Morocco’s Bounou Becomes First to Lift Zamora Trophy for Sevilla

Yassine Bounou made history yesterday after he became the first Moroccan and Arab to win the Zamora Trophy for the best goalkeeper in LaLiga, Spain’s top-tier football league. The Moroccan shot-stopper’s win is also the first time that a goalkeeper of Sevilla lifted this award in the history of LaLiga.

Rabat – Yassine Bounou made history yesterday after he became the first Moroccan and Arab to win the Zamora Trophy for the best goalkeeper in LaLiga, Spain’s top-tier football league. The Moroccan shot-stopper’s win is also the first time that a goalkeeper of Sevilla lifted this award in the history of LaLiga.

The Zamora Trophy rewards the goalkeeper with the fewest goals conceded in the Spanish first division. Bounou’s historical achievement comes after he only conceded 24 goals in 31 matches, allowing him to outperform other excellent goalkeepers, such as Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois and Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak.

“I would like to congratulate Yassine Bounou. He is a very good friend of mine. Congratulations to him for the Zamora Trophy,” Courtois said in a recent media outing.

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) also congratulated the Moroccan international for making an unprecedented achievement in Sevilla.

Sevilla’s head coach Julen Lopetegui did not line Bounou up against Athletic Bilbao on the last day of the League on Sunday, to avoid putting him at risk of losing the trophy if he had conceded two goals.

Julen Lopetegui said after the game that this individual recognition of the goalkeeper is a collective achievement of the whole team, according to a statement from Sevilla FC.

The Zamora Trophy adds to the Moroccan goalkeeper’s undoubtedly positive influence on the achievements of Sevilla since he arrived in the summer of 2019.

To win the Zamora award, Bounou and the other potential candidates were required to have played at least 28 games with a minimum of 60 minutes played per match.
Bounou becomes the second African goalkeeper to win this distinction after Cameroonian Jacques Songo’o, who was crowned at the end of the 1996-1997 season with the Spanish Club Deportivo A Coruna.

As well as his remarkable achievements with his Spanish club, Bounou is also a key player on the Moroccan national football team, who have secured its spot to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.