Adam Maher: Talent Means Pressure

By Mehdi Bourakkadi Idrissi

Morocco World News

Fez, March 21, 2012

The football world is an active universe where new stars rise everyday making scouts job really hard but yet interesting. Adam Maher is one of the revelations of this football year.

Adam is an 18 years Old Dutch-Moroccan professional Football player. Born in Diemen on July 20^th 1993, the young kid followed his passion of football by rooting for his local team SV Diemen at only the age of 5, to then leave it after 3 years to another small side AVV Zeerbugia. His parents were aware of the talent of their kid, especially his father Ider Maher who is very supportive of his son’s career.

However, the first real step in the professional world was when Adam was spotted by AZ Alkmaar’s scouts who signed the player in 2004 at only 11 years old. A signing that proved to be right, after playing in all the categories of the team, Adam Maher made it to the first team, and played his first game with AZ on October 15 2010, and proved to everybody he was worth it. Adam started his professional Career as a senior with a goal in his debut against Bate Borisov in a UEFA Europa League game, breaking already a first record after only a few minutes on the pitch.

Maher is now the youngest player playing for a Dutch football club ever to score a goal in the Europa League and UEFA Cup.^[2] Surpassing Rafael Van Der vaart with only 66 days difference, 10 years after the latter has scored for Ajax on the 2000 UEFA Cup.

A debut to a very promising career, Adam is well aware of, but chooses not to surrender to pressure by enjoying the moment “I am proud to play for the first team, it is outstanding to play in such a big stadium in front of all this crowd,” he said in an interview after the game. “I will not forget this moment; it is very special for me”. He added.

This year after already 25 games in the Eredivisie and at only 18 years of age, Maher has scored 5 goals and served multiple assists, enough to attract the interest of many world class clubs, such as Manchester city, Ac Milan and very recently Fc Barcelona. His father and manager says to Telegraaf “he could’ve joined Man city, Milan or Olympique Lyonnais a few years ago, but he is still young and not ready for a move abroad. It’s too soon; he will have the chance to do so in 3 or 4 years”. One thing is certain that Adam Maher is well surrounded, whether it is by his family or his coaching stuff, and they all work for his best interest.

Adam Maher is a rising star for sure; some even compare him to Cesc Fabregas. The assistant coach of Az Alkmaar Martin Haar said when asked about the player: “I’m confident about him; he has his feet on the ground. He is very creative and fills perfectly the spot of the injured Martens. He reminds me very much of Cesc Fabregas”.

Morocco or Netherlands?

Just like any other Dutch player with Moroccan origins, the real question remains whether to play for the country of residence or the mother land. Only a few months after beginning his career, Adam Maher has been asked to choose. A choice the young player describes as tough and too soon: “I know I need to make a choice, I was born in the Netherlands, but my mother was pregnant with me when she was in Morocco which makes it my mother land, plus my family that lives there. But it is also true that when I go to Morocco I miss Diemen, my hometown. I started to play football here, and I have been through the categories.” He then added “I have many friends who chose the Moroccan National team, but never had the chance to be picked and play for Morocco”. Maher clearly doesn’t know yet, and the choice seems to be really hard for him.

His father though wants him to join the Netherlands, and rumour has it Pim Veerbek, Ibrahim Affelay and other football figures are trying to convince him to do the same. The coach of the Moroccan under 21 national team Pim Veerbek said about Maher: “I still haven’t decided to call him. He plays now for the Oranje team ( referring to the Netherlands ) and it’s hard to call him up at the time being”.

Other football figures, such as Khalid Sinouh the Moroccan goalkeeper have advised him to enrol with the Moroccan National team: “We have many good players in the Netherlands but Morocco also plays at a high level. He needs to make a choice of heart and not give importance to technical aspects” Said the Goalkeeper. “I have talked to him several times about our national team, and he wants to know how things go in Morocco”. On the other hand, Khalid Sinouh thinks no one should influence the young kid’s choice, and that he is the one to pick his team after all.

Adam Maher has said lately that the Netherlands have now the lead, since he is playing with their young categories and that he will follow his coach’s advice to take things step by step and focus on his game and his current team.

It is a good thing to try and bring good players to Morocco for the best of the national team, such as Saaidi, Lamrabet and others. But these are players who knew from the start that Morocco was the team to pick. And looking at the national team’s latest results, do we really need players that still have a doubt?

Mehdi Bourakkadi Idrissi, is a student at the Faculty of Medicine of Fèz-Morocco. Co-founder and member of the directing Committee of the NGO Teach4Morocco. He is Initerested in education, sports, social media, religions and politics.