Hachim Mastour

Hachim Mastour

Mastour with Milan in 2014
Personal information
Full name Hachim Mastour
Date of birth (1998-06-15) 15 June 1998
Place of birth Reggio Emilia, Italy
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 PEC Zwolle
Number 98
Youth career
2008–2012 Reggiana
2012–2014 Milan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014– Milan 0 (0)
2015–2016 → Málaga (loan) 1 (0)
2016– → PEC Zwolle (loan) 3 (0)
National team‡
2013–2014 Italy U16 5 (1)
2016– Morocco U23 1 (0)
2015– Morocco 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 August 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 June 2015

Hachim Mastour (Arabic: هاشم مستور‎‎ Hāshim Mastūr; born 15 June 1998) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays for Dutch club Zwolle, on loan from Italian club Milan. Internationally, he represents the Morocco national team. He plays primarily as an attacking midfielder.

He began his career at Reggiana, and signed for Milan for €500,000 at the age of 14. In 2015, he was loaned for two years to Málaga, making only one substitute appearance before the deal was terminated a year early. He was then lent to Zwolle.

Mastour was born in Italy and represented the nation at under-16 level. He then switched allegiance to his ancestral Morocco, making his senior debut in June 2015 as their youngest player.

Club career

Mastour was born to Moroccan parents in Reggio Emilia, Italy. He began playing at his hometown club AC Reggiana, and in early 2012, at the age of 13, he featured for Inter Milan in youth tournaments despite rules prohibiting him from leaving Reggiana until his next birthday. In January of that year, he scored five goals in the Ielasi Memorial tournament, including one in the final against A.S. Roma. After approaches from Juventus, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester City, Mastour moved to Inter's city rivals A.C. Milan on the recommendation of former manager Arrigo Sacchi, for a fee of €500,000.[1][2] Shortly after signing, he gave an interview with Sky Italia in which he dribbled with a cherry.[2] In early 2014, he gained attention in a video for energy drink Red Bull, in which he competed in freestyle skills against Brazil international Neymar.[3]

He was promoted into Milan's first team by manager Clarence Seedorf for the final match of the 2013–14 Serie A season and would have become the youngest Milan player to feature in the league,[4] but did not come off the bench in the 2–1 win over Sassuolo at the San Siro on 18 May.[5]

On 31 August 2015, Mastour was loaned to Spain's Málaga CF for two seasons, at the exclusive request of club owner Abdullah al-Thani;[6] as a minor his transfer to another country had to be approved by FIFA, which was not completed until 5 November.[7] He was first included in a matchday squad for the La Liga home fixture against fellow Andalusians Real Betis two days later,[8] making his competitive club debut in the eventual 0–1 loss by playing five minutes as a substitute for compatriot Adnane Tighadouini.[9] On 7 July 2016, after making one appearance all season, Málaga opted to rescind Mastour's loan contract, and he returned to Milan.[10]

On 14 July 2016, Mastour joined Dutch club Zwolle on a season-long loan.[11] He made his Eredivisie debut on 13 August, replacing fellow Moroccan Youness Mokhtar for the final 17 minutes of a 0–3 home loss to Sparta Rotterdam.[12]

International career

Mastour was capped six times and scored once for Italy under-16s.[13] He made his international debut on 18 August 2013, playing the first half of a 3–0 friendly victory over Qatar in Borgo Valsugana,[14] and scored a late equaliser in a 2–1 win over Croatia in Umag on 11 March the following year.[15]

Eligible to play for both the Italy national team and the Morocco national team, he announced on 19 May 2015 that he was persuaded to represent the latter, because he felt Morocco to be his country. He was offered the opportunity to have his international debut immediately, while he still had to prove himself to earn a spot for the Italy senior team. [16] Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport confirmed that Italy could no longer select him.[17]

On 12 June 2015, he made his international debut for Morocco in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group F match against Libya at the Stade Adrar in Agadir, replacing Nordin Amrabat for the final two minutes of the 1–0 victory. Thus with this cap, the coach ensured that, according to FIFA rules, he could never re-consider his allegiances in the future. [18][19] In doing so, he became Morocco's youngest ever senior international player, aged 16 years old and 363 days.[20]

Style of play

Mastour claimed at age 14 that his main abilities were in ball control and dribbling.[2] "Excellent dribbling skills and sublime technique have made him almost impossible to mark for players in his age group", Fabio Balaudo of UEFA.com added.[21] A former coach likened Mastour to former Inter midfielder Wesley Sneijder for his ability to orchestrate play from behind the forward, but his ability in making the ball disappear with his tricks earned him comparisons with Ronaldinho and Neymar as well.[2][21]

