11m.

In February 2020, it was announced Ziyech would be joining Chelsea for the 2020–21 season. Chelsea would pay a transfer fee of €40 million-plus possible bonuses to Ajax.

Ziyech was eligible to play for the Netherlands or Morocco. In 2015, he confirmed his choice to represent Morocco at the international stage. He was selected for the final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Heerenveen

Ziyech was born in Dronten, in the Netherlands. Between 2001 and 2007, he played for the youth academy of Real Dronten and ASV Dronten. In 2007, he joined the Heerenveen academy.

2012–13 season

On 2 August 2012, Ziyech made his formal debut for Heerenveen in the first leg of the third qualifying round of the Europa League, against Rapid București, playing a total of 53 minutes before being substituted. He made his Eredivisie debut for the club on 10 August, in a 0–2 loss to NEC.

2013–14 season

Ziyech scored his first goal for Heerenveen in a 2–0 win over NAC Breda, on 10 August 2013. On 23 August, Ziyech provided two assists in a 3–3 draw with Ajax. On 8 November, Ziyech scored and provided an assist in a 5–2 win over Waalwijk. On 18 December, Ziyech scored two goals against AZ Alkmaar, in the fourth round of the KNVB Cup, one in regular time and a last-minute penalty to draw level and take the game into a penalty shootout, but he missed his penalty and Heerenveen were knocked out 6–5 on penalties. On 21 December, Ziyech scored twice and provided one assist in a 5–1 away win over AZ Alkmaar. On 18 January 2014, Ziyech scored in a 2–2 draw with Roda. On 9 February, he scored in a 3–1 win over Groningen. On 27 April, Ziyech scored once and provided an assist in a 4–1 win over Utrecht, after coming on as a substitute.

Twente

On 18 August 2014, Ziyech joined Twente, signing on a three-year contract, and took the number 10 shirt.

2014–15 season

On 5 October, Ziyech scored once and provided an assist in a 2–2 draw with AZ Alkmaar. On 6 March 2015, Ziyech scored twice in a 2–2 draw with Willem II. On 10 May, he provided three assists in a 3–0 home win over Dordrecht. On 17 May, Ziyech scored twice and provided an assist in a 3–1 away win over his former club Heerenveen.

2015–16 season

For the 2015–16 season, Ziyech was selected as captain of the club; however, he was stripped of the captaincy in early January 2016, after he made disrespectful comments against the club and publicly requesting a transfer. The 2015–16 season was the most prolific season in Ziyech's career, as he scored 17 goals and provided 10 assists in the Eredivisie.

Ajax

On 30 August 2016, Ziyech signed for Ajax on a five-year the deal, with a reported transfer of €11m.

2016–17 season

On 15 September, Ziyech was given a red card in the 79th minute, in a 2–1 win over Panathinaikos in the opening group game of the Europa League. Six days later, on 21 September, he scored his first goal for Ajax in a 5–0 win over Willem II in the KNVB Cup. On 2 October, Ziyech scored his first league goal for the club in a 3–2 win over Utrecht. On 20 October, he scored in a 2–2 draw with Celta Vigo in the Europa League. On 20 October, he scored in a 1–0 win over Excelsior. On 3 November, Ziyech scored in the reverse fixture against Celta Vigo in the Europa League, a 3–2 win. On 4 December, he scored a penalty in a 2–0 win over Groningen. On 15 January 2017, Ziyech scored twice in a 3–1 away win over Zwolle. On 29 January, he scored in a 3–0 win over Den Haag. On 8 April, he scored in a 5–1 away win over NEC.

2017–18 season

On 12 August 2017, Ziyech scored the opening goal in a 1–2 defeat to Heracles Almelo. On 20 August, Ziyech scored in a 3–1 win over Groningen. On 9 September, Ziyech missed a penalty but eventually scored just five minutes later in a 3–0 win over Zwolle. On 18 November, Ziyech provided an assist in an 8–0 win over NAC Breda. On 26 November, he provided an assist in a 5–1 win over Roda. On 14 December, Ziyech scored in a 3–1 win over Excelsior. On 20 December, Ziyech missed a penalty against his former club Twente, in the round of sixteen of the KNVB Cup, with Ajax suffering elimination after losing the penalty shootout. On 4 February 2018, Ziyech scored an injury-time goal in a 3–1 win over NAC Breda. Three days later, on 7 February, he scored in a 4–2 away win over Roda. On 18 March, Ziyech scored twice in a 5–2 away win over Sparta Rotterdam. On 19 April, Ziyech scored in a 4–1 win over Venlo.

2018–19 season

On 25 July 2018, Ziyech scored in a 2–0 win over Sturm Graz in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. On 22 August 2018, Ziyech scored in a 3–1 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the play-off round of the UEFA Champions League. On 13 February 2019, he scored his first Champions League goal, scoring the equaliser in a 1–2 loss against Real Madrid in the round of 16. On 5 March 2019, he scored again in the 4–1 victory over Real Madrid in the second leg, which saw the title holders being knocked out and bringing Ajax to the quarter-finals, where they eliminated Juventus to reach the semi-finals of the competition.

On 30 April 2019, Ziyech assisted for the only goal in the Champions League semi-final first-leg win at Tottenham Hotspur. He also scored the second goal for Ajax in the second leg of the semi-final, where Ajax was beaten 3–2 by Tottenham and were knocked out of the tournament on away goals with a 3–3 aggregate score.

Ziyech playing for Morocco at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

2019–20 season

In August 2019, he signed a new three-year contract with Ajax

Chelsea

On 14 February 2020, it was announced that Ajax and Chelsea had reached an agreement for the transfer of Ziyech for a fee of €40 million (potentially increasing to a maximum of €44 million, with variable factors). The player will join the Premier League club from the 2020–21 season. Ten days later, Chelsea announced they had agreed on personal terms with Ziyech and that he had signed a five-year contract.

International career

Netherlands

Ziyech was eligible to play for the Netherlands or Morocco Ziyech played for Dutch national youth teams, playing for the U19s, U20s and U21s. He received his first call-up to the senior squad in May 2015, for friendly matches against the United States and Latvia.

Morocco

Hakim Ziyech (shirt number 7) – pictured with Morocco – against Portugal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Hakim Ziyech playing for Morocco against Spain at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

In September 2015, Ziyech confirmed his choice to represent Morocco at the international stage. Ziyech made his debut for the national team on 9 October, in a 1–0 defeat to Ivory Coast. On 27 May 2016, he scored his first two goals for Morocco, in a 2–0 win over Congo. On 4 September, Ziyech scored in a 2–0 win over São Tomé and Príncipe is a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match. Ziyech was not selected for the final 23-man squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

On 1 September 2017, Ziyech scored in a 6–0 win over Mali, in a qualifying match for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He was selected for the final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.