“50-50”: El Ouahdi on his emotional path to HSV | OneFootball

Zakaria El Ouahdi has a market value of an impressive 17 million euros. For that reason, many observers would hardly have thought that his path would lead him to HSV.

In fact, a number of things had to fall into place for the Moroccan to ultimately end up at the Volkspark. This also included a tragic personal blow: El Ouahdi’s father was diagnosed with cancer. For that reason, the highly talented right-back called off a move to VfL Wolfsburg last summer.

“I stayed in Genk for my father. My dad was very ill,” he explained on Wednesday, when he spoke to the media for the first time wearing an HSV shirt. “It wasn’t an easy time for me. I couldn’t have left my family alone. Simply moving to another country wasn’t possible. That was the main reason I turned it down.”

Meanwhile, things are looking up again for father Mohamed Achahbar, who is also his son’s agent. “He drove all the way here to Hamburg from Belgium — that’s proof that he’s fit again,” El Ouahdi joked.

Photo: IMAGO

El Ouahdi hopes for even more Moroccans at HSV

Even so, a transfer was also complicated this year. Last Friday, the 24-year-old went viral online when he tearfully said goodbye to the KRC Genk fans. But as El Ouahdi now explained, his move to HSV was anything but finalized at that point. According to him, the chances of a deal were “50-50.” “It wasn’t easy to come here,” he said.

All the more delighted the four-time Morocco international now is to have ended up in Hamburg. There, among others, he will link up with his compatriot Bilal Nadir, who joined the Rothosen from Olympique Marseille a few weeks ago. El Ouahdi therefore has one very special wish: “I hope that in the future, if Bilal and I perform well, even more Moroccans will come to this great club.” The new signing could take the first step toward that goal as early as this weekend. In the home match against 1. FSV Mainz 05 (Sunday, 3:30 p.m.), he is expected to go straight into the starting lineup.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.