Top five legendary Moroccan players in LaLiga

Over the decades, many LaLiga teams have paved the way for African-born and Europe-born players with African descent to establish themselves in the Spanish league’s football folklore. From former Deportivo and Espanyol striker, Mustapha Hadji to current Sevilla attacker, Youssef En-Nesyri, Morocco is one African country that has produced many football gems that continue to blaze leagues around the world.

In this article we take a look at 5 Top Moroccan players to make an impact in LaLiga Santander.

Nabil El Zhar

Nabil El Zhar might be most famous for his stint with Liverpool, but the winger spent most of his career playing in Spain and making an impact in LaLiga. With Levante, Las Palmas and then Leganés, the French-born Morocco international consistently wowed fans across Spain with his urgent dribbling and his ability to drift dangerously into the centre, causing chaos in opposition defences.

As a technically excellent footballer, Spanish football really seemed to suit El Zhar. Even if he didn’t make many appearances for the English side, he was always loved by former Liverpool coach Rafa Benítez and then, once the small and slight winger arrived at Levante in 2011, he started to display those skills. Levante’s sporting director Manolo Salvador had admired El Zhar since the 2005 Fifa World Youth Championship, where El Zhar was one of the standout players along with Lionel Messi. In 2011, Salvador then had the chance to sign the player and he did so, with El Zhar paying back that trust.

Over the course of four seasons with Levante, El Zhar made 114 appearances, scored 10 goals and provided as many assists. He became something of a fan favourite at the Estadi Ciutat de València, before also making a name for himself over the course of two seasons at Las Palmas (2015/16 and 2016/17) and two seasons at Leganés (2017/18 and 2018/19), before departing for Al Ahli in Qatar.

Several of his goals came on the biggest stages as El Zhar had a knack for scoring against the biggest teams. Of the 19 goals he scored in Spain’s top flight during his time in LaLiga, two were against Barcelona, two were against Atlético Madrid and one of them was against Real Madrid. The top defences always knew that the Morocco international was one to watch.

Noureddine Naybet

In the city of A Coruña in Spain’s Galicia region, Noureddine Naybet remains a legend. The centre-back was a member of the Super Depor side that enjoyed so much success at the turn of the century. After starting his professional career at Wydad Athletic Club in his hometown of Casablanca, Naybet went on to Nantes in France and Sporting CP in Portugal before joining Deportivo La Coruña in 1996.

He stayed for eight years and won four trophies, including the 1999/2000 league title and the 2001/02 Copa del Rey, the two proudest moments in the Galician club’s history, in addition to the two Super Cups that followed on from those wins.

Naybet’s final season at Riazor was 2003/04 and he almost went out on the highest of highs in that campaign as Depor reached the semifinals of the Champions League, where they lost to eventual winners Porto, and Naybet played 13 of the 14 matches during that European run. Previously, in the year 2000, he’d even scored the club’s first ever goal in the Champions League in their first ever match in the competition, a 1-1 draw against Panathinaikos.

So many star players spent time at Riazor during that golden era for Deportivo La Coruña and the Moroccan centre-back was one of them. His time at the club eventually came to an end in 2004 as he moved to Tottenham Hotspur, before retiring two years after that. He played in four of Europe’s top leagues during his career, but it was in Spain where he left a legacy.

Moha

Mohammed El Yaagoubi Youbi, better known as Moha, spent time on the books of nine different Spanish clubs during his career. Although he was born in Taourirt in Morocco, he spent his entire footballing journey in Spain, with his family moving to northern Catalonia when he was a youngster.

The attacking midfielder started out at Santboià, the club in the area of Catalonia where his family lived. He impressed there with the club that played in the fourth tier of Spanish football and even stood out in a match against a Barcelona youth side that featured Carles Puyol. It wasn’t long before Moha was playing in Blaugrana colours too, as he was picked up by Barça and rose through their youth categories.

While he never made it to the first team of Barcelona, Moha had the footballing education he needed to embark on a fruitful career in Spanish professional football. Stints at Osasuna, Levante, Elche, Espanyol, Real Sociedad, Girona and Sabadell followed, with the Moroccan racking up 149 appearances and 11 goals in Spain’s top flight and 235 appearances and 21 goals in the country’s second division.

Moha never won any trophies or any promotions during his time fluctuating between the top two divisions of Spanish football, but he did help Osasuna reach the 2004/05 Copa del Rey final and help Espanyol reach the 2006/07 Uefa Cup final, although both those finals ended in disappointment for the Morocco international.

Overall, it was a very productive career for Moha, the Moroccan who made Spain and LaLiga his home.

Youssef El-Arabi

No Moroccan player has scored as many goals in Spain’s top division as Youssef El-Arabi. The striker only ever played for one Spanish club, but his time at Granada’s Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes was very fruitful. The French-born Morocco international scored 44 goals in 130 LaLiga Santander appearances, including two hat-tricks, leaving many happy memories behind for the Granada faithful.

Able to score from distance or from inside the six-yard box, with a header or with his right or left foot, in a crowded penalty area or in a one-on-one situation against the goalkeeper, El-Arabi was the perfect striker for a Granada side that had to take their chances.

Granada were always fighting relegation during El-Arabi’s four seasons at the Andalusian club, but they never went down on his watch, finishing 15th, 15th, 17th and 16th during his time there. Then, after he left in the summer of 2016 by moving to Qatari side Lekhwiya Sports Club, Granada finished bottom of the table the following season as they struggled without his goals.

By finishing as Granada’s top scorer in each of his four seasons and by scoring a total of 44 top-flight goals, El-Arabi left the Rojiblancos as their all-time top scorer in LaLiga Santander and he remains their all-time leading scorer to this day.

Nordin Amrabat

Even if most of his time spent in LaLiga was on loan, Nordin Amrabat still managed to make a name for himself among Spanish football fans. The Morocco international was born in Naarden in the Netherlands and took his first steps in the sport in Dutch football, before moving to Turkish football and ending up at Galatasaray. From there, the winger was loaned out to Málaga for the second half of the 2013/14 season and for the entire 2014/15 season, doing well enough from his position on the wing to earn a permanent transfer in the summer of 2015.

He was soon on the move again, leaving on a permanent transfer for Watford midway through the 2015/16 campaign, but Amrabat was back in LaLiga Santander before long. This time it was to join Leganés on a one-year loan for the 2017/18 season.

In total, Amrabat played 89 matches in Spain’s top flight as he dropped in and out of the league. In total, he netted 10 goals and his goals were very important as his team never lost when he hit the back of his net. His 10 goals (eight for Málaga and two for Leganés) led to eight victories and two draws, which proved very useful as he helped those two clubs battle for their respective objectives.

The fans who watched Amrabat at the Rosaleda and at Butarque will, however, know that Amrabat brought so much more to the table than goals. Able to play on either wing and with both feet, he had the ambition and confidence to try to make things happen whenever he got the ball and he also displayed a passion and leadership that his coaches loved. Amrabat had personality and, even if he never ended up making LaLiga his permanent home, he certainly left an impression.