In 2014, Omar Danesi, the coach of Milan's under-17 team, praised Mastour's speed and ability to retain the ball from defenders. He predicted a first-team breakthrough, while assuring that Mastour should be given sufficient time to improve beforehand.[4] AC Milan youth director, Filippo Galli, said that "nobody at Milan has any doubts Hachim's ability".[21]

Career statistics

Club

As of 27 August 2016[22]
Club performanceLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal
ClubLeagueSeasonAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Milan Serie A 2013–14 000000–00
2014–15 0000––00
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Málaga (loan) La Liga 2015–16 1000––10
PEC Zwolle (loan) Eredivisie 2016–17 3000––30
Career statistics 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0

    International

    As of 12 June 2015[23]
    Morocco national team
    YearAppsGoals
    201510
    Total10

    References

    1. ↑ "UEFA.com's weekly wonderkid: Hachim Mastour". UEFA.com. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
    2. 1 2 3 4 Gambini, Simone (3 July 2012). "Generazione di Fenomeni - Hachim Mastour, un piccolo fuoriclasse per il Milan: il primo derby della stagione se lo aggiudicano i rossoneri" [Generation of Phenomena - Hachim Mastour, a little world-beater for Milan: the first derby of the season if the Rossoneri get him] (in Italian). Goal.com. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
    3. ↑ Yorke, Graeme (2 February 2014). "Out-skilled by a kid! Neymar takes on Milan's next star in keepy-uppy game". Daily Mail. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
    4. 1 2 Christenson, Marcus (16 May 2014). "Hachim Mastour: Milan's 15-year-old wonderkid with the world at his feet". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
    5. ↑ "Milan-Sassuolo 2-1, gol di Muntari, De Jong e Zaza. Niente Europa per Seedorf" [Milan 2-1 Sassuolo, goals from Muntari, De Jong and Zaza. No Europe for Seedorf]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 18 May 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
    6. ↑ Ballesteros, Jesús (31 August 2015). "Hachim Mastour ya es del Málaga" [Hachim Mastour is now Málaga's]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 August 2015.
    7. ↑ González Blanco, Adrián (5 November 2015). "Mastour, oficialmente, jugador del Málaga" [Mastour, officially, Málaga player] (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
    8. ↑ Cariño, Carlos (7 November 2015). "Vuelve Joaquín, sale Van der Vaart y llaman a Mastour" [Joaquín returns, Van der Vaart out and Mastour called up] (in Spanish). Diario AS. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
    9. ↑ "Video: Hachim Mastour Makes His Debut With Malaga". Morocco World News. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
    10. ↑ "El Málaga CF y Mastour resuelven su vinculación y el jugador regresará a Milán" [Málaga CF and Mastour solve their link and the player will return to Milano] (in Spanish). Málaga CF. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
    11. ↑ "PEC Zwolle versterkt zich met Hachim Mastour!" [PEC Zwolle strengthened with Hachim Mastour!] (in Dutch). PEC Zwolle. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
    12. ↑ "Sparta verrast PEC en boekt na zes jaar weer Eredivisie-zege" [Sparta surprised PEC and booked their first Eredivisie win in six years] (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
    13. ↑ "Nazionale in cifre: Mastour Hachim" [National team in figures: Mastour Hachim] (in Italian). Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC). Retrieved 11 July 2015.
    14. ↑ Paoli, Alessandro (18 August 2013). "AMICHEVOLE - Italia U16 vs Qatar U16 3-0 (27' Testa, 60' Bezziccheri, 72' La Ferrara)" [FRIENDLY - Italy U16 vs Qatar U16 3–0] (in Italian). Tutto Nazionali. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
    15. ↑ Paoli, Alessandro (11 March 2014). "AMICHEVOLE - Croazia U16 vs Italia U16 1-2 (48' Brekalo, 75' Mastour, 76' Scamacca)trans_title=FRIENDLY - Croatia U16 vs Italy U16 1–2" (in Italian). Tutto Nazionali. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
    16. ↑ "Hachim Mastour: I Chose Morocco Because It is My Country". Moroccoworldnews.com. 18 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
    17. ↑ "Mastour sceglie il Marocco. No all'Italia, chiude all'azzurro" [Mastour chooses Morocco. No to Italy, door closed for the Azzurri]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 18 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
    18. ↑ "Press review: Moroccan National Team Beats Libya in African Cup Qualifiers". The Atlas Lions. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
    19. ↑ "Morocco 1-0 Libya". CAF. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
    20. ↑ "Hachim Mastour, plus jeune international des Lions de l'Atlas" [Hachim Mastour, youngest Atlas Lions international] (in French). RFI Afrique. June 12, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
    21. 1 2 3 "UEFA.com's weekly wonderkid: Hachim Mastour". UEFA. 31 January 2015.
    22. ↑ "H. Mastour". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
    23. ↑ Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. "Hachim Mastour - National Football Teams". national-football-teams.com.

    External links

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