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Rabat – Moroccan international Hakim Ziyech wrote his name in Champions League history by winning the European title last Saturday with Chelsea. Despite the fact that Ziyech did not make an impression with the English club, the Moroccan star made some significant contributions. His goal against Spain’s Atletico Madrid in the second leg of round 16 was decisive.
Regardless of the glory Ziyech achieved by becoming the third Moroccan player to lift the Champions League after his compatriots Achraf Hakimi and Munir El Haddadi, the 28-year-old-player’s first season with the Blues was not a success.
The Dronten-born player signed for Chelsea coming from AFC Ajax back in the summer of 2020. Since then, he has struggled to establish himself as a regular starter in the line-up at Stamford Bridge.
In his 39 competitive appearances this season, he has mostly played as a substitute, as neither German manager Thomas Tuchel nor English Frank Lampard had faith in the former Ajax player.
In 2019, the Guardian ranked the player as the 29th best footballer in the world.
However, Ziyech’s performance with Chelsea has been universes away from his years of consistent excellence with Ajax AFC. To put things into perspective, the “magician” scored 21 goals and made 24 assists in 2018-2019 and contributed nine goals and 20 assists in 2019-2020 with the Dutch team.
Comparing those numbers with Ziyech’s first season at Stamford Bridge reveals the gaping discrepancy between two Ziyechs: The star player who dominated Dutch football and was an essential presence in the Ajax team that almost conquered Europe in 2019, and the stuttering, intermittently brilliant figure struggling for confidence and a starting spot at Chelsea.
In his debut season as a Chelsea player, the Moroccan scored only six goals and provided four assists. Given his class and technical prowess, Chelsea fans had high expectations for Ziyech. But the Heerenveen-formed player has had a poor first season in the Premier League.
In his defense, Hakim Ziyech attributed his unpleasant start with the newly crowned champions of Europe to injuries. “Before I came I had been out for seven months mostly. I came here [Chelsea] and started with injuries; so for me it was more that I was already behind everybody physically,” the Moroccan player said in an interview in April.
What do observers say?
Many football observers, former players, and fans still regard Ziyech as a great player that needs to be well-used by Tuchel to establish himself as one of Chelsea’s most necessary players. Others, meanwhile, believe that Ziyech should leave Chelsea to take his magic somewhere that will grant him enough playing time to assert himself again.
Former Manchester United forward Robin Van Persie was the latest to urge Tuchel to give Ziyech more minutes and a “much bigger role” on the pitch. “Ziyech also has those qualities higher up the pitch, but he should have a much bigger role in the team,” Van Persie told De Telegraaf. “He is now constantly searching [for a place in the team], being played in all different positions.”
For Frank Leboeuf, a former Chelsea defender, Ziyech needs to have the same role Algerian Riyad Mahrez has at Manchester City. “Tuchel really has to think that Ziyech has to play on the right side. It’s like Mahrez, he’s a copycat of Mahrez,” he said.
The 2019-2020 player of the year in the Eredivisie (the Dutch football league), is with no doubt a quality player. His positioning in the field, ease with the ball, finishing, dribbling, and ability to easily unlock defenses with miraculous long passes earned him praise among football observers.
But it appears that Ziyech needs time to adapt in the Premier League, as well as a coach who can get the best out of him – either via a good use of his talents or by simply inspiring in him the trust he needs to regain his touch of magic and prove himself in arguably the world’s toughest football league.
