Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Arabic: عبد الصمد الزلزولي; born 17 December 2001) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Osasuna, on loan from Barcelona. Born in Morocco and raised in Spain, he represents the Morocco national team at international level. He began his professional career playing for Hércules.
![]() Ezzalzouli playing for Morocco in 2022 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Abdessamad Ezzalzouli | ||
Date of birth | (2001-12-17) 17 December 2001 (age 20) | ||
Place of birth | Beni Mellal, Morocco | ||
Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
Position(s) | Winger | ||
Club information | |||
Current team |
Osasuna (on loan from Barcelona) | ||
Number | 12 | ||
Youth career | |||
2008–2010 | Peña Ilicitana Raval | ||
2010–2013 | Pablo Iglesias | ||
2013–2014 | Kelme | ||
2014–2015 | Pablo Iglesias | ||
2015–2016 | Promesas Elche | ||
2015–2016 | Cultural Carrús | ||
2016–2019 | Hércules | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2019–2021 | Hércules B | 25 | (5) |
2019–2021 | Hércules | 21 | (2) |
2021–2022 | Barcelona B | 20 | (2) |
2021– | Barcelona | 10 | (1) |
2022– | → Osasuna (loan) | 3 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2020 | Morocco U20 | 5 | (2) |
2022– | Morocco | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:41, 21 September 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 02:14, 25 September 2022 (UTC) |
Born in Morocco, Ezzalzouli moved to Spain with his family at the age of seven to live and started his football youth career in the neighborhood of Carrús, in the city of Elche.[1]
Ezzalzouli was part of the youth academies for Peña Ilicitana Raval CF, CD Pablo Iglesias, Kelme CF, Promesas Elche CF, and CD Cultural Carrús.[2] He trialled at Elche CF, the main club in his hometown, but was not offered a place in their academy.[3]
Ezzalzouli continued to play for neighbourhood clubs in Elche until Hércules B coach Antonio Moreno Domínguez offered him a contract, and Ezzalzouli subsequently joined the main club in the neighbouring city of Alicante. He moved to Hércules' reserves in 2016, where he began his senior career in 2019.
Ezzalzouli transferred to Barcelona B on 31 August 2021.[4] He made his professional debut with Barcelona in a 1–1 La Liga draw with Alavés on 30 October 2021, coming on as a substitute in the 80th minute. Ezzalzouli thus became the first Moroccan-born player to feature for Barça's first team.[5] He scored his first goal for Barcelona against Osasuna in a 2–2 draw.[6][7]
In September 2022, he renewed his contract with Barcelona until 2026 and was ensuingly loaned to Osasuna.[9] On 4 September, he made his first appearance for Osasuna against Rayo Vallecano after being subbed in the 81st minute, he managed to assist the winning goal in that game, which ended in a 2–1 victory.[10][11][12]
Ezzalzouli represented the Morocco under-20 team at the 2020 Arab Cup U-20, scoring two goals in five games.[13] On 20 December 2021, Abdessamad rejected Vahid Halilhodžić invitation to represent Morocco national team in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations to focus on his club.[14][15]
On 17 March 2022, Ezzalzouli was listed in the 26-man squad to face DR Congo in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round.[16][17]
In September 2022, Ezzalzouli was called up to join the Morocco national team.[18][19] He played his first match in a friendly against Chile at the RCDE Stadium in Cornellà de Llobregat, which ended in a 2–0 victory.[20][21]
On 10 November 2022, he was named in Morocco's 23-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[22][23]
Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Hércules B | 2019–20 | Tercera División | 17 | 5 | — | — | — | 17 | 5 | |||
2020–21 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||||
Total | 25 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 25 | 5 | ||
Hércules | 2019–20 | Segunda División B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
2020–21 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 | ||||
Total | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 2 | ||||
Barcelona B | 2021–22 | Primera División RFEF | 20 | 2 | — | — | — | 20 | 2 | |||
Barcelona | 2021–22 | La Liga | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 12 | 1 |
Career total | 76 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 79 | 10 |
CA Osasuna – current squad | |
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Morocco squad – 2022 FIFA World Cup | ||
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