Mohamed Abarhoun
Abarhoun playing for Morocco at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full name Mohamed Abarhoun[1]
Date of birth (1989-05-03)3 May 1989
Place of birth Tétouan, Morocco
Date of death 2 December 2020(2020-12-02) (aged 31)
Place of death Turkey
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2017 Moghreb Tétouan 164 (7)
2017–2019 Moreirense 37 (1)
2019–2020 Çaykur Rizespor 36 (3)
Total 237 (11)
International career
Morocco U20
2012 Morocco U23 3 (0)
2013–2014 Morocco 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mohamed Abarhoun (Arabic: محمد أبرهون, romanized: Muḥammad ‘Ābarhūn; 3 May 1989 – 2 December 2020) was a Moroccan professional footballer who played as a defender. He played domestic football for hometown club Moghreb Tétouan, Portuguese club Moreirense, and Turkish club Çaykur Rizespor. Abarhoun also represented Morocco at under-20, under-23 and senior level. He died of stomach cancer at the age of 31.

Club career

Abarhoun was born in Tétouan and played as a centre-back for local club Moghreb Tétouan between 2010 and 2017. He was hailed as part of the club's "golden generation" that won the Botola Pro 1 league in 2012 and 2014 and took part in the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup.[3] He made 164 league appearances for the club and scored 7 goals.[2]

Abarhoun joined Portuguese Primeira Liga club Moreirense in June 2017 after refusing to sign a new contract with Tétouan.[3][4] Abarhoun was the eighth player brought to the club by new manager Manuel Machado.[4] He scored his only goal for the club on 10 September in a 2–0 win at Estroil Praia, their first win of the season.[5] Machado was sacked by the club in October following a run of poor results.[6] He went on to make 23 league and 5 cup appearances for the club in his first season, in which the club finished fourth from bottom in the league.[7][8] Abarhoun was the preferred starting centre-back for the club in the first part of the 2018–19 season, under new manager Ivo Vieira, and made 1 cup and 14 league appearances.[9][7]

Abarhoun joined Turkish club Çaykur Rizespor in January 2019 on an 18-month initial contract.[3][10][11] The transfer fee generated €200,000 for Moreirense.[9] Rizespor manager Okan Buruk stated that Abarhoun was brought in to bolster the club's defence during their fight to avoid relegation from the Süper Lig.[11] Abarhoun played in 16 league games for Rizespor that season and the club finished mid-table in 11th position.[12][7] Abarhoun made 20 league for Rizespor in the 2019–20 season before illness ended his career.[7] His last match was a 2–1 defeat at home to İstanbul Başakşehir on 24 February 2020.[13] He also made one cup appearance, during a 2–1 loss away to Galatasaray in the second leg of the 8th round of the Turkish Cup on 23 January 2020.[7]

International career

Abarhoun played nine games for the Morocco under-20 team and eight for the under-23 team.[3][14] This included three appearances at the 2012 Summer Olympics where the team drew two games and lost one to finish third in Group D.[3][15] He made his senior international debut in 2013 and went on to earn seven international caps.[2]

Illness and death

In February 2020 Abarhoun reported feeling sick prior to a league match against Trabzonspor. He was taken to Istanbul's Acıbadem Hospital and was diagnosed with stomach cancer.[16][17][18] In June 2020 a Rizespor spokesman claimed that Abarhoun was seriously ill and expected that he would not return to playing football.[19] He was released by Rizespor at the end of the season, but continued to receive financial support from the club for his condition.[16][17]

Abarhoun announced that he was recovering and feeling better in October 2020 and was hopeful of a return to football, but he died of the disease on 2 December 2020, at the age of 31.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2014: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 15 December 2014. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Mohamed Abarhoun". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hatim, Yahia (2 December 2020). "Moroccan Football Player Mohamed Abarhoun Dies From Cancer at 31". Morocco World News. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  4. 1 2 Bhyer, Kebir (30 June 2017). "Transfert. Mohamed Abarhoun, de la Botola à la Liga NOS" [Transfer. Mohamed Abarhoun, from the Botola to the Liga NOS]. Le360 Sport (in French). Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "Moreirense soma primeiro triunfo na I Liga, no Estoril" [Moreirense record first I Liga triumph, at Estoril] (in Portuguese). TSF. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "Manuel Machado deixa Moreirense" [Manuel Machado leaves Moreirense]. Record (in European Portuguese). 29 October 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Mohamed Abarhoun at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  8. ↑ "Liga Portugal 2017–18 standings". Liga Portugal. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  9. 1 2 Fonseca, Marta (4 February 2019). "Moreirense perde Loum mas ganha Camará" [Moreirense lose Loum but gain Camará]. ComUM (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  10. ↑ "Çaykur Rizespor, Mohamed Aberhoune ile anlaştı" (in Turkish). Haber Turk. 19 January 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  11. 1 2 "Mohamed Abarhoun signe en Turquie". Le360 Sport (in French). 19 January 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  12. ↑ "Summary – Süper Lig – Turkey". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  13. ↑ "Maroc / Foot : l'international Mohamed Abarhoun est mort" [Morocco/Football: international Mohamed Abarhoun has died]. L-FRII (in French). 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  14. ↑ Mohamed Abarhoun – FIFA competition record (archived)
  15. ↑ "Olympedia – Football, Men 2012". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  16. 1 2 "Son dakika: Çaykur Rizespor Mohamed Abarhoun'un hayatını kaybettiğini açıkladı". Yeni Çağ Gazetesi. 2 December 2020.
  17. 1 2 "Mohamed Abarhoun, 31 yaşında hayatını kaybetti". NTVSpor.net.
  18. ↑ "Çaykur Rizespor'dan Mohamed Abarhoun açıklaması". Haber7 (in Turkish). 5 March 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  19. ↑ "Çaykur Rizesporlu Abarhoun'un Futbol Hayatı Tehlikede". Rizedeyiz (in Turkish). 20 June 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.