1. Hakim Ziyech is nicknamed "The Wizard", a title given to him by the supporters of his former club Ajax.
45 Facts About Hakim Ziyech
1. 2.
Hakim Ziyech started his professional career at Dutch club Heerenveen in 2012 and signed for fellow Dutch club Twente two years later.
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Hakim Ziyech represented Morocco at the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022, and the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019 and 2023.
4.
Hakim Ziyech is known for his finishing, dribbling, long passes, technique, and ability from free kicks.
5.
Hakim Ziyech was born in Dronten, Flevoland, to Moroccan parents from Tafoughalt, a Berber village of the tribal confederation of Ait Iznassen located near Berkane in northeastern Morocco.
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Hakim Ziyech's two older brothers Faouzi and Hicham were born in Berkane.
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Hakim Ziyech's mother joined her husband in the Netherlands at the age of eighteen and stayed at home and took care of the children in Dronten.
8.
Uninterested in school, Hakim Ziyech only devoted himself to football and the streets.
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Hakim Ziyech thus grew up with his mother, who was forced to educate her eight children using family allowances and unemployment benefits in order to provide for the needs of the eight children.
10.
Hakim Ziyech was motivated by his older brother Faouzi to continue playing football and not to be discouraged.
11.
Hakim Ziyech drank, smoked and did drugs a lot, the only chance I had with him was to make him play in smaller tournaments.
12.
Hakim Ziyech saw Doufikar as his second father, spending his afternoons in indoor gyms playing two-on-two with his neighbourhood friends in his hometown of Dronten.
13.
Hakim Ziyech left his foster family in Heerenveen and resided in Amsterdam for three years with his agent.
14.
In that match, Hakim Ziyech, starting alongside Oussama Tannane and Rajiv van La Parra, left an impression by scoring his first goal with a remarkable free kick.
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Hakim Ziyech's performance earned him head coach Marco van Basten approval, and he assured him of a spot within Heerenveen's squad for the UEFA Europa League match against Rapid Bucuresti.
16.
On 2 August 2012, Hakim Ziyech made his formal debut for Heerenveen in the first leg of the third qualifying round of the Europa League, against Rapid, playing a total of 53 minutes before being substituted.
17.
On 18 August 2014, Hakim Ziyech joined Twente for 3.5m euros, signing on a three-year contract and taking the number 10 shirt.
18.
Hakim Ziyech finished the season with 11 goals and 15 assists in the Eredivisie.
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In doing so, Hakim Ziyech became the first Chelsea player since Diego Costa to score in his first two starts for Chelsea in all competitions.
20.
On 17 April 2021, Hakim Ziyech scored the only goal in Chelsea's FA Cup semi-final clash against Manchester City.
21.
Hakim Ziyech started ten matches and scored two goals in Chelsea's run to the final of the competition, including one against Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16 second leg at Stamford Bridge.
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On 11 August 2021, Hakim Ziyech scored against Villarreal to give Chelsea their first UEFA Super Cup in 23 years, as they won on penalties.
23.
Hakim Ziyech was subbed off shortly before half-time with his arm in a sling after challenging for a header inside his own penalty area and landing badly.
24.
On 12 February, Hakim Ziyech was substitute as Chelsea won the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup title.
25.
On 19 August 2023, Super Lig side Galatasaray announced that Hakim Ziyech arrived in Istanbul to complete his transfer to Turkey.
26.
On 20 August 2023, Hakim Ziyech completed a season-long loan to Galatasaray, with an obligation to make the move permanent.
27.
On 1 November 2023, Hakim Ziyech was nominated for the 2023 African Footballer of the Year by CAF.
28.
On 30 January 2025, Hakim Ziyech joined Qatar Stars League club Al-Duhail.
29.
Hakim Ziyech played for Dutch national youth teams, playing for the under-19, under-20 and under-21 squads.
30.
Hakim Ziyech received his first call-up to the senior squad in May 2015 for friendly matches against the United States and Latvia.
31.
In September 2015, Hakim Ziyech confirmed his choice to represent Morocco on the international stage.
32.
Hakim Ziyech then rejected a last-minute call-up as replacement for the injured Younes Belhanda, stating that he would not accept any further call-ups as long as Renard was still the Moroccan national team's coach.
33.
Hakim Ziyech was selected for the final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
34.
In September 2021, Hakim Ziyech was omitted from the national team squad due to a "poor attitude", having previously refused to play, citing an injury.
35.
Hakim Ziyech was then left out of Morocco's 2021 Africa Cup of Nations squad.
36.
On 8 February 2022, Hakim Ziyech announced his retirement from international football at the age of 28, having fallen out with Halilhodzic over his claims of Hakim Ziyech feigning injury.
37.
Hakim Ziyech excelled as Morocco advanced to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup becoming the first African Team to do so, scoring a goal and providing an assist.
38.
Hakim Ziyech is not fluent in Darija for this reason he addresses Moroccan fans and journalists in English.
39.
Hakim Ziyech is a right winger who likes to take up a wide starting position and then drive infield with the ball, on to his stronger left foot and into positions where he poses a threat on goal, either with shots, through balls or crosses.
40.
Hakim Ziyech is most dangerous coming into central areas and looking to play killer balls to teammates making diagonal runs towards goal from the left.
41.
Hakim Ziyech is particularly skilled at playing deft balls over a defence, and if his teammates time their runs well, they often very suddenly find themselves with a one-on-one shooting opportunity.
42.
The dip with which Hakim Ziyech plays those balls into the area is one of his greatest skills, not only because he so often creates clear-cut chances for his teammate, but because he teases the opposition goalkeeper with a ball that looks like it might float through to them but drops short into the zone in front of goal.
43.
Hakim Ziyech can manipulate the ball impressively, and that leads to him creating plenty of chances for his team.
44.
Hakim Ziyech has incredible balance, speed and acceleration, is able to shake off the attention of an opponent with ease and create himself shooting opportunities, rather than going down the line to cross.
45.
On 15 October 2023, Hakim Ziyech had shown support for the Palestinian cause.