El Hamdaoui in for Italian renaissance
Mounir El Hamdaoui
Serie A Home
Fiorentina’s
latest African signing, Mounir El Hamdaoui, comes into the club on a history of
contrasting emotions and fluctuating highs and lows. Yet, the Viola still see a
purpose in the 28-year-old striker.
MTNFootball’s Rossella Marrai takes a look into the troubled footballer’s life and whether the purple side of Tuscany presents a silver lining for the player.
La Vita é bella… or not
Every footballer has troubled times in his career, but for El Hamdaoui, his career has been an ongoing soap opera fit for ‘Days of our Lives’.
Brought up through the youth ranks of Dutch club Excelsior, great things were expected of the Moroccan when he went on an escapade of goals, scoring 35 times in 74 outings.
His potency in front of goal earned him the nickname ‘The Wizard of Kralinger’ and he was handed his first contract at Tottenham, but it was at White Hart Lane where misfortune struck and potentially stuck like piece of chewing gum to the bottom of shoe.
Despite having his mentor Martin Jol as support at Spurs, the then 21-year-old was immediately shifted to Championship side Derby County. There he netted three times in nine appearances, but an unlucky bout of injury hit when a dislocated shoulder ruled him out for the remainder of the season.
A return to Holland saw Willem II keep faith in the boy when they handed him a contract. It all seemed positive when he scored on his debut, but injury once again laid him off for the rest of the campaign.
The Turning Point
Still at the youthful age of 23, the striker once again found himself packing his bags, this time for a four-year contract at AZ Alkmaar.
Louis van Gaal instilled faith in El Hamadoui and he notably paid the Dutchman back when he played an instrumental part, making history by handing AZ their second domestic title in the 2008/09 season.
Van Gaal’s influence in getting the best out of striker was colossal as the ‘Wizard of Kralinger’ arose from the shadows to net 23 times in 31 appearances, finishing above Luis Suarez as the highest goalscorer and winning the Player of the Year.
The Tempestuous nature:
After another successful campaign the call of any Eredivisie player’s life came as Ajax Amsterdam came knocking on AZ’s door.
After a rekindling of the relationship with Martin Jol, El Hamdaoui’s confidence was at such a high he was practically scoring left, right and centre. He was a success despite Ajax’s failure to acquire the domestic title.
Nonetheless, his character caused him some problems - never shy to voice his opinion, the striker quickly fell out with Jol’s successor Frank De Boer in 2011.
“I believe Mounir does not fit as a footballer into the team,” De Boer noted. “He always plays differently than other boys. In the system of Jol, Mounir and Suarez adjusted very well up-front. But I play more by Ajax’s own philosophy in which all players are involved in attack and defence.”
With the Dutchman being such a favourite figure in the club, the veteran was given preference and El Hamdaoui a transfer.
Signing for a fee of €850,000, El Hamdaoui opted for a move abroad to Serie A club Fiorentina.
Florence a new beginning…
Florence, often the pilgrim of new beginnings, represents exactly that for the Moroccan, who is eager to get started.
"I am very happy to be here and hope to be useful for the squad," the player announced on his arrival at the club. “I haven’t played a full match in a long time, but it won’t take much to rediscover my form.”
Vincenzo Montella will be the man the striker will be looking to for advice and growth throughout the season and he couldn’t have asked for a better coach.
Montella, like El Hamdaoui, had a fluctuating career plagued with injury and drop in form. Having been a striker himself in his heyday, Montella will know how to get the best from the front-man and how to return that undisputed confidence that will reignite the witchcraft of the ‘Wizard of Kralinger’.
With talent in front of goal unquestionable, his first year in the Tuscan town could prove to be a rebirth for him. The world of football has not seen the end of the Rotterdam-born African yet.
Rossella Marrai
Twitter @RossellaMarrai
MTNFootball’s Rossella Marrai takes a look into the troubled footballer’s life and whether the purple side of Tuscany presents a silver lining for the player.
La Vita é bella… or not
Every footballer has troubled times in his career, but for El Hamdaoui, his career has been an ongoing soap opera fit for ‘Days of our Lives’.
Brought up through the youth ranks of Dutch club Excelsior, great things were expected of the Moroccan when he went on an escapade of goals, scoring 35 times in 74 outings.
His potency in front of goal earned him the nickname ‘The Wizard of Kralinger’ and he was handed his first contract at Tottenham, but it was at White Hart Lane where misfortune struck and potentially stuck like piece of chewing gum to the bottom of shoe.
Despite having his mentor Martin Jol as support at Spurs, the then 21-year-old was immediately shifted to Championship side Derby County. There he netted three times in nine appearances, but an unlucky bout of injury hit when a dislocated shoulder ruled him out for the remainder of the season.
A return to Holland saw Willem II keep faith in the boy when they handed him a contract. It all seemed positive when he scored on his debut, but injury once again laid him off for the rest of the campaign.
The Turning Point
Still at the youthful age of 23, the striker once again found himself packing his bags, this time for a four-year contract at AZ Alkmaar.
Louis van Gaal instilled faith in El Hamadoui and he notably paid the Dutchman back when he played an instrumental part, making history by handing AZ their second domestic title in the 2008/09 season.
Van Gaal’s influence in getting the best out of striker was colossal as the ‘Wizard of Kralinger’ arose from the shadows to net 23 times in 31 appearances, finishing above Luis Suarez as the highest goalscorer and winning the Player of the Year.
The Tempestuous nature:
After another successful campaign the call of any Eredivisie player’s life came as Ajax Amsterdam came knocking on AZ’s door.
After a rekindling of the relationship with Martin Jol, El Hamdaoui’s confidence was at such a high he was practically scoring left, right and centre. He was a success despite Ajax’s failure to acquire the domestic title.
Nonetheless, his character caused him some problems - never shy to voice his opinion, the striker quickly fell out with Jol’s successor Frank De Boer in 2011.
“I believe Mounir does not fit as a footballer into the team,” De Boer noted. “He always plays differently than other boys. In the system of Jol, Mounir and Suarez adjusted very well up-front. But I play more by Ajax’s own philosophy in which all players are involved in attack and defence.”
With the Dutchman being such a favourite figure in the club, the veteran was given preference and El Hamdaoui a transfer.
Signing for a fee of €850,000, El Hamdaoui opted for a move abroad to Serie A club Fiorentina.
Florence a new beginning…
Florence, often the pilgrim of new beginnings, represents exactly that for the Moroccan, who is eager to get started.
"I am very happy to be here and hope to be useful for the squad," the player announced on his arrival at the club. “I haven’t played a full match in a long time, but it won’t take much to rediscover my form.”
Vincenzo Montella will be the man the striker will be looking to for advice and growth throughout the season and he couldn’t have asked for a better coach.
Montella, like El Hamdaoui, had a fluctuating career plagued with injury and drop in form. Having been a striker himself in his heyday, Montella will know how to get the best from the front-man and how to return that undisputed confidence that will reignite the witchcraft of the ‘Wizard of Kralinger’.
With talent in front of goal unquestionable, his first year in the Tuscan town could prove to be a rebirth for him. The world of football has not seen the end of the Rotterdam-born African yet.
Rossella Marrai
Twitter @RossellaMarrai
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