Superstar Ashraf! Could it be otherwise? Could anyone other than him, winner of almost everything, steal the show in the High Mass of African football? Because the answer is in the question, that no one on the continent has this season followed in the footsteps of PSG’s right flank, showing such regularity, pressing so hard up front and opponents, accumulating so much success and trophies, the CAF Awards ceremony, unsurprisingly, has crowned the Moroccan European champion as the best African footballer of the year this Wednesday evening.
A month after his “almost disappointing” sixth place in the Ballon d’Or, his outstanding season, his performances as a striker (11 goals and 16 assists in 55 games), the Champions League which saw him score in the quarters, first round and final, as well as another four trophies won with Paris, this time by unanimous decision.
Lucid, at least the competition did not bother to travel this Wednesday evening to the performance hall of the Mohamed VI Polytechnic University, where the ceremony was held. Neither Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool striker who is fourth and therefore two places ahead of the Parisian in the Ballon d’Or rankings, nor his Galatasaray counterpart Victor Osimhen, whose nomination surprised more than one, turned up in Rabat.
A lead that, in the minutes before curtain, dispelled the tension that had paradoxically gained momentum in the afternoon. In the Moroccan and even international press, rumors that the Atlas Lions captain would ultimately not make the trip left doubts about the identity of the African Golden Ball winner. “His brother Nabil will be there, just in case, but he, due to his injury, cannot risk making the trip,” we even heard circulating ahead of the ceremony. Bad sign?
He arrived on the red carpet on a scooter
Not too ! In fact, the defender from Paris has long landed in Rabat. At the end of his daily rehabilitation sessions carried out in Spain, in Murcia, Achraf Hakimi flew from Alicante to reach the administrative capital of Morocco, accompanied by his mother, his brother and some of his entourage. Anxious not to miss the coronation of a player he valued and whose qualities he praised, President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi flew in from Doha at the same time.
Arrived at 6pm. on the red carpet on a scooter so as not to bruise his left ankle bruised from a tackle from Munich’s Luis Diaz two weeks ago, with his new “toy”, more than two hours later, the hero of the day joined the stage after Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, opened the envelope containing the winner’s name.
Sobbing in his voice
In the room, vivas and “Hakimi, Hakimi” gave an emotional speech from the Moroccan full-back. “It is truly an honor and pride to win this prestigious trophy,” he began. But this trophy does not only belong to me, but to all Moroccan and African children who dream of becoming footballers. »
After thanking King Mohamed VI, the presidents of PSG and the Moroccan Federation, as well as his teammates who helped him become a better player and person, he turned to CAN. “We will give everything to bring back CAN, a much more important trophy in my eyes than this one,” he continued before ending, in a sobbing voice, while thanking his family and mother.
