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Marrakech – Abdellah Ouazane, one of Morocco’s most promising young prospects, made his official professional debut for boyhood club Ajax on Wednesday night.
In the Amsterdam club’s 7-2 victory over third-division side Excelsior Maassluis, Ouazane, donning an academy jersey number 68, came on in the 64th minute of the contest in a substitution for Dutch midfielder Youri Regeer.
At 16 years, 11 months, and two days, Ouazane becomes the sixth-youngest player to ever make a debut for the senior Ajax squad, behind Ryan Gravenberch, Jordi Mokio, Clarence Seedorf, Naci Unuvar, and Jorell Hato.
Ouazane, who’s signed to Ajax’s reserve team, could be looking at incrementally increasing playing time with the senior team to accompany his development. After the match, the young starlet reportedly addressed the rest of the locker room, stating he was honored to play.
Post-game, Interim Ajax head coach Fred Grim praised the youngster’s attitude after the match.
“And that was very diplomatic of him,” said Grim, referring to Ouazane’s locker room address. “He’s hoping for more matches!”
The coach also provided an assessment of the 16-year-old’s performance: highlighting that he’s a gifted player, but suggesting that he sometimes needs to do more out of possession.
“In moments, you can see he’s a good footballer, but on the other hand, it’s about every moment, not just on the ball,” Grim said.
Ouazane, a dual citizen eligible to play for both Morocco and the Netherlands, represented the Atlas Lions earlier this year during the U17 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